Monday Moanin Thoughts #56 Do You Have A Bully On Your Staff?

Happy Monday Moanin the day after the 2013 Super Bowl. I hope your team was victorious.

The focus of my thoughts this week is on bullying among your staff. Over the past few weeks the issue of bullying among staff members has come up in several of  my meetings with principals. They shared  that this is a growing concern. As I reflected back on my experiences it is clear to me  there have been bullies on every staff  I have been a part of. This is not new. What does seem to be new is the current focus on student issues of bullying and the lack of attention given to staff issues of bullying. Lets begin by  identifying a few of  signs  of bullying exhibited by staff members. Are any of these four behaviors present among your staff? (you may want to check out the back tables at your staff meetings. Bullies often sit with a familiar group at these tables.)

Staff members making sarcastic comments about students and other staff members.

Emails written by a staff member sent to all staff members criticizing the practices of colleagues.

Staff members at faculty and district meetings using a tone that is intimidating  and shuts down open discussion.

Staff members mocking or minimizing compromise, collaboration, and/or consensus.

If any of these behaviors are occurring, then you have some bullying present in your organization.

Here are some ways to foster a more collaborative culture:

Model respect and professionalism in your communication. Work to make this a norm at all meetings.

Be well planned for your meetings. Use strategies that encourage and value all opinions and ideas. Use pairs, triads, and other groupings to ensure input from all staff members.

Define consensus and practice it during your meetings. Check out Langford tools for some great strategies at langfordlearning.com.

Foster a culture of collaboration in everything you do.

Address bullying with those individuals that are engaging in this behavior.  Be consistent and do it in a professional, private, confidential manner.

Thomas Hoerr writes; “We don’t allow students to control or take advantage of others, so why should we allow adults to do so?”

Encourage all staff members to do their part in not accepting bullying behavior.

For a great article and a deeper understanding on staff bullying check out Thomas Hoerr at http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb13/vol70/num05/Who’s-the-Bully-on-Your-Staff¢.aspx.

Have a great week and find the good stuff!