LORI WILSONRETIRED - Technical Project Manager| RETIRED - LifePoint HealthClarkston, Wa, United States
I am preparing to give a presentation for a large group of project managers on Bullying and Project Management. There are many excellent resources on this ProjectManagement.com site who have created fantastic presentations and blogs on the topic of bullying - many from Paul Pelletier and others. I've tied these slides in with definitions of what bullying is, why people bully others, who is targeted, how it feels to be bullied, what the costs of bullying are to a company or to a team, the results of bullying, more subtle things that people do (eye rolling, gossiping, etc.) that are bullying behaviors, what to do when witnessing bullying, how to stand up to bullying, ways to help prevent bullying, the difference between normal conflict and bullying and tied it all in with our PMI code of ethics. Is there anything else I should include in my presentation? Have you ever experienced bullying in the workplace? If so, would you be willing to share your experience with me? Saving Changes...
A couple of years back I was one of many victims of a "bully". A real narcissist and sociopath of the highest order. It went so far as an official harassment complaint where an independent firm was hired to investigate, but unfortunately, within our organization, the tactic to deal with such people is just to move them around rather than dealing with the problem. I'm not alone, and have several friends that are also victims of such behaviour. One in fact has been on stress leave for 2.5 years and is debating about returning to work for the government. My wife was also a victim of bullying and had to leave her position with the federal government. Within the federal government of Canada there is a real problem as evidenced recently with the PM, and how he allegedly "bullied" our Attorney General into dropping charges against a huge company - SNC Lavalin. It all starts from the top, and although a lot of lip service is given to ethics and behaviour, what is actually practised is very different. I'm interested to hear how the presentation goes. Saving Changes...
LORI WILSONRETIRED - Technical Project Manager| RETIRED - LifePoint HealthClarkston, Wa, United States
Steve, I am so sorry for the experiences you and your wife faced in the workplace as a result of bullying. Sadly, you are not alone - The 2018 Balance survey indicates 60 million Americans are affected by workplace bullying. This is so astounding and like your experience, many have found that reporting bullying was not effective. Unfortunately, your mention of the friend on stress leave for 2.5 years is not uncommon - bullying is painful and can affect our physical health as well as our mental health. I am proud of your willingness to share your story - only with awareness and knowledge can change begin to happen. It sounds like both you and your wife made work changes - hopefully you are both in better situations now. You and your wife were brave, and you took action - you tried to report it and then you removed yourselves from the situations. You are to be commended! Thank you again, for sharing your experience. I wish you, your wife and your friend well in the future. By sharing your experiences we can band together and make change happen. It is time for bullying to stop! Saving Changes...
LORI WILSONRETIRED - Technical Project Manager| RETIRED - LifePoint HealthClarkston, Wa, United States
I just wanted to close this circle by letting you know last Tuesday I shared the presentation with the INW PMI Chapter in Spokane, Washington. I spoke for 1.5 hours and the attendees received PDU's for attending. My local PMI chapter is an engaged group of professionals and it was an honor to meet with them on this topic. We had 2 break-out sessions where small groups shared their experiences with workplace bullying. Several people came up to me afterward with gratitude for bringing up this subject, and many have requested the slides. I believe the experience was improved by all the advice shared in this discussion board from you - my peers. Thank you!
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1 reply by Suzi MS
Apr 22, 2019 5:43 PM
Suzi MS
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Congratulations Lori, very inspirational effort, just seconded on Vincent’s suggestion, I’m sure would be super helpful to share the findings and tips with members in the next PMXPO? Thank you Lori!
I just wanted to close this circle by letting you know last Tuesday I shared the presentation with the INW PMI Chapter in Spokane, Washington. I spoke for 1.5 hours and the attendees received PDU's for attending. My local PMI chapter is an engaged group of professionals and it was an honor to meet with them on this topic. We had 2 break-out sessions where small groups shared their experiences with workplace bullying. Several people came up to me afterward with gratitude for bringing up this subject, and many have requested the slides. I believe the experience was improved by all the advice shared in this discussion board from you - my peers. Thank you!
Congratulations Lori, very inspirational effort, just seconded on Vincent’s suggestion, I’m sure would be super helpful to share the findings and tips with members in the next PMXPO? Thank you Lori! Saving Changes...
