How to Deal with a Toxic Boss (Micromanager, Narcissist & Bully Guide)
Bad bosses don’t just ruin your day—they can destroy your confidence and make you question your sanity.
If you’re dealing with a toxic work environment, a micromanaging boss, or constant gaslighting, this episode is your survival guide.
We are joined by Lynda Harvey (aka the Management Guru) to break down the three most common toxic manager types: the Micromanager, the Narcissist, and the Bully. We share the exact scripts and strategies you need to "train your boss," protect your peace with the Gray Rock method, and know exactly when it’s time to exit.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
The 3 Toxic Archetypes: How to spot toxic boss behavior before it breaks you.
The "Train Your Boss" Technique: Proactive steps to stop a micromanaging boss in their tracks (like calling them before they call you).
Narcissist Neutralization: Using the "Gray Rock" theory to handle gaslighting, lack of accountability, and credit-stealing
Document or Depart: The "detective" method for handling workplace bullying and when to go to HR (or the EEOC).
Chapters
01:04 Meet Lynda Harvey (Management Guru)
03:28 The micromanager that broke the system
6:29 Why she started training managers
8:06 The 3 toxic boss types
8:24 The real problem: managers aren’t trained
9:08 How bad managers get created
10:15 Micromanagers: control + mistrust
12:38 Two micromanagers (including the “necessary evil”)
13:51 How to manage a micromanager (observe + get ahead)
15:35 If they don’t change: your decision point
17:21 Narcissistic bosses (men + women)
18:15 Narcissist patterns: blame, gaslight, control
19:33 When you outshine them: isolation + stolen credit
23:16 Gray rock: stay boring, stay safe
24:31 Documentation that protects you
26:51 Script your responses (3 options)
28:17 Bully bosses: what counts (and why it’s messy)
30:03 Document like a detective (proof matters)
31:47 Direct conversation vs. escalation
34:07 Escalate: HR, EEOC, and exit plan
35:00 The big takeaway (and what to do next)
35:54 Managing high performers
37:31 One-size leadership doesn’t work
About the Guest:
Lynda Harvey teaches leaders and employees how to speak fluent corporate and navigate toxic work culture without losing their edge.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynda.leads/?hl=en
Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lynda.leads
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndaharvey01/
Stay Connected with Loud & Lifted:
Website: https://www.loudandliftedpodcast.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loudandliftedpodcast/
Sign up for email: https://loud-lifted.kit.com/402d3a8d4a
WEBVTT
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Welcome to Loud and Lifted. I'm your host, Betsy
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Hamm. Today's episode is for anyone who's ever
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opened their laptop and thought, great, what
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flavor of chaos are we dealing with today? Because
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we're talking about the three boss types that
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can quietly wreck your confidence and, honestly,
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your career. The micromanager, the narcissist,
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and the bully boss. I'm joined by Linda Harvey.
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You might know her as the management guru from
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TikTok. And her mission is simple. She wants
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to help you lead, speak fluent corporate, and
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protect your piece at work without losing your
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edge. We dig into why this is so common, a hint
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most new managers never actually get formal training,
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and what you can actually do when your boss is
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making work feel impossible. From practical train
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your boss moves to documentation strategies to
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knowing when the healthiest option is just a
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clean exit. Let's get into it. Welcome to Loud
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and Lifted. Linda Harvey, thank you so much for
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being here. Thanks for having me. I'm really
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excited about this conversation. Yeah, this is
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going to be fun because we're going to talk about
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some serious stuff and I have to read just your
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bio from TikTok that says, teaching you how to
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lead, speak fluent corporate and protect your
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piece at work all without losing your edge. That's
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such a great bio and such a great intro. And
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I have to mention that's from TikTok because
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that's actually how I found you. A friend of
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mine is having a tough boss situation and she
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was telling me about it. And, you know, 10 minutes
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later after our conversation, she hangs up and
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goes, this, this is the next thing I see on TikTok.
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She's speaking to me. And of course it was your
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video. Um, so then I went down a rabbit hole
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listening and watching a lot of your videos on
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leadership and management. And I was like, oh
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my gosh, this woman is amazing. You have this
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great, very straightforward, no bullshit, but
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like, I feel like. You're speaking to me in every
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video approach. So before we get into the content
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today, tell me, how did you become this huge
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voice on social media about management and leadership?
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Yeah. So here's the thing. If you would have
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asked me if this is where I was going to be even
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18 months ago, I'd have been like, I think maybe
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you have taken something because I am of a generation
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of you work until you retire. Right. And that's
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what I thought I was going to do. I thought I
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was just going to go into the corporate world
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and work and then eventually like get old and
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not work anymore. And I was in this space. in
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my career where I felt so confident. I felt so
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competent. I knew what I was doing. I like understood
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the work. I understood the assignment. I was
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crushing it. I mean, I was saving my company
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money. I was keeping attrition though. Like I
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was doing all of these things that really aligned
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with all of my skills and I was so excited and
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I hated my job. I hated my job and which was
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such a foreign concept to me because usually
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you don't like your job when it doesn't align
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with what you know or you feel out of your depth
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or it's below you or it's your board. I was challenged.
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I had all of these things and every day I was
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physically ill before I would go to work and
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I worked from home. So that was fun. And I started
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really kind of doing some assessments and realized
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that I was in an environment that felt very toxic
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to me. I had a leader that I felt was very underskilled
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for my performance level, right? Like where I
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was at and someone who just really wanted someone,
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my leader at the time, wanted somebody to come
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in and do everything their way. They wanted me
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to come in and I mean, I remember like I'm a
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head of a department, right? Like I'm a head
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of a department. I've been doing this for 10
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years. Uh, I had saved the company over $600
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,000 in my first six months. Like I had taken
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attrition from like 10 % to 1%. I mean, like
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no, I'm not, I'm not talking like I was just
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like magnetic in a room. I was good at what I
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was doing and I had this boss who was like, well,
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your staff meetings are too long. You need to
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have two 30 -minute staff meetings. And if you're
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not presenting a slide deck in your staff meetings,
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your staff meetings are not effective. And I'm
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like, you don't even come to my staff meetings.
