Last Thursday, May 12, 2011, I posted a blog titled Bullies – Life Imitates Art. It was posted for a nanosecond as several followers read it before the site went down. When Goggle Blogger came back up, it was no where to be found. (Note to self –copy all posts and save in Word). I am recapping in a Cliff Notes version the following so that everyone can be on the same page:
A. Bullies are everywhere -- The Apprentice; Survivor; The Real Housewives of (insert name of city); political pundits, etc.
1. All promote bullies and/or alliances; “winning at all costs” and vanquishing of the other.
B. Because these bullies win, do we believe that they really have strength? Do we confuse bullies for strong decisive leaders? If they had real strength (of character, or within themselves) would they need to be bullies?
C. Characteristics and actions of Bullies
1. Threatened by others, insecure or immature; shout or verbally abuse others, single out others for unjustified criticism or blame, exclude others from participating, and/or ignore or criticize someone else’s contribution/work.
F. Not a Winning Strategy for an Organization or Employees within the Organization
1. Some employees go underground; stop contributing – just show up every day and don’t (can’t) care about job or the organization
2. Other employees leave the organization (years of wisdom and institutional knowledge lost)
3. Still others decide to be loyal – loyalty is rewarded – leaders buy their loyalty with promotions – often for employees who are not qualified.
G. Time to acknowledge that some Leaders (whether in organizations or the political arena) are bullies and to stand up to their bullying tactics.
1. Every bully needs a victim – we all need to stop being victims – strength in numbers can stop them from continuing their seemingly "winning ways".
Thanks to those of you who have commented -- keep them coming!
1 comment:
It occurs to me that bullies take the easy course in trying to get their way. They are short-sighted in trying to accomplish their goals. A true leader knows that a long-range strategy of diplomacy,strong communication (and often), consensus building,praise of the commitment of other partners, and group planning builds loyalty and commitment to the purpose of an organization. A true leader embraces this as part of their personal character.
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