Conflicts, Bullying, and Project Management

 

Not every unpleasant or challenging conflict with people at work or in a project is bullying. On the contrary, conflict is a normal part of life and, as you may know too well, conflict in projects is normal. So, it’s important to contrast normal work behavior and interaction from bullying.

Here are some helpful examples of reasonable and regular conflicts that take place while working on projects that wouldn’t qualify as bullying, unless they also involved some of the behaviors noted in the definition of “bullying:”

• Expressing differences of opinion;
• Offering constructive feedback, guidance, or advice about work-related behavior;
• Reasonable action taken by an employer or supervisor relating to the management and direction of workers (such as managing performance, taking reasonable disciplinary actions, or assigning work);
• Unpopular, yet defensible decisions related to project management (such as resource allocation, solving budget problems, project scale reduction, and scheduling decisions which increase workload); and
• Project cancellation or delay.

The key is to approach each situation with a reasonable, objective perspective in order to properly assess if there is bullying involved. Seek the advice from trusted colleagues or human resources specialists (but, it is best not to ask those within your organization for help until you’ve received credible advice). Ask PMI credential holders who are outside of your workplace to provide their insight. Use the PMI ethics tools and the five-step Ethical Decision-Making Framework provided on the PMI website to assist in evaluating the situation http://www.pmi.org/en/About-Us/Ethics.aspx.