Here’s an interesting article from the Chronicle of Higher Education on bullying in academia.

Researchers are proposing mediation for bullying situations even though the research shows overwhelmingly that mediation doesn’t work. That’s been my experience too. What does work are strong and enforced rules prohibiting bullying, great coaching for bullies and their managers, improved supervision and insights to the plethora of causes of bullying and abrasive behaviors.

Read the article, and the comments for different perspectives on bullying issues:

Workplace Mediators Seek a Role in Taming Faculty Bullies

Reading a list of standard bullying behavior can be a revelation for some people.  Far too often we become so accustomed to witnessing acts of incivility that we develop a blind eye to it.  This is especially true in the workplace.  Verbal insults, withholding of key information, and other blatant, aggressive and manipulative behaviors are sometimes considered standard practice, to the extent that, not only are they tolerated, but they are overlooked or dismissed entirely.  

But what do we do when our perceptions are telling us otherwise? You may recall the fairy tale about a Self-centered Emperor who cared only about his clothes.  Two con artists come along who promise to make him the finest suit of clothes woven from a fabric that is invisible to anyone who is unfit for his position or “just hopelessly stupid”.  The Emperor buys into the idea, and even though he cannot see the cloth himself, he pretends that he can for fear of appearing unfit for his position or stupid; and his ministers do the same. When the suit is supposedly finished, the swindlers pretend to dress him and the Emperor then parades himself before his subjects. At first, everyone remains silent, but then a child in the crowd calls out that the Emperor isn’t wearing any clothes.  The entire crowd then bursts into an uproar as they all begin to claim their perceptions.

Read the rest of the article…

Transforming a Dysfunctional Collection of Individuals Into a Functional Team
Any executive coach who addresses the issue of dysfunctional teams and workplace bullying will agree that competition is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, healthy competition is a great motivator; on the other hand it can digress into unhealthy and unproductive conflict. And, when conflict escalates as a result of abrasive intimidating or even bullying behavior, or stonewalling and gossip/back-stabbing, then any benefit that might have been gained by competition is lost.

However, many managers are loath to confront negative behavior for fear of creating more problems and delaying projects. This conflict avoidance is common but unhelpful. Soon the conflict is overriding productivity and failure is inevitable.

Here is a solution that indirectly addresses the conflict by putting the emphasis on the structure of the team by clarifying goals and holding everyone accountable.

Read the rest of the artcile…

Every day I read horror stories about bully bosses who fire their victims. Apparently it isn’t enough to bully them, sometimes they have to get the target out of the office before they’re satisfied. If this has happened to you then here are 9 help-yourself ideas: 

1. Be kind to yourself. Workplace bullying is a terrible situation that no one should have to suffer.

Read the rest of the article…

Visit this article http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/legal/people/bullying-at-work.shtml for bully defense advise from a legal perspective. While some of the advise is important to establish patterns of bullying, be cautious about writing letters to bullies without the backing of the administration. 

Here’s a quip from the article that I do favor-waiting out the storm: If you are being shouted at by your boss my advice is to wait until the storm has passed, repeat your concerns back to him/her and be specific about how to fix things. Distill the issues discussed in the outbreak. Your boss will expect you to be defensive or to break down, but instead make sure you communicate that you’re a supportive employee and you’re on his/her team.

This issue came up during a confidence coaching session. Several employees went to their supervisor to report a problem with another employee (Jim). It seems he had been rude to a client (as reported by the client) AND he forgot to do a very important piece of his job – so important that the consequences could be lethal. Fortunately the only consequence in this case is Jim’s on the hot seat. Exactly what upset the employees?

Read the rest of the article…

I love the Internet. Every day there are articles on bullying and bullies, educating us to see the signs of bullying and providing tips on what to do to help ourselves. But most of the signs and tips are generic. Things like ‘pressuring’, ‘isolation’ or ‘shouting’, ‘persistent criticism’, and ‘flaring tempers’ seem to be examples of bullying*. But many of these behaviors can be found in situations without any bullying accusations. Sometimes these behaviors are ‘let’s get-the-job done’ leadership behaviors or ‘I’m totally frustrated’ human behaviors. Ambiguous definitions and explanations of bullying lead to problems. For example:              

If bullying is defined broadly, targets fail to see a serious situation as bullying and fail to act early on their own behalf. 

If bullying definitions are too generic, there is a dearth of public support for targets. 

If bullying is not a big deal then unhelpful suggestions like: ‘managing up’, and deep breathing, or, (once I saw this) ‘lavender oil’, seems to be reasonable solutions.  

If bullying is just good leadership/power/get the job done behavior, then people have license to bully because it makes them good leaders (witness the recent comments on Great Britain Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s defenders noting he should be a bully because that’s what leaders need to do). 

If bullying is just ‘I lost my temper’, then we cannot create guidelines for what is acceptable or unacceptable behavior. We need clarity. 

Bullying is life damaging, career destroying, and confidence killing behavior. Bullying is persistent, pervasive, and gut wrenching. It might be as wide-spread as 30% of the working population. It impacts both men and women; is perpetrated by both men and women and is not confined to certain workplaces or pay grades or educational status. It is everywhere. I know. I’ve been bullied.  I know, as an executive coach focusing on bullying and conflict issues, because my practice is replete with bully targets and bullies. I know because I have read over 10 years of research documenting, clarifying, and explaining the incidence and prevalence of bullying. Visit the Workplace Bully Institute http://www.workplacebullyinginstitute.com for a nice collection of research on this topic. The more you know, the more power you have. 

In the interests of separating simply bad behavior from bullying, I’ve labeled and defined seven unambiguous signs bullying behaviors.  

Read the full article

There are quite a few suggestions for handling difficult situations including breathing, counting to 10, lavender oil, and meditation. Okay, fine but really not so fine. Difficult situations require a Response to the Problem Plan with two stages: Focus, and Action.

Here are guidelines for each stage.  Read more….

There are quite a few suggestions for handling difficult situations including breathing, counting to 10, lavender oil, and meditation. Okay, fine but really not so fine. Difficult situations require a Response to the Problem Plan with two stages: Focus, and Action.

Here are guidelines for each stage.  Read more….

Here’s a piece on the history of the workplace bullying concept. While this author is heavily associated with the Workplace Bullying Insititute and thus overweights credit to the Namies, it’s still a good overview and worth understanding how change happens – awareness, lobbying, academic interest, social action for social justice, etc.      Take a look – http://newworkplace.wordpress.com/