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Why do I need to make this change? Well, that's
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how I do it. Oh, that's what I think is, that's
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what I think is the most effective, right? And
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here's the thing. I came up in customer service
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organizations. I was building and scaling customer
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service organizations. That's full of humans
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who just want to be emotionally supported. They
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don't love the quick hits, right? My leader came
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up through sales organizations and could not
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see the difference between like what you are
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used to doing and what I am good at doing. uh
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and it was everything everything was well you
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didn't do it this way and this is how i would
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have done it and it's like you're paying me for
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a reason you like and i i did at one point in
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time i said with this person i'm like you don't
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you don't need me in this role you just need
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somebody who's going to take whatever order you
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give and execute whatever order that you give
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that's not me oh no i do need somebody in this
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role i do need a dynamic thinker i just need
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them to think the way that i think And I thought,
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again, you don't need me. And I'm a very type
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A personality. I've got to have a plan. I've
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got to know what's going on. I'm very structured.
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And I quit. I quit without a backup plan. I had
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just moved back into the country because my job
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told me I had to be back in the country. I moved
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back into the country for my job. I was living
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in an Airbnb. I had not signed a permanent lease.
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to where I was going next. And I quit my job.
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My husband was in the process of finding work.
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I have two teenagers and I quit my job. That
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is how desperate I felt to get out of this environment.
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And I remember at the time thinking, if I could
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just recommit, if I could just focus differently,
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if I could just show up this way, if I could
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just do these things. And it just wasn't right.
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It just was not the right fit for me. And so
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I started my own company and I went out to try
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and train managers because I felt like my experience
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came from a manager who just was not trained.
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I came from a manager that just didn't have the
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skills to deal with different types of personalities
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or different kinds of performers. And I started
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my company and I was not getting enough traction.
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And so in May of this year, I went to TikTok.
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It was after the ban. Like it came back like
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this has been a whirlwind for me. And I just
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start putting, putting out content, hoping that
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people would feel seen and not feel so alone
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and not feel like they were taking crazy pills
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when they couldn't understand why they were so
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miserable at work. Hmm. Well, you are totally
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killing it. And I think you have like what over
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a half a million people following you between
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TikTok and Instagram. So it's almost 700 ,000.
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So it's a, yeah. Yeah. It's a, it's been doing,
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it's been doing really, really well. That's amazing.
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Well, and like you said, and I mentioned it's,
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it's your approach and you talk about things
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that people don't always want to talk about.
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And, you know, I think part of the issue in our
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world is, is we get so focused on results that
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we don't focus on the people piece of it. And
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people may be really good at a job, but that
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doesn't mean they're good at managing people.
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And that's very different as a different skill
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set. And I think we, as a lot of organizations,
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don't do a good job of making sure managers are
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supported or trained or coached along the way,
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because that manager should have been kicked
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the first time they said, well, you're not doing
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it the way I would do it. It's like, oh my gosh,
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that's a major, major red flag. So that's awesome.
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So I love that you're doing this. So let's dig
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into some of these bad bosses of, you know, what
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does it look like and how do you, how do you
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not support that? How do you deal with that when
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you're on the receiving end? And I mean, perfect
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setup, the micromanager, which is clearly the
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one that pushed you over the edge and caused
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you to rage quit. So first and foremost, I think
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it's really important. And you touched on it,
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like so many individual contributors. So our
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ICs in the organization, are great at their jobs.
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They promote it into management. And there's
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a staggering statistic of 85 % of new managers
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never receive any formal training, which is just
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jarring. And so many organizations no longer
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even offer it. They don't even have in -house
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learning and development, let alone hiring external
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companies. And the first thing that's cut in
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the budget, before they even cut travel, they're
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cutting training. training budgets. So you have
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all of these people who go into these roles,
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they get into these roles and they start to,
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they just mimic what they've seen, right? They're
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just like, my, my old boss did it this way, whether
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it's good or bad, right? Because again, most
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of these people who were individual contributors
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were never really managed. They were high performers.
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They were good at their job. They showed up and
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did the work. They showed up and did all of these
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things. Because they were invested in whatever
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it is that they were doing, or they have this
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in its sense of performance, right? And so they
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go into these roles. And that is where so many
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of these bad managers are born. But then they
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just do all of these things and they manage the
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way that they saw or the way that they think
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they're supposed to do it. Or, you know, oh,
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well, if I bring down the hammer, then this is
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This is what a manager does because I'm a boss,
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right? Because again, they've never experienced
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this. So this is where so many micro managers
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are born because they were a high performer and
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they saw results and then they were promoted
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into this role. So obviously they were doing
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something right. And that is where you get that
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sense of, well, if you just do it my way. Right
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because they believe they'll they'll see somebody
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who performs differently than them, right? They'll
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see somebody who maybe is like a middle -of -the
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-road performer which Spoiler alert most of the
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best managers are middle -of -the -road performers,
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right? Oh, they're people who like are invested
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in the work, but it's not so much about this
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work It's about leading and growing teams and
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and so they're not always like the best performer
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But these high performers who are now managers
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are like, well, I wouldn't do it this way. And
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you have to do it this way because they have
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never had to experience a pivot. They've always
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been on that trajectory of like, I'm just really
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good at what I do and I don't have a lot of setbacks
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and I just kind of go forward. Right. And so
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that's how they feel like they have to manage
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their team. And then when they have these people
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who perform differently than they do. They are
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so concerned with failure, which again is not
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a familiar feeling for them. They're just like,
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Nope, you've got to do it this way. You've got
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to come in and you've got to do it this way.
