A Case Study on How Bullies Deflect by Destroying Whistleblowers

The Queen of Spin is at it again. After a hiatus where we were spared from listening to Kellyanne Conway spread misinformation all over the daily news cycle, she recently sparred with CNN’s Chris Cuomo in full exhibition of bullying as she masterfully manipulated, distorted and denied the truth. There’s no denying how perfectly she inhabits the role of Trump surrogate.

It’s hard not to imagine Conway as the adult version of the flawlessly blond, treacherous and manipulative bully Regina George in the 2004 movie Mean Girls. In the movie, Regina attacks her rival, Cady (played by Lindsay Lohan), by spreading the high school equivalent of misinformation. Until Regina’s final comeuppance (which requires being hit by a bus—what a metaphor!) she has absolutely no scruples about doing whatever it takes to get her way.

I have done extensive research on bullies and Conway (and her colleague Sarah Huckabee Sanders) are textbook examples of how bullies operate. Most appalling is their defense of outright lies and the assumption that people really are that gullible. Even more disturbing is the message that this sends to youth—that it is OK to lie to get your way. I watch with amazement as the Trumpniks use bullying tactics right out of the Steve Bannon playbook and try to turn victims into villains by recasting whistleblowers as leakers. (Something I discuss in detail in the chapter on whistleblowers in my book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire). This is so typical of how bullies operate, which is perfectly captured in yesterday’s piece by Joshua Green in New York Magazine, which crystallizes Bannon’s strategy on his bully boss’s behalf perfectly: “Attack, Attack, Attack.”

I wonder if Conway and company have considered the fact these mendacities have gone beyond bullying, beyond lying and are making them complicit in something that’s starting to look very much like treason.

Photo credit: CNN

What to Do When Your Boss Asks You to Compromise Your Ethics

Employees being asked to act immorally by their boss have become far too common. The dilemma is—what to do? And how to do you weigh the price that whistleblowers usually have to pay such as lack of advancement, alienation and even reprisal? Daniel Victor in the New York Times’ Smarter Living column explored this question recently and based on my research forFrom Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire, I disagree with some of the advice he offers.

I agree with Victor that employees should first make sure that they didn’t misunderstand their supervisor’s request. There are times when things are poorly stated and it’s imperative that this isn’t misinterpreted. But let’s say that the request was crystal clear—what do you do next?

 First, determine if this request restricted to just this manager in this department, or is it something being enacted throughout the organization? Second, forego human resources, which in my experience is usually part of the problem, and send an anonymous note to the audit committee of the Board of Directors apprising them of an ethics issue and request an investigation. In your note indicate that if there is no response within a set limit of time you will seek external recourse with legal representation, the media, or both.

Under no circumstances would I recommend following Victor’s advice to expose the situation internally—this could be fraught with danger. Had the employees who went from victim to villain at Wells Fargo exposed the scandal in the manner I advocate, their story would have had a far happier ending.

Photo credit: BIGSTOCK

Why Organizations Fail

It does little good to relive Donald Trump’s latest offensive tweets (after all, you never know what he’ll send out at 3 a.m.). The truth is that Trump doesn’t use Twitter to communicate; he uses it to cyberbully a nation. The results have been toxic—respect for America is down around the world, he’s sowed seeds of doubt about the nation’s electoral process, civil servants, courts, and, of course, the media. According to Ezra Klein on Vox: “Six months into his term, Trump’s policy achievements are few and thin, but he has coarsened our politics, shown the power of shamelessness, undermined our faith in each other and ourselves, modeled behavior we would punish children for exhibiting, and implicated all of us in the running fiasco of his presidency. He has diminished the country he promised to make great.”

Trump’s bullying tactics cannot be denied. Charles M. Blow took it a step further in an op-ed in the New York Times, when he pointed out that Trump’s ongoing rants reveal exactly how he defiles the office of president.  “Rather than rising to the honor of the office, Trump has lowered the office with his whiny, fragile, vindictive pettiness. The presidency has been hijacked.

What Trump is doing to America goes on every day in organizations led by bully bosses. What really jumps out for me is how insecure they really are, hiding behind a dangerous veneer of abrasiveness. Their biggest fear is being exposed as frauds who prey on people's fear—using hate as a weapon.

Andrew Faas is the author of From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire

Illustration credit: BIGSTOCK 

Abuse Charges Against Australian Cardinal Points to Disjointed Culture

There’s a reason why I used the Catholic Church as an example of disjointed workplace culture in my book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire. A disjointed culture is typified by a hierarchical and bureaucratic culture that tries to accommodate everyone. In a disjointed culture process is substituted for purpose, regional employees work in silos, there are few checks and balances, and bullies can operate freely.

