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Leader No. 2:
Take the case of a senior marketing executive, female, hired for her ability to achieve results,
with a sense of clear direction and known for her tenacity.
Her mandate is to reshape a team, manage-out non-performers, build and execute a marketing
strategy, and successfully manage change. Strong, assertive women in the workplace are often
perceived as being bossy or a bully not just by employees, but often their peers
Eight months into her position, she is terminated by her company due to false allegations of
bullying made by one of her direct reports.
The company failed to investigate the matter until it went to litigation, as pursued by the
terminated executive. The investigation revealed that due to ongoing poor performance by the
employee, a false claim of bullying was made as a way of keeping the job safe.
The damage was already done, the company had lost a valuable executive, and there was
reputational damage.
In many cases, companies fail to investigate the matters appropriately which can lead to
managers being exited out of organizations.
Managers have to manage performance, discuss problems, set objectives and provide coaching.
Management direction is not considered bullying as long as actions taken are documented and
reasonable. By having clear policies and examples around bullying, companies should protect
their employees and their leaders and ensure they are creating a culture of trust and transparency.
Amrita Bhalla is managing director of AB Consulting (@ABConsulting_hr), which provides HR
services to clients globally. She has more than 15 years of experience as a senior executive in
Europe, Asia and Canada.
PRE-READING
Title: Is there a defence against false claims of bullying?
Author: Amrita Bhalla
Date: November 24, 2015
Source: The Globe and Mail (newspaper) www.theglobeandmail.com
A growing file of legislation, court rulings and company initiatives protects employees from
being bullied or harassed in the workplace. Creating a psychologically safe work environment is
a critical objective for companies.
However, there is a flip-side to these positive steps with negative consequences, specifically on
false claims of bullying.
For an ethical manager, to be falsely accused of bullying or harassment can be damaging to their
reputation and confidence.
Typically, these false claims are coming from employees who are under-performing, have a fear
of losing their job or who have a personality clash with a manager.
In the last few months, leaders have shared their stories of similar retaliatory tactics from their
employees. Here are two cases:
Leader No. 1:
Performance issues tend to be difficult conversations whether they are with a direct report, a
manager, a peer, or a boss.
The HR department investigated and determined that the manager had acted properly within the
scope of performance conversation.
A bigger issue was the hidden recording, a practice that is inadmissible in court.
The employee was advised that such practices are not in good faith and put on a performance
improvement plan for 30 days.
The companys code of conduct has since been revised to ban the practice of recording
conversations.
Leader No. 2:
Take the case of a senior marketing executive, female, hired for her ability to achieve results,
with a sense of clear direction and known for her tenacity.
Her mandate is to reshape a team, manage-out non-performers, build and execute a marketing
strategy, and successfully manage change.
Eight months into her position, she is terminated by her company due to false allegations of
bullying made by one of her direct reports.
PRE-READING
The company failed to investigate the matter until it went to litigation, as pursued by the
terminated executive.
The damage was already done, the company had lost a valuable executive, and there was
reputational damage.
In many cases, companies fail to investigate the matters appropriately which can lead to
managers being exited out of organizations.
Managers have to manage performance, discuss problems, set objectives and provide coaching.
Management direction is not considered bullying as long as actions taken are documented and
reasonable. By having clear policies and examples around bullying, companies should protect
their employees and their leaders and ensure they are creating a culture of trust and transparency.
Amrita Bhalla is managing director of AB Consulting (@ABConsulting_hr), which provides HR
services to clients globally. She has more than 15 years of experience as a senior executive in
Europe, Asia and Canada.
In your own words, write what you learned from pre-reading the article?
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