dealing with business bullies

Are you a business bully?

I don’t know what has happened lately…. Is there something in the water? When did people start becoming unreasonable and down right mean? I’ve noticed  that there is a surge in the form of a business bullies or as I like to call them jerks.

It’s like people have become self entitled, too time poor to read instructions, have grabbed hold of the phrase the ‘customer is always right’ even if they are wrong. People are loving to point fingers, laying blame and not taking responsibility.  They suck your soul, break down your boundaries and destroy your confidence.

I get that there is an expectation of service delivery. I get that some people/business suck at delivering what they say they will. But is it really necessary to stamp feet like a spoilt toddler when something doesn’t go your way? It’s not going to get you anywhere.

Just to clarify – I’ve been lucky enough not to have had to deal with a business bully in (thankfully) over two years, but I see it affecting colleagues, hence the prompt for this post.

How to deal with business bullies

Unfortunately you can’t run off to the Principals office to dob them in. However you have the power to turn things around.

Educate

Prevention is often better than a cure.

A business bully is out for one thing, and that’s themselves. Generally they’ll be the nicest person in the world, until they don’t get what they want, they misunderstand and get things wrong.

Make sure everything is on the table for both parties before you start a project.  What’s not included, what is included. Have it in writing. Spend time educating your client about expectations, processes and make sure they understand.

You know that old saying about the word “Assume”.

Walk away

Sometimes, there are people you just aren’t going to please. That’s life.

You’ve got to know when to walk away. If someone is sucking your will to live, politely say, “I am sorry this is not working I think you need to find someone else”.

It’s about boundaries and not rewarding unacceptable (childish) behaviour. If you have to refund do it. It’s just not worth your energy or your sanity.

Are you a business bully?

Do you constantly feel like you’re not getting what you asked for? Are you always complaining?

It’s likely it’s you, and not them.

Perhaps it’s time to take a good hard look at yourself young lady/man. Yes we understand that you paid good money for x. Yes we understand that you should get a certain level of service.

Look at the way you communicate, become more aware of your expectations, take time to understand and if things don’t go your way, state your case, build a bridge and move on. No one thinks an adult chucking a tantrum is cute.

And just stop being mean!

It’s not hard to be nice. People will generally bend over backwards for people who are nice. It is a rarity these days.

Have you had an experience with someone who was just not nice when they didn’t get their way in business? How did you deal with it? Leave a comment below!

 

2 thoughts on “Are you a business bully?”

  1. Great post, Nicki. It’s so true what you say about people bending over backwards for NICE people – what business bullies don’t realise is they make themselves so difficult to deal with that the person working for them just wants to be rid of them sooner. Which equals ‘bare minimum’ work and effort because they’re not inclined to go above and beyond for a jerk.

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