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And this is the only way that you can do it.
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And that's seated in like a really deep, dark
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place of mistrust. It's really because they don't
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trust their individuals to do things different
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because they don't understand those things. Right.
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So that's how a lot of micromanagers are born
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and You know, they'll say the words that I love
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to hear them use it. Well, I'm a perfectionist,
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right? Right. I'm like welcome to business. There's
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no such thing as perfect, right? Or well, you
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know, I know and and my my manager when we were
00:11:58.870 --> 00:12:02.970
having it out I'm a control freak and I'm never
00:12:02.970 --> 00:12:06.230
going to not be a control freak right almost
00:12:06.230 --> 00:12:09.429
wearing it as a badge of honor Right. Like, well,
00:12:09.429 --> 00:12:11.649
I don't really care what you think because I
00:12:11.649 --> 00:12:13.909
am a control freaking. I love that about me.
00:12:13.990 --> 00:12:16.250
I'm like, okay, then you don't need me. Right.
00:12:16.929 --> 00:12:20.210
But that's where so much of it is where people
00:12:20.210 --> 00:12:22.169
are saying it, but really it comes from a place
00:12:22.169 --> 00:12:25.769
of trust. So micromanagers don't trust you to
00:12:25.769 --> 00:12:28.830
show up. Micromanagers don't trust your process.
00:12:29.870 --> 00:12:32.750
Micromanagers live in this, this environment
00:12:32.750 --> 00:12:37.629
of mistrust. Right. And I there are actually
00:12:37.629 --> 00:12:41.490
two kinds of micromanagers. There is the most
00:12:41.490 --> 00:12:44.250
popular micromanager is the micromanager who
00:12:44.250 --> 00:12:46.509
micromanages again, because they just things
00:12:46.509 --> 00:12:48.230
differently than they do. Right. And so they
00:12:48.230 --> 00:12:50.470
have to guide every single step of the process.
00:12:50.629 --> 00:12:52.690
And then the second type of micromanagement is
00:12:52.690 --> 00:12:56.370
I believe is an actual necessary evil. And these
00:12:56.370 --> 00:12:59.629
are the types of managers who you have shown
00:12:59.629 --> 00:13:04.149
them that you can't do the work. So you're constantly
00:13:04.149 --> 00:13:07.429
underperforming. You're late. You're saying things
00:13:07.429 --> 00:13:09.690
you shouldn't be saying. Like you are doing all
00:13:09.690 --> 00:13:11.230
of these things and you've shown that you are
00:13:11.230 --> 00:13:13.590
not ready for this role or you're not capable
00:13:13.590 --> 00:13:16.429
of doing this role completely. And that's when
00:13:16.429 --> 00:13:18.710
people have to step in and micromanage. And it
00:13:18.710 --> 00:13:22.169
is a tool to help up level people. So sometimes
00:13:22.169 --> 00:13:25.149
it very much is a necessary evil. But I want
00:13:25.149 --> 00:13:29.289
to talk about the bigger one, the big one where
00:13:29.289 --> 00:13:32.269
there are people who just don't trust you to
00:13:32.269 --> 00:13:36.950
do the things. And it's really important I work
00:13:36.950 --> 00:13:40.210
with a lot of clients one -on -one and I get
00:13:40.210 --> 00:13:42.129
a lot of clients who are like, oh, my manager
00:13:42.129 --> 00:13:44.190
just micromanages me to death. And I'm like,
00:13:44.250 --> 00:13:47.149
okay, tell me what they do. Tell me what they're
00:13:47.149 --> 00:13:51.570
doing. And the key to combating a micromanager
00:13:51.570 --> 00:13:55.250
is through observation. And this is what people
00:13:55.250 --> 00:13:58.990
do not pay enough attention to because they,
00:13:59.149 --> 00:14:01.629
we're all the star of our own soap opera, right?
00:14:01.629 --> 00:14:03.909
And so everything's happening to me. But if you
00:14:03.909 --> 00:14:06.840
take a minute and step back and, watch what is
00:14:06.840 --> 00:14:09.000
it that they need. So if they call you every
00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:12.139
single day at four o 'clock to get an update
00:14:12.139 --> 00:14:15.200
on where you are, you call them at three 45.
00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:18.159
You make the phone call before they have the
00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:21.720
time to call you because what they are communicating
00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:24.700
is they don't believe that you are updating them
00:14:24.700 --> 00:14:27.519
enough. They don't believe that you are going
00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:29.980
to give them all of the relevant information.
00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:32.200
And so they have to call you at four before they
00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:35.210
can close their laptop for the day and go home.
00:14:36.529 --> 00:14:38.850
Micromanagers manifest this all of the time.
00:14:38.889 --> 00:14:43.029
They tell you through their micromanagement exactly
00:14:43.029 --> 00:14:46.809
what they need from you. And if you can get proactive
00:14:46.809 --> 00:14:50.730
and learn how to get in front of that and give
00:14:50.730 --> 00:14:53.929
it what they need or show them that you're doing
00:14:53.929 --> 00:14:57.710
the thing they want you to do, that is one way
00:14:57.710 --> 00:15:01.610
to get a micromanager off your back. Interesting.
00:15:01.809 --> 00:15:04.970
Makes sense. I love that, and because you're
00:15:04.970 --> 00:15:07.090
right, it's observing them and realizing, okay,
00:15:07.169 --> 00:15:10.049
just start CCing them on stuff, even though it
00:15:10.049 --> 00:15:12.289
would pain you to have to copy them on that stuff.