Yesterday’s news that Australian Cardinal George Pell, Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy at the Vatican, has been charged with sexual assault should open up a serious look at not just at the allegations, but more importantly at Pope Francis’s actions when it comes to charges of sexual abuse. It’s extremely alarming that Pell wasn’t thoroughly investigated before being elevated to cardinal. Given this continuing lapse in judgment, the Church shouldn’t dispense any kind of moral authority until it cleans up its own house. Small wonder that congregations are shrinking along with the Church’s ability to attract and retain candidates for the priesthood.

Photo credit: News.com.au

Debating ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) is Just Plain Dumb

Do you know the buzzword for measuring a company’s commitment to ecological sustainability, the community and corporate governance? It’s ESG and it stands for “environmental, social and governance.” Andrew Ross Sorkin discusses this in his New York Times DealBook piece, “Can Good Corporate Citizenship Be Measured?” According to Sorkin, ESG has become the key metric of any investment decision and companies that are being considered need to prove that they are responsible in all three categories.

ESG got some attention recently because of a study by the Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch Global Research unit that measured investment results over a 10-year period since 2005.  According to study author Savita Subramanian, “I’ve never seen anything as effective as ESG characteristics when it comes to anticipating future earnings and volatility of U.S. corporations.”

However, there are those who might contest the connection between ESG and improved performance—but it’s a dumb debate. Those who don’t embrace ESG are in danger of following in the tracks of Uber, Volkswagen and Wells Fargo.

Andrew Faas is the author of From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire

Photo credit: BIGSTOCK 

When it Comes to Doing Right By Your Coworker, Forget HR

What does it mean to be a bystander in a toxic workplace? Sometimes it means being forced to decide between doing what you know is right and protecting your job. In this excellent installment of The Ethicist in the New York Times Magazine, Kwame Anthony Appiah discusses the quandary of an office worker who knows a young coworker was unjustly fired. The advice given is very sound and reflects the situation that many people face at work. In a perfect world, the correspondent should have been able to go to human resources with her problem. However, as I discuss in From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire, in toxic cultures human resources is part of the problem, rather than being part of the solution—which is what makes Appiah’s advice in the column so on target.

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Bill Cosby to Teach Sexual Predator Wannabes How to Get Away With It

At times there seems like there are two Bill Cosbys. The first was THE comedian of the second half of the 20th century, the man who made everyone laugh with his bestselling comedy albums, reassured children with wonderful animated shows like Fat Albert and Little Bill, and inspired as the lovable Dr. Heathcliff  Huxtable on The Cosby Show. Who didn’t fantasize being invited to visit the Huxtable living room and listen to Christopher Plummer spout Shakespeare and B.B. King sing the blues?

Then there’s the current Cosby, the sexual predator who has been accused by 60 women of having drugged and sexually violated them. This is the Cosby who characterizes all of those women as liars and had the audacity to complain that former Pennsylvania District Attorney Bruce Castor reneged on his deal never to criminally charge him—even though that deal was illegal.  This is the sexual predator who wants to travel across the United States convening “Town Halls” on how not to get accused of being sexual predator. Or, as Christina Cauterucci on Slate put it—“Bill Cosby Wants to Teach Cheating Husbands and Male Athletes How Not to Get Accused of Rape.”

In other words, the real Cosby.

It should be clear by now that Cosby, like many sexual predators, is a bully. He attacks those who call him out with false accusations implying that his victims’ initial openness and trust was an invitation to sexual intimacy. And his talents at deflection would put Donald Trump to shame. According to attorney Gloria Allred who represents a number of women who have accused Cosby of assault, these proposed Town Halls are actually an insidious strategy. She recently told the New York Times that the “workshops appear to be a transparent and slick effort to attempt to influence the jury pool from which jurors will be selected for his second criminal trial.”

The only thing anyone needs to know is if you don’t want to be accused of sexual abuse—DON’T ABUSE ANYONE. These transparent attempts to turn his victims into villains and regain public sympathy are sinister and chilling.  

Andrew Faas is the author of From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire.

Photo credit: MMM

Frustrated Board and Shareholders Put Cash Flows Before Bros -- Finally!

