Pam Rechel, Brave Heart Consulting
Context: There are bosses who are not as competent as we would like, some who are annoying but tolerable and some who are abrasive. Abrasive bosses (sometimes known as “bullies”) behave in such a negative manner that the workplace is impacted – motivation is low or nonexistent, results begin to slide downward and employees hunker down to stay out of the way or begin their exit strategy. Employees, who don’t have authority over the boss, are often so afraid of the abrasive boss or not wanting to trigger a reaction, that nothing is said or done.
Why the situation isn’t hopeless. In the session we’ll discuss why people behave in abrasive ways; some strategies that can work to deal with them and what strategies to avoid.
The goal of this session is: to present practical steps on how to deal with an abrasive boss.
Why is this important? It’s important to take control of your work life and to be able to change how you approach someone whose behavior is unacceptable. The skill of communicating with difficult individuals is often not taught by our parents or schools, yet it becomes a key workplace competence to survive and thrive at work.
Summary: By the end of the session, participants will learn two strategies to successfully deal with workplace bullies and two strategies to avoid.
What’s in it for the participants to develop the skills presented in this session?
- Builds confidence in confronting difficult situations
- Increases emotional intelligence
- More powerful than having to go first to Human Resources or senior management
- The skills can be utilized in other situations (with peers or others who are abrasive)
- Builds competence in difficult communication
Pam Rechel, 2011 Technical Paper, Abstract, Slides