00:15:12.690 --> 00:15:14.789
But if you can start to build that trust, hopefully
00:15:14.789 --> 00:15:16.970
most of them will change. I mean, I'm sure there's
00:15:16.970 --> 00:15:18.830
some that aren't. And then if you do have those
00:15:18.830 --> 00:15:20.990
ones, hopefully you can train. It's kind of like
00:15:20.990 --> 00:15:22.710
training your boss, right? You really are training
00:15:22.710 --> 00:15:25.570
your boss. They are telling you how they like
00:15:25.570 --> 00:15:27.690
to be communicated with. They're telling you
00:15:27.690 --> 00:15:30.509
what they need. and you're showing up and you're
00:15:30.509 --> 00:15:33.750
giving them that and they're backing off. Yeah.
00:15:34.169 --> 00:15:37.169
No, that makes sense. What happens if they don't?
00:15:37.289 --> 00:15:40.110
So then you might have a situation like I did
00:15:40.110 --> 00:15:42.990
where it was, Hey, I'm not going to back off
00:15:42.990 --> 00:15:45.370
because I am going to control every single move
00:15:45.370 --> 00:15:48.110
and I want you to be a robot and I want you to
00:15:48.110 --> 00:15:49.929
do these things. And then you have to decide
00:15:49.929 --> 00:15:54.100
if that's in your ability or not. Is this something
00:15:54.100 --> 00:15:57.139
that you can do? Can you show up? Can you surrender
00:15:57.139 --> 00:15:59.740
like your free will? And that's what I felt in
00:15:59.740 --> 00:16:02.179
my situation. I was like, I have to give you
00:16:02.179 --> 00:16:05.679
all of my free will just to keep my job. Then
00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:09.000
you decide, is this a worthwhile endeavor for
00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:12.200
me? Is this the place that I want to be? Because,
00:16:12.419 --> 00:16:14.539
you know, you can train your boss and you can
00:16:14.539 --> 00:16:17.860
teach them how to show up for you in a different
00:16:17.860 --> 00:16:19.519
way. And again, they weren't trained initially.
00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:22.090
So this is you're, you're really customizing
00:16:22.090 --> 00:16:25.210
the training here. Right. But, but if they are
00:16:25.210 --> 00:16:26.710
unwilling to show up and they're unwilling to
00:16:26.710 --> 00:16:28.350
do those things, then you have to decide like,
00:16:28.629 --> 00:16:31.210
how invested am I in this position? Right. Is
00:16:31.210 --> 00:16:33.950
this the right place for me? Can I be personally
00:16:33.950 --> 00:16:35.769
fulfilled? And I think that's also where you
00:16:35.769 --> 00:16:37.549
tap into like, what are your personal needs?
00:16:37.570 --> 00:16:39.769
Like we can talk Maslow's all day long, right?
00:16:39.769 --> 00:16:42.850
But what are my needs? And you know, for me,
00:16:43.090 --> 00:16:45.250
my need is I need to feel trusted. I need to
00:16:45.250 --> 00:16:47.570
feel empowered. I need to feel autonomy, like
00:16:47.570 --> 00:16:50.759
all of these important things. And if I just
00:16:50.759 --> 00:16:53.059
am going through the motions, my mind is bored
00:16:53.059 --> 00:16:55.779
and I can't do these things. And then you evaluate,
00:16:55.779 --> 00:16:58.460
where do you go from there? Yeah. Well, that
00:16:58.460 --> 00:17:00.419
makes total sense. And it's funny because I can
00:17:00.419 --> 00:17:02.899
think of just two different friends in that situation,
00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:06.339
one who probably will end up rage quitting or
00:17:06.339 --> 00:17:07.680
leaving and the other one who's kind of like,
00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:09.380
you know what? I work out the pros and cons.
00:17:09.400 --> 00:17:11.559
I get to work from home. I do X, Y, and Z. It's
00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:13.660
fine. Like, you know, so it's just kind of balancing,
00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:15.759
you know, can you handle the situation? What
00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:18.359
can be changed? Can you train them and then making
00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:20.380
that decision? So yes, I think that's great.
00:17:20.599 --> 00:17:22.319
Great advice. All right. Let's let's talk about
00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:24.579
another one that I feel like we don't talk about
00:17:24.579 --> 00:17:27.460
a lot. And that's a narcissistic boss. And you
00:17:27.460 --> 00:17:29.839
had some great commentary, especially around
00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:32.759
women, which is so true because you say a narcissist.
00:17:33.019 --> 00:17:34.579
I don't know why I'm stereotypical. I think of
00:17:34.579 --> 00:17:38.210
a man, but How about when you have a narcissistic
00:17:38.210 --> 00:17:40.390
woman boss? How does that look and how do we
00:17:40.390 --> 00:17:43.200
handle that? So interestingly enough, their similarity,
00:17:43.539 --> 00:17:45.859
they're the same. They're the exact same type
00:17:45.859 --> 00:17:48.859
of person. But I think, again, to your point,
00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:51.079
we think only men in this, which I don't really
00:17:51.079 --> 00:17:53.299
understand why because I don't know either. You
00:17:53.299 --> 00:17:54.859
know, when you really start to unpack it, you
00:17:54.859 --> 00:17:57.380
hear about like narcissistic mothers and narcissistic
00:17:57.380 --> 00:18:00.740
grandmothers and kind of the control. And I am
00:18:00.740 --> 00:18:02.799
sure that there's lots and lots of studies that
00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:06.799
show us like how why it's so deeply seated in
00:18:06.799 --> 00:18:11.469
in women and in our in our female culture. But
00:18:11.469 --> 00:18:15.210
you know first and foremost Narcissist a narcissist
00:18:15.210 --> 00:18:18.210
is a very clinical term and we need to like just
00:18:18.210 --> 00:18:20.309
because they are mean Doesn't mean they're a
00:18:20.309 --> 00:18:22.289
narcissist just because they like ignore you.
