Were You Bullied or Were You the Bully?
Quick – think back to your early school days – were you bullied or were you the bully? Yes, those are the only two choices I’m giving you.
“But wait,” you might be thinking, “I wasn’t the bully and I wasn’t bullied.” OK, I hear you. Did you know someone who was being bullied? Did you do anything about it? No? Then you assisted the bully, putting you on Team Bully.
This way of thinking about bullying may feel very harsh to you, and you’d be right. It is harsh. It’s unrealistic to expect children to automatically step in to protect someone from a bully, because as humans we have a strong pull toward self-preservation. Plus, children’s brains aren’t fully developed and they don’t have the variety of life experiences, not to mention the confidence level, that would help them spot and report, or stop, a bully.
But we’re all adults here – let’s talk about the bullying that goes on in your...
Bullies in the Hospital
Do you have a staffer in your hospital who’s a bully? Sadly, that’s very common in veterinary hospitals and is very destructive for morale.
It’s like when mom and I go to the park for a walk and that big border collie stares at me really hard – it makes me nervous and it’s hard to concentrate. That’s how your people feel when a staffer bullies them – they’re always on edge and even a bit unfocused.
This is true about bullies – they are that way because they are insecure. When Mom works with hospital teams that have a bully, she encourages them all to share what they appreciate about each other. When you focus on what’s good about team members even the bully feels heard, seen and appreciated.
I’m Kacey and I love veterinarians!
