Grace Under Fire: III

The first two parts in this series examined techniques people use to cause others to "lose it" — to lose control of their emotions — in meetings. This part and the next examine other abusive tactics that are more narrowly focused on wearing down a target by introducing into the target's life a continuous sense of fear, anxiety, or stress. The immediate objective of these tactics might differ from the immediate objective of the tactics discussed earlier. For these tactics, emotional breakdown of the target is the primary goal — it need not be witnessed by anyone. If emotional breakdown occurs when witnesses are present, that's just a bonus from the abuser's perspective, rather than a primary objective.

Intentionally trying to "break" someone makes little sense to most of us. But many abusers do have purposes in mind, ranging from deeply unhealthy to politically cynical. Abusers might feel driven to engage in abuse, compelled by internal forces that most emotionally healthy people can't even grasp — thank goodness. Or abusers might be seeking revenge for some real or imagined offense by the target or by someone the target cares about. Or the abuser might be trying to motivate the target to leave the company or transfer elsewhere within it. Or the abuser might have been ordered to abuse the target by someone else who has the power to derail the abuser's career if the abuser doesn't cooperate. Purposes vary, and conjuring dozens more examples would not be difficult.

To create Intentionally trying to "break"
someone makes little sense to
most of us. But many abusers
do have purposes in mind.in the target a continuous sense of fear, anxiety, or stress, the abuser (whom I'll call Alpha) must persuade the target (whom I'll call Theta) that Alpha can substantially degrade Theta's quality of life at work and maybe even life at home. Persuading Theta of this is relatively easy if Alpha is Theta's supervisor, or if Alpha is even higher in Theta's supervisory chain. Or perhaps Theta believes that Alpha is capable of organizational blackmail, as might be the case if Alpha knows something about Theta's background or situation that Theta would rather Alpha not disclose. Whatever the circumstance, such an imbalance of power is assumed in the set of tactics Alpha can use to create in Theta's life a sense of fear, anxiety, or stress.

Let me begin with the most obvious tactic: threatening termination or disciplinary action. In this scenario, Alpha indicates to Theta that termination procedures — or other procedures that could lead to disciplinary action of some kind — are either underway or about to be underway.

In most organizations, actually invoking such procedures is a laborious, bureaucratic process. For this reason, Alpha might prefer not to do so for real, but might instead choose to persuade Theta that such procedures have been invoked, when in fact they have not. For example, Alpha might require Theta to sign an official looking but totally fake document that states that Theta understands that these procedures have been invoked.

To defend themselves against such subterfuge, targets can educate themselves about formal termination and disciplinary procedures. Then when their abusers try these fraudulent tactics, targets can recognize them and avoid the stress and anxiety that abusers are trying to induce. Avoiding the stress and anxiety helps targets think clearly and avoid "losing it."

Thinking clearly can be a significant advantage in such situations. For example, when presented with such an official-looking document to sign, Theta might say to Alpha, "OK, I'll sign, but I'd like to read it first. And I'd like a representative of Human Resources to be here in case I have any questions. So call Marty please. Oh yeah, and I'd like a copy for myself signed by you if you don't mind."

Such an approach would help screen out the fake-document ploy described above. It would compel Alpha to follow the formal procedure, which would probably be safer for Theta than whatever Alpha had in mind. The ultimate outcome might still be termination or a disciplinary action, but at least Theta would know that the rules would be in force.

Next time we'll look at some less formal tactics Alpha can use to break Theta: lying, deception, false accusations, and the like. First in this series  Next in this series  Top    Next Issue

Are you fed up with tense, explosive meetings? Are you or a colleague the target of a bully? Destructive conflict can ruin organizations. But if we believe that all conflict is destructive, and that we can somehow eliminate conflict, or that conflict is an enemy of productivity, then we're in conflict with Conflict itself. Read 101 Tips for Managing Conflict to learn how to make peace with conflict and make it an organizational asset. Order Now!

Your comments are welcome

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Conflict Management:

Obstructionist Tactics: II

Teams and groups depend for their success on highly effective cooperation between their members. If even one person is unable or unwilling to cooperate, the team's performance is limited. Here's Part II of a little catalog of tactics.

False Consensus

Most of us believe that our own opinions are widely shared. We overestimate the breadth of consensus about controversial issues. This is the phenomenon of false consensus. It creates trouble in the workplace, but that trouble is often avoidable.

What Do You Need?

When working issues jointly with others, especially with one other, we sometimes hear, "What do you need to make this work?" Your answers can doom your effort — or make it a smashing success.

How Workplace Bullies Use OODA: I

Workplace bullies who succeed in carrying on their activities over a long period of time rely on more than mere intimidation to escape prosecution. They proactively shape their environments to make them safe for bullying. The OODA model gives us insights into how they accomplish this.

Face-Off Negotiations

In difficult face-to-face negotiations — or any face-to-face negotiations — seating arrangements do matter. Here's an exploration of one common seating pattern.

See also Conflict Management and Workplace Politics for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming December 15: Do My Job

A popular guideline in modern workplaces is "do your job." The idea is that if we all do our jobs, success is most likely. But some supervisors demand that subordinates do their own jobs, plus the jobs of their supervisors. It rarely works out well. Available here and by RSS on December 15.

And on December 22: Internal Audits Without Pain

If adhering to established procedures is part of your job, you probably experience occasional audits. You can manage the pain of the experience by regarding audit preparation as part of the job. Because it is. Here are some tips for navigating audits. Available here and by RSS on December 22.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenEQuetChPjwYBDxmgner@ChacxXTxBssoFmfDfMugoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info

Public seminars

The Power Affect: How We Express Our Personal Power

Many people who possess real organizational power have a characteristic demeanor. It's the way they project their presence. I call this the power affect. Some people — call them power pretenders — adopt the power affect well before they attain significant organizational power. Unfortunately for their colleagues, and for their organizations, power pretenders can attain organizational power out of proportion to their merit or abilities. Understanding the power affect is therefore important for anyone who aims to attain power, or anyone who works with power pretenders. Read more about this program.

• A recording of a program presented June 29, 2017, Monthly Webinar, sponsored by Technobility Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
   
• A recording of a program presented June 29, 2017, Monthly Webinar, sponsored by Technobility Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
   

Bullet Points: Mastery or Madness?

Decision makers in modern organizations commonly demand briefings in the form of bullet points or a series of series of bullet points. But this form of presentation has limited value for complex decisions. We need something more. We actually need to think. Briefers who combine the bullet-point format with a variety of persuasion techniques can mislead decision makers, guiding them into making poor decisions. Read more about this program.

• A recording of a program presented June 24, 2020, Monthly Webinar, sponsored by Technobility Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
   
• A recording of a program presented June 24, 2020, Monthly Webinar, sponsored by Technobility Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.