00:18:22.329 --> 00:18:24.710
It doesn't mean they're a narcissist You know,
00:18:24.710 --> 00:18:26.410
I get a lot of people are like they're so mean
00:18:26.410 --> 00:18:30.789
and they say mean things to me. I'm like So I
00:18:30.789 --> 00:18:32.849
can't diagnose that they're a narcissist, but
00:18:32.849 --> 00:18:36.549
there are very similar patterns that are demonstrated
00:18:36.549 --> 00:18:38.509
when you're dealing with somebody who has narcissistic
00:18:38.509 --> 00:18:42.369
tendencies or is an actual narcissist. And these
00:18:42.369 --> 00:18:45.710
are people that never will take the blame. They'll
00:18:45.710 --> 00:18:48.769
never be accountable for anything. Right. So
00:18:48.769 --> 00:18:51.190
you could come and say, like, you punched me
00:18:51.190 --> 00:18:52.910
in the face and they'd be like, well, you made
00:18:52.910 --> 00:18:56.640
me. Like I felt backed into a corner. It was
00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:59.539
the only way that I could react to this situation,
00:18:59.539 --> 00:19:01.900
right? Like it's not because I misbehaved. It's
00:19:01.900 --> 00:19:03.779
actually because you did a thing and now I'm
00:19:03.779 --> 00:19:06.380
doing this thing, right? They have a tendency
00:19:06.380 --> 00:19:09.400
to gaslight you again, because they cannot be
00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:12.460
accountable. They cannot be the villain. They
00:19:12.460 --> 00:19:15.490
have to be the person. who is liked. They have
00:19:15.490 --> 00:19:18.609
to be the person who everybody thinks is capable
00:19:18.609 --> 00:19:21.670
and doing these things no matter what, right?
00:19:22.089 --> 00:19:25.809
And so they will gaslight you. They will, they're
00:19:25.809 --> 00:19:28.950
always in control of the narrative. They will
00:19:28.950 --> 00:19:32.910
praise you until you start to outshine them.
00:19:33.400 --> 00:19:35.980
And when you start to outshine them, they start
00:19:35.980 --> 00:19:38.839
to feel very threatened and then they will isolate
00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:42.460
you and they will shut you down and they will
00:19:42.460 --> 00:19:44.900
limit your visibility. And those things look
00:19:44.900 --> 00:19:47.220
like in the office, like you may have been invited
00:19:47.220 --> 00:19:50.559
to, you know, some some high profile meetings,
00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:52.059
right? And you've come to the meetings, you've
00:19:52.059 --> 00:19:54.079
been prepared, you've been able to speak to them,
00:19:54.259 --> 00:19:57.180
been able to do all of these things and you've
00:19:57.180 --> 00:20:00.289
gotten. accolades for that, or maybe your manager
00:20:00.289 --> 00:20:02.509
has been given praise, like, oh, that Linda,
00:20:02.730 --> 00:20:04.910
she sure is sharp, or she's sure really capable,
00:20:04.970 --> 00:20:08.670
right? This is really incredible. And what someone
00:20:08.670 --> 00:20:11.809
with narcissistic tendencies will do will...
00:20:11.819 --> 00:20:13.359
Oh, you know what? You're not really needed.
00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:16.440
Go ahead and prepare the deck for me. I don't
00:20:16.440 --> 00:20:18.180
actually need you in this meeting. Like it's
00:20:18.180 --> 00:20:19.779
going to be really, really high. It's going to
00:20:19.779 --> 00:20:21.779
be so high level. You don't really need to be
00:20:21.779 --> 00:20:23.440
in there. We're going to discuss things that
00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:26.039
you really don't need eyes on. I'll go ahead
00:20:26.039 --> 00:20:28.900
and take this information, but they will start
00:20:28.900 --> 00:20:32.000
to take credit for the work. Right. And then
00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:35.160
they start to change the narrative about you.
00:20:35.619 --> 00:20:37.220
Oh, well, you know, Linda really wasn't that
00:20:37.220 --> 00:20:40.619
great. I really had to help her a lot. She really
00:20:40.619 --> 00:20:43.579
like. I really had to step in and, you know,
00:20:43.660 --> 00:20:46.380
it got to the point where it was so overwhelming
00:20:46.380 --> 00:20:48.920
to go in and have to re -correct her work that
00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:51.259
I just took it on, right? You're still doing
00:20:51.259 --> 00:20:54.140
the work, but they're taking the credit for it
00:20:54.140 --> 00:20:57.500
because you were outshining or you were the new
00:20:57.500 --> 00:21:02.299
shiny toy. And that just cannot happen. And women,
00:21:02.599 --> 00:21:04.480
it's so funny. I was telling one of my clients
00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:06.220
the other day, like women play the long game.
00:21:06.359 --> 00:21:08.779
Right? Like we, we play, we remember like I,
00:21:08.779 --> 00:21:11.140
I remember in junior high, like I remember the
00:21:11.140 --> 00:21:12.880
person who spread the rumor about me in junior
00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:15.259
high. And if I run into her, I'm going to be
00:21:15.259 --> 00:21:17.079
nice to her face, but I'm still going to remember.
00:21:17.259 --> 00:21:19.579
Right? Like we play, we play the long game. And
00:21:19.579 --> 00:21:23.400
I think when it comes to women in the workplace
00:21:23.400 --> 00:21:26.619
that demonstrate female narcissistic, like these
00:21:26.619 --> 00:21:29.619
characteristics, they just have this super long
00:21:29.619 --> 00:21:32.259
memory and they are more conniving than men.
