Sometimes, we have trouble deciding what strategy to use to increase our chances of a culture with no harassment, abuse or bullying so great people want to work, produce and get ahead - a culture of high attitudes and outstanding productivity. We know we can’t stand pat but still we hesitate.  We don’t want to waste our time or take foolish risks and, in the real world, there’s no way of getting all our ducks in a row.  Learning by trial and error sounds too brainless and fraught with danger.

There is another alternative – “The Systematic Method of Successive Approximations”.

To read the rest of this article from the Denver Business Journal, see: Create a workplace with no harassment, abuse or bullying http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2000/04/17/smallb4.html

Sounds formidable and daunting, but it’s not.  You may not have used the method yet to stop bullying at work, but you’ve already used and mastered it while learning the most difficult things you’ll ever learn - walking, running, talking, driving and even driving while listening to a motivational tape and eating and talking on your phone and obsessing on something life-threatening or totally useless, all at the same time while getting to your destination safely.

There is no “One-Right” action plan, but we all used the same basic 12-step strategy to learn to walk.  It will also work to stop bullying at work.

  1. You knew what you wanted and needed.
  2. Action counted.
  3. There was no guarantee of success and you never even asked about one.
  4. Pain didn’t stop you for long.
  5. Fear didn’t stop you for long.
  6. Ignorance didn’t stop you for long.
  7. Embarrassment didn’t stop you; the opinions of negative, critical bullies didn’t stop you.
  8. You imitated successful people and you “faked it” – you became an experimenter at work.
  9. Questions or concerns about self-confidence, self-esteem and self-image didn’t matter.  You didn’t pay attention to self-doubt, self-bullying or negative internal voices.
  10. You put yourself in favorable situations with your “antennae” out to increase your chances of success.  You ignored negativity, harassment and bullying.
  11. Some people learned faster than others did but we all succeeded eventually.
  12. The desired gains outweighed the necessary losses that always come with taking charge of your life.

Live life the way you learned how to walk.  It may seem difficult in your situation to bring all your desire, need, energy, focus, intelligence and experience to bear on making major changes but it’s the only way.  You’re not too young, too old, too dumb, too clumsy.  The world is not changing too rapidly.  Don’t listen to negativity and bullies.  Learn to walk or you’ll get stepped on.

Often, individuals need coaching and organizations need consulting to help them design and implement an anti-bullying plan that fits the situation at work.  To get the help you need, call Ben at 1-877-828-5543.