The Find: Forget getting wrapped up in your emotions, those who approach a bullying boss as a business problem have the best chances of beating him or her, argues one expert via podcast.- The Source: A Working Week podcast from UK site Management Issues. In this issue host Wayne Turmel interviews Robert Mueller, author of Bullying Bosses: A Survivor’s Guide.
The Takeaway: The first order of business in this interview with Mueller is to outline all the approaches to tackling a bullying supervisor that are unlikely to work. “Bullying can’t be tackled through psychological means - it needs to be viewed and tackled as a business issue,” asserts Mueller, and he adds that “personal confrontations with bullies are almost never productive, nor is trying to talk to management or – still less - HR.” So what will improve the situation? Documentation, argues Mueller. He prescribes:
Approach your bullying problem like a work project. Be methodical in how you behave, perform, document, and strategize… Note the time, date, place, people, key quotes and behavior of concern. All bullies create patterns in what they do and bullying is not about what happened on a particular day. It’s a campaign conducted over time. Document even the smallest incidents, since these often become the most important signs of a pattern of bullying that might not otherwise be apparent. That means every instance of teasing, sarcasm, criticism, a public glare or silent treatment.
The in-depth interview offers other tips to help victims of bullying cope, including how to avoid becoming isolated and how to extract yourself from a bullying situation.