00:21:32.460 --> 00:21:36.660
Right? Like men, men will insult you and probably
00:21:36.660 --> 00:21:38.480
hit you in the face and then they'll move on.
00:21:38.700 --> 00:21:41.339
It's not a long game for them. Even male narcissists,
00:21:41.460 --> 00:21:43.680
it's not so much a long game. It is still very
00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:46.759
much in the moment where women have got that
00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:48.880
long game. And that's really how it's showing
00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:52.460
up at work for people. But then it's like, okay,
00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:55.160
well, how do I combat this? How do I have these
00:21:55.160 --> 00:21:59.700
conversations? What do I do? And the thing too,
00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:03.339
and I can't stress this piece enough, because
00:22:03.339 --> 00:22:05.000
I get people who are like, well, how do I get
00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:10.670
my narcissistic boss in trouble? You don't. You
00:22:10.670 --> 00:22:13.630
do not get them in trouble the reason they are
00:22:13.630 --> 00:22:16.609
in the position that they are in is They have
00:22:16.609 --> 00:22:19.329
learned how to navigate the politics. That's
00:22:19.329 --> 00:22:21.089
all it is, right? They've learned to navigate
00:22:21.089 --> 00:22:25.390
the politics They tell a compelling story to
00:22:25.390 --> 00:22:28.130
the people who are signing the checks. You cannot
00:22:28.130 --> 00:22:32.069
get them in trouble so it's not about trying
00:22:32.069 --> 00:22:35.410
to get them in trouble or Highlight who they
00:22:35.410 --> 00:22:38.289
are. It's about navigating them and protecting
00:22:38.289 --> 00:22:41.440
yourself and figuring out how to get out from
00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:44.819
underneath, because that is not a sustainable
00:22:44.819 --> 00:22:49.099
environment, right? And truthfully, like, I'm
00:22:49.099 --> 00:22:51.299
sure many therapists would say it's just like
00:22:51.299 --> 00:22:54.900
any abusive relationship. True. Like, you're
00:22:54.900 --> 00:22:56.940
not meant to be in those long, I mean, you're
00:22:56.940 --> 00:22:59.240
not meant to be in them at all, but you are not
00:22:59.240 --> 00:23:01.920
meant to be in them long term. Think of this
00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:04.279
as an abusive relationship and you need to learn
00:23:04.279 --> 00:23:07.920
how how do you survive? So you can protect yourself
00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:10.599
protect your peace and make an exit plan and
00:23:10.599 --> 00:23:13.819
you do things like not reacting not engaging
00:23:13.819 --> 00:23:17.180
There's a theory called the gray rock theory
00:23:17.180 --> 00:23:19.799
where it's just you just don't give anything
00:23:19.799 --> 00:23:22.579
So they come and try and bait you with oh you
00:23:22.579 --> 00:23:27.059
look really tired today. I do that's weird Yeah,
00:23:27.099 --> 00:23:29.420
like you look really tired. Why are you so tired?
00:23:30.129 --> 00:23:33.250
You know, I didn't really, why would you, why
00:23:33.250 --> 00:23:34.849
would you say I look tired? Well, your hair is
00:23:34.849 --> 00:23:36.990
a mess. Oh, that's weird. I haven't even looked
00:23:36.990 --> 00:23:39.150
in the mirror today. Right? Like you are not
00:23:39.150 --> 00:23:42.589
giving. Oh, unbothered. Anything. Because what
00:23:42.589 --> 00:23:44.529
they're trying to do and they feed on the chaos
00:23:44.529 --> 00:23:46.769
and they feed on the drama and they're just trying
00:23:46.769 --> 00:23:48.630
to hook you. They're just trying to hook you
00:23:48.630 --> 00:23:51.210
into this conversation. So how can you not do
00:23:51.210 --> 00:23:55.250
that? Uh, or it's like, I talk a lot about like,
00:23:55.390 --> 00:23:57.369
it's a calm approach, right? Like you look them
00:23:57.369 --> 00:23:59.890
in the eye. Good morning. Hello. and you move
00:23:59.890 --> 00:24:01.990
on, right? It gives them a sense of stability.
00:24:02.130 --> 00:24:03.990
So you create the sense of stability, but you
00:24:03.990 --> 00:24:06.690
don't react. If they're blowing up in a meeting,
00:24:06.690 --> 00:24:09.930
it's, okay, I hear what you're saying. This is
00:24:09.930 --> 00:24:13.490
the next plan. It's all about keeping your cool
00:24:13.490 --> 00:24:17.630
and staying very on it. Like detachment is the
00:24:17.630 --> 00:24:21.529
key in this. And just, it's not, not working.
00:24:21.650 --> 00:24:23.589
Like you're still going to work. You're just
00:24:23.589 --> 00:24:26.809
not emotionally investing and you're not allowing
00:24:26.809 --> 00:24:30.690
them to emotionally invest. take from you. And
00:24:30.690 --> 00:24:33.410
then it's about documentation, right? If you
00:24:33.410 --> 00:24:35.569
are in some, a situation where you're feeling
00:24:35.569 --> 00:24:39.269
gaslit every conversation, you should send follow
00:24:39.269 --> 00:24:41.289
-up notes. Hey, this is what I took from the
00:24:41.289 --> 00:24:43.950
conversation. Let me know if I missed anything.
00:24:44.049 --> 00:24:46.789
Right. And it's not about getting their validation.
