Episode Details
Back to Episodes106 | Are You The Workplace Bully
Description
If you’ve ever thought, “I’m not a bully, I’m just direct,” this conversation might stop you in your tracks. We’ve spent weeks talking about bullying managers, bullying coworkers, and the people who witness it and stay silent. Now we turn the question inward: what if the patterns you call leadership are landing as intimidation, humiliation, or fear?
I’m Brooks Deming, Doctor of Business Administration, business coach, and resilience expert, and I break down 10 practical signs you may be engaging in workplace bullying without recognizing it. We talk about the room that goes quiet when you walk in, public “accountability” that embarrasses people, sarcasm that cuts, withholding information, punishing disagreement, gossip, and the classic shutdown line: “You’re too sensitive.” We also look at favoritism, inconsistent standards, and the temptation to justify harm with “that’s just who I am.”
Then we get specific about how bullying gets disguised as leadership. We translate familiar phrases like “I have high standards,” “I was only joking,” and “that’s how I was trained” into the self-check questions that actually build psychological safety and respectful communication. Finally, you’ll get a clear path forward: stop defending long enough to examine, name the exact behavior, take responsibility without excuses, seek appropriate feedback, change consistently over time, and accept that accountability may still be necessary.
Take the closing reflection with you: if everyone in your workplace treated people the way you do, what kind of workplace would you have? Subscribe, share this with a leader who needs it, and leave a review if it helps you lead with more courage and care.
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The Off-Balance podcast, including all audio, video, and written content, is produced and hosted by Dr. Brooks Demming. The views, opinions, and statements expressed by podcast guests are solely those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, or official positions of Dr. Brooks Demming, the Off-Balance brand, its affiliates, or partners.
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