Sooner or later, you’ll encounter a bully in your workplace.
When I was a young professional fresh out of college, I was shy, passive, and naive. I was an easy target for bullies at workplace. I remember when I first started working as an entry-level product manager, a bully took a major project I just completed, made a big presentation in front of an important audience, and took all of the credits. I broke down in tears at my mentor’s office.
One night I was watching an NBA game. Michael Jordan just scored several points in a row. The player on the opposing team who was guiding Michael Jordan got really agitated. He was grabbing Jordan, hit him from the back, and doing all kind of dirty tricks.
The referee was young and inexperienced, and didn’t notice some of the dirty tricks. It was interesting to see how Michael reacted — he was obviously annoyed, but he didn’t let his emotion to take over him. He simply elevated his game to another level — he kept scoring and scoring, and simply deflated his opponent’s spirit. The dirty tricks didn’t work! At the same time, Michael was working hard on the referee, kept telling him that he had missed several calls. Near the end of the game, the opposing player got a technical call.
There were several interesting lessons here:
- The opposing player was playing dirty tricks because he wanted to distract Michael Jordan. In the corporate world, bullies treat you badly because they believe that’s the best way for them to achieve their own goals.
- Michael didn’t let his emotion take over. He knew his goal was to win the game. If he got frustrated, angry and distracted, he would not be able to perform at the highest level. And that’s exactly what his opponent wanted to see. So, he stayed calm, and focused on his own goal.
- When Michael kept scoring points, his opponent’s spirit was crushed. He stopped doing the dirty tricks. Similarly, in the corporate world, never let bullies’ get into your head. Keep doing the right thing, and bullies’ spirits will be crushed eventually.
- Michael continued to work on the referee to make sure he knew about what’s happened. This is very important. To fight bullies effectively, you need to get help from the public — you need to expose them to your colleagues and managers.
Finally but not lastly, I have noticed one common trait among bullies — they’re actually very weak inside. One bully boss I worked for was always freaked out before presenting to his own boss. Bullies act like the way they’re because they feel very insecure inside. They’ve a lot of issues.
Never let bullies get under your skins. Do the right thing. Focus on your goals. Be a winner.
Excellent resource on dealing with bullies and office politics
- The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t
- Corporate Confidential: 50 Secrets Your Company Doesn’t Want You to Know—and What to Do About Them
- 21 Dirty Tricks at Work: How to Win at Office Politics
- Survival of the Savvy: High-Integrity Political Tactics for Career and Company Success
- The Secret Handshake: Mastering the Politics of the Business Inner Circle
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