00:24:47.069 --> 00:24:49.009
It's about, Hey, this, this is what I took from
00:24:49.009 --> 00:24:51.769
the conversation. This is what I have. Let me
00:24:51.769 --> 00:24:54.150
know if I let me know. Right. And when they come
00:24:54.150 --> 00:24:56.329
and change the story on you, you then have a
00:24:56.329 --> 00:24:59.379
piece of documentation where you go, Nope. Here's
00:24:59.379 --> 00:25:01.480
actually, you know, this, this was the direction
00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:04.019
we were given. Can you show me when this changed?
00:25:04.180 --> 00:25:07.119
Can you help me understand? Right. And again,
00:25:07.119 --> 00:25:10.240
it's not doing anything to them, but it's protecting
00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:14.980
yourself. So you're not going, is it me? Am I
00:25:14.980 --> 00:25:20.500
the problem? Am I the, did that really, because
00:25:20.500 --> 00:25:23.210
you really start to second -guess yourself. Absolutely.
00:25:23.609 --> 00:25:25.650
No, that makes sense. And I love the documentation
00:25:25.650 --> 00:25:27.410
because I think we think about that from the
00:25:27.410 --> 00:25:29.130
manager perspective. Like, oh, if I have an employee
00:25:29.130 --> 00:25:30.690
who's struggling, I'm going to document, hey,
00:25:30.789 --> 00:25:32.910
this is what we talked about just to make sure.
00:25:33.049 --> 00:25:35.769
communications clear, but I love that from the
00:25:35.769 --> 00:25:37.890
employee standpoint where it's, you know, it's
00:25:37.890 --> 00:25:39.549
not to be snarky, it's not to whatever, but it's
00:25:39.549 --> 00:25:41.109
like, let's just make sure we're on the same
00:25:41.109 --> 00:25:43.589
page. And oh, by the way, two weeks ago, we said
00:25:43.589 --> 00:25:46.450
this, and now you're changing direction. So I
00:25:46.450 --> 00:25:48.849
love the documenting part of that. I'm sure some
00:25:48.849 --> 00:25:51.630
people would be offended or start to kind of
00:25:51.630 --> 00:25:53.430
like see that, but maybe that would slightly
00:25:53.430 --> 00:25:55.670
change something, probably not with a narcissist.
00:25:55.990 --> 00:25:59.069
But I love that protecting yourself because I,
00:25:59.069 --> 00:26:02.079
I, I luckily have never had a boss like that,
00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:04.700
but I've seen other bosses like that in a bigger
00:26:04.700 --> 00:26:07.299
organization. And, you know, they're really good
00:26:07.299 --> 00:26:09.640
at manipulation, right? So to your point, they're
00:26:09.640 --> 00:26:11.400
not going to change, number one. And number two,
00:26:11.400 --> 00:26:13.140
they're probably not going to get called out
00:26:13.140 --> 00:26:14.920
for it. And they're sometimes at the highest
00:26:14.920 --> 00:26:18.059
levels of organization. So protecting yourself
00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:20.980
and not engaging, I think, is just amazing advice
00:26:20.980 --> 00:26:24.059
and just trying to be chill and calm, which you're
00:26:24.059 --> 00:26:26.900
probably raging inside. But, you know, just having
00:26:26.900 --> 00:26:29.779
that really nice, calm approach that they're
00:26:29.779 --> 00:26:31.609
not giving that rowl out of you that they're
00:26:31.609 --> 00:26:33.630
looking for. It's like the little kid who's sitting
00:26:33.630 --> 00:26:35.609
there keeps, you know, picking at somebody wanting
00:26:35.609 --> 00:26:39.269
a reaction. Well, don't react. Yep. Oh, easier
00:26:39.269 --> 00:26:41.650
said than done, but I think it's great. It takes
00:26:41.650 --> 00:26:43.809
a lot of practice and it's a lot of like mirror
00:26:43.809 --> 00:26:46.130
work where you're like, okay, how am I going
00:26:46.130 --> 00:26:48.849
to say this? But when, when you find yourself
00:26:48.849 --> 00:26:50.990
in those situations, the advice I give to people
00:26:50.990 --> 00:26:54.680
is I say write down three responses. So and the
00:26:54.680 --> 00:26:56.220
reason you write it down is because it commits
00:26:56.220 --> 00:26:58.640
to memory. But write down three things that you
00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:01.400
could say that sound like you because you're
00:27:01.400 --> 00:27:03.339
never going to sound like me and I'm not going
00:27:03.339 --> 00:27:05.500
to sound like you. So my delivery is going to
00:27:05.500 --> 00:27:08.640
be totally different than yours. But this is
00:27:08.640 --> 00:27:11.440
how you prepare for this. You write down three
00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:14.619
options. So you always have something to pick
00:27:14.619 --> 00:27:19.390
from, but it's already. of who you are and it's
00:27:19.390 --> 00:27:21.690
part of the conversation and it sounds like you
00:27:21.690 --> 00:27:24.549
and if you practice those things then you're
00:27:24.549 --> 00:27:27.609
because so often people are shocked right there
00:27:27.609 --> 00:27:29.470
they're like I can't believe somebody just yelled
00:27:29.470 --> 00:27:32.250
at me I'm at work and I can't believe this just
00:27:32.250 --> 00:27:36.029
happened and they go into like stunned mode but
00:27:36.029 --> 00:27:38.089
if you've already prepared for this and you already
00:27:38.089 --> 00:27:42.819
have your response handy it flows right And the
00:27:42.819 --> 00:27:45.200
first time it's scary. The second time it's less
00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:47.779
scary. And then after that, it just becomes very
00:27:47.779 --> 00:27:50.099
natural to who you are. You start doing it at
00:27:50.099 --> 00:27:51.960
home with your kids and you're like, why would
00:27:51.960 --> 00:27:55.130
you say that? Right. And practicing. I think
00:27:55.130 --> 00:27:57.289
any difficult conversation, sometimes you feel
00:27:57.289 --> 00:27:58.910
a little crazy. I used to do it in my car, like
00:27:58.910 --> 00:28:00.569
driving to work. I knew it was going to be a
00:28:00.569 --> 00:28:02.509
difficult conversation. So I would literally
00:28:02.509 --> 00:28:05.289
say it out loud. And then at least I'm not a
00:28:05.289 --> 00:28:07.029
good memorizer, but I couldn't memorize it. But
00:28:07.029 --> 00:28:09.210
at least having the conversation to myself in
00:28:09.210 --> 00:28:12.009
the car made me more prepared for those difficult
00:28:12.009 --> 00:28:15.789
conversations. 100%. I don't miss those car rides.
