How to empower others?

Are you being bullied? Have you been bullied before? It took me 34 years to be bullied. Which is why it hit me so hard. Very few individuals would succeed in bullying me physically, so my susceptibility came subtly to a vindictive and emotionally insecure boss. A clever practitioner of subversion, it took the shape of exclusion, constant belittling, bad mouthing to others and power games, for which I was ill prepared.

I have studied bullying since, and have discoverd some defense mechanisms for my particular weaknesses. I was absolutely astounded by the numbers of people who are bullied. Some estimates are that between 25% and 90% of school children in America are bullied sometime during their school career.

If you are a bullying victim, you have probably been carefully selected as a potential target, in an attempt to satisfy a deep seated inferiority or vulnerability. Much of this is subconscious on the part of the bully but has become a habit which fuels the need to feel better. Being bullied is very lonely because it is very often difficult to detect, and often tolerated or even promoted in the workplace.

This blog is about empowerment. Please add your comments and share what has worked for you as we combat bullying in the workplace and at schools. Let us learn from and coach each other as we share a common ailment - victimisation. It's about fighting back and taking back one's self respect from those bullying cowards who would trample over it.

Bryn Harries