Activist board members and shareholders can be a last line of defense when a CEO is bullying his entire company, which is why Uber CEO Travis Kalanick resigned today.  According to reports, investors demanded that he step down, in what New York Times reporter Mike Isaac described as an “outright rebellion.”

Some news sources were more cynical about the departure. The tech news site Pando said that Silicon Valley puts “cash flows before bros,” but whatever you believe, it’s about time. I’ve been calling for Kalanick’s resignation for months as this textbook case of a Silicon Valley “bro” who mismanaged the company he founded and allowed the regular abuse of his employees has dominated business headlines. It’s amazing how motivated people can be to stop abuse when their investment is at risk.

According to Adrienne LaFrance at the Atlantic, “It was ultimately concerns over the bottom line—not merely the toxic culture, or Kalanick’s trademark hubris, or explosive allegations of sexual harassment, or revelations about Uber’s secret software to evade of law enforcement—that forced Kalanick out. Well, out of his job as CEO, that is. He’ll still be on Uber’s board of directors, and he will retain his control of a majority of Uber’s voting shares.”

This doesn’t sit well with Benjamin Edelman at Harvard Business Review. He sees Uber’s troubles as deep and systemic: “I suggest that the problem at Uber goes beyond a culture created by toxic leadership. The company’s cultural dysfunction, it seems to me, stems from the very nature of the company’s competitive advantage: Uber’s business model is predicated on lawbreaking. And having grown through intentional illegality, Uber can’t easily pivot toward following the rules.” For this reason, Edelman is calling for regulators to shut down the company.

I’ve discussed all of these issues at length in my book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire, and dedicated the entire first third of the book to the critical question—“Is Your Workplace Culture a Ticking Time Bomb?” The bottom line is that Uber was a ticking time bomb, but shareholders finally got it right. Investors and boards have a responsibility to employees to be responsible for a psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplace. I’m glad to see that they’ve stepped up at last. Maybe now we can have a news cycle without Uber dominating the business headlines.

Illustration credit: Jack Ohman/Sacramento Bee

A Bully Sheriff with the Power to Change Murder to Suicide

It’s a chilling case—a young, single mother dies from a gunshot wound that is consistent with homicide and the powerful sheriff covers up for her boyfriend, a deputy sheriff. 

The power of the sheriff in St. Augustine, FL is frighteningly similar to our current Bully-in-Chief. Happy when he’s being praised and glib before an audience, Sherrif David B. Shoar doesn’t like to be crossed. In fact, when Florida Department of Law Enforcement Agent Rusty Rodgers was sent to investigate the poorly handled case, Shoar spread lies and innuendo to try to get Rodgers fired. It’s upsetting how discrediting the opposition has become the norm. The result is no justice for the victim, no closure for the family, endless grief for the investigator and a bully drunk with power. The parallels with the bully currently in control of the nation are chilling.  

Photo credit: City of St. Augustine

Cosby Proves Once Again Bullies Turn Victims into Villains

We like to think that we’re a society that protects the vulnerable, but the continued power of celebrity bullies like Bill Cosby and Bill O’Reilly makes you wonder. Both bad Bills are fond of the bully’s favorite tactic—turning their victims into villains. In Cosby’s case it’s the brave woman who came forward to seek justice for being sexually abused. O’Reilly meanwhile is promising an all-out assault on those who put an end to his decades of misbehavior by promising an “exposé” of a “left-wing cabal”—just as soon as his current legal quagmire is finished, of course.

It makes me feel deeply that hope is in short supply when it comes to helping victims seek justice.

At least O’Reilly is widely known as a bully, braggart and blowhard. His ability to avoid justice has been due in part thanks to his late friend and fellow bully and sexual predator Roger Ailes, but the accusations against him have been no surprise.

This is contrary to Cosby, who was beloved by an entire generation for his clean humor, intelligent children’s cartoons and endearing turn as Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show. That’s why the revelation of multiple cases of rape and molestation has been such a shock. When America’s favorite dad turns out to be a serial sexual predator, how are victims expected to get any sort of closure?

This is where the justice system is flawed. More than 40 women have come forward with stories about being sexually violated by Cosby, but the trial allowed the testimony of only one of them. This made the trial a case of he said/she said without giving the jury the full picture. Why should they listen to a young woman against the word of the most lovable father figure of the 1980s?

The system is clearly stacked against people who are targeted, especially if they’re marginalized or not people of means. Tragically, this allows bullies to think of themselves as bullet-proof and continue their misdeeds. No wonder so many of us are losing faith in the justice system.

Photo credit: The Blaze/Getty