The overwhelming response to “Bully Bosses Bruise Bigtime” that I published a few weeks ago has me believing there is more to this topic to share.
Bullying is a scenario that we may all recall witnessing on a playground when we were kids. The fact is, we face bullying often in our adult world in the space we spend the most amount of our hours; the workplace.
So how can we tell the difference between a tough boss and a bully boss?
Check these out and let me know what you think!
A TOUGH BOSS WON’T:
- Verbally abuse you, alone or in front of others
- Intimidate you on a regular basis by threatening to fire you every other day
- Question your adequacy and your commitment to your work/team/company frequently
- Undermine your work and create set-ups for failure
- Impede your success by not providing you with the proper resources to accomplish the goal
- Spread rumors about you, gossip about you, engage other employees to talk negatively about you
- Isolate you from your peer group, leave you out of meetings or employee engagement activities
So what will a tough boss do?
A TOUGH BOSS WILL:
- Hold you accountable for your actions
- Expect your full commitment even if that requires extra time and effort on your part
- Provide you with specific feedback; both positive and re-directive so you always know where you stand
- Make some decisions that you don’t always agree with
- Push you beyond your comfort zone to create true personal and professional growth
- Require that you come to the table with suggested solutions to problems that you are complaining about
- Will micromanage from time-to-time and annoy you BUT, you will be grateful that your boss is tough boss…and NOT a bully boss.
- Lots more on the topic…just something to think about and share.