00:28:16.789 --> 00:28:19.130
All right. The last difficult boss we're going
00:28:19.130 --> 00:28:22.519
to talk about is the bully boss. Yep. Yep. So
00:28:22.519 --> 00:28:26.359
bullying and narcissists kind of like sit in
00:28:26.359 --> 00:28:29.079
a similar frame only like a bully can a bully.
00:28:29.339 --> 00:28:33.700
You can like maybe correct, right? So, and again,
00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:36.440
I, first and foremost, I think, you know, I grew
00:28:36.440 --> 00:28:40.460
up in the eighties and nineties. And when my
00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:41.960
kids started going to school, I was like, this
00:28:41.960 --> 00:28:45.579
is bullying behavior. We put up with a lot. We
00:28:45.579 --> 00:28:48.140
put up with a lot in the 80s and 90s, and I can't
00:28:48.140 --> 00:28:51.000
even think about beforehand. So first and foremost,
00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:55.240
I think the word bully gets kicked around a lot,
00:28:55.240 --> 00:28:59.240
right? And that's why bullying behavior is not
00:28:59.240 --> 00:29:02.819
considered illegal. So when we think about workplace
00:29:02.819 --> 00:29:05.880
behaviors that are tolerated and not tolerated,
00:29:06.539 --> 00:29:09.440
Things like sexual harassment things like hostile
00:29:09.440 --> 00:29:12.039
work environment things like actual harassment
00:29:12.039 --> 00:29:15.480
discrimination those are all legal terms that
00:29:15.480 --> 00:29:19.400
have a legal definition and bullying because
00:29:19.400 --> 00:29:23.519
it looks it's so many different ways and can
00:29:23.519 --> 00:29:27.619
demonstrate so many different ways and One person
00:29:27.619 --> 00:29:30.680
could conceive it Differently than somebody else
00:29:30.680 --> 00:29:33.839
could right? So that's why bullying is not illegal
00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:36.720
and it's very difficult to kind of write policies
00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:39.839
and things about that. Now, most larger companies,
00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:43.140
if they have any kind of like HRT, like any HR
00:29:43.140 --> 00:29:45.900
systems, uh, there's, there's usually like, Hey,
00:29:45.920 --> 00:29:47.539
you have to learn about sexual harassment. You
00:29:47.539 --> 00:29:49.819
have to learn about bullying and discrimination.
00:29:50.460 --> 00:29:53.779
So we're seeing a lot more traction about bullying
00:29:53.779 --> 00:29:57.720
behavior in the workplace. But again, it's sometimes
00:29:57.720 --> 00:30:00.680
kicked around a little loosey goosey. So the
00:30:00.680 --> 00:30:03.400
first thing to do to determine if you're being
00:30:03.400 --> 00:30:08.829
bullied, is start writing everything down, right?
00:30:08.990 --> 00:30:11.190
And again, this is where people are like, I can't
00:30:11.190 --> 00:30:13.049
believe that my job, my full -time job is writing
00:30:13.049 --> 00:30:14.930
things down. And it's like, well, if you want
00:30:14.930 --> 00:30:17.410
to protect yourself and you want to get the support
00:30:17.410 --> 00:30:20.990
that you need and work someplace that this behavior
00:30:20.990 --> 00:30:24.250
is not allowed in, you have to start documenting
00:30:24.250 --> 00:30:26.809
it. And you have to think like a detective. You
00:30:26.809 --> 00:30:30.930
have to think like date, time, exactly what was
00:30:30.930 --> 00:30:34.059
said. And I like to take it a step further and
00:30:34.059 --> 00:30:38.359
write down like the ramification of that thing
00:30:38.359 --> 00:30:41.019
that was said or done. Right. And it's really
00:30:41.019 --> 00:30:43.880
crucial for you to write these things down because
00:30:43.880 --> 00:30:46.900
it helps you demonstrate a pattern of behavior.
00:30:47.259 --> 00:30:49.559
And sadly, whenever you are going to escalate
00:30:49.559 --> 00:30:52.339
this and you should be escalating bullying behavior,
00:30:53.420 --> 00:30:55.680
the burden of proof sits on your shoulders. And
00:30:55.680 --> 00:30:58.519
so you can't go to your HR team or you can't
00:30:58.519 --> 00:31:01.400
go to your director or you can't go to your C
00:31:01.400 --> 00:31:03.519
-suite person and be like, Linda bullies me.
00:31:03.839 --> 00:31:05.640
Because they'll go like, OK, well, what do they
00:31:05.640 --> 00:31:09.599
do? Well, it's just a feeling. I can't act on
00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:11.900
that. There's nothing that I can do. Right. And
00:31:11.900 --> 00:31:15.220
even if you don't escalate it internally and
00:31:15.220 --> 00:31:17.099
even if you feel like as you're going through
00:31:17.099 --> 00:31:19.440
it, it falls in those kind of protected behaviors.
00:31:20.029 --> 00:31:22.589
you still have to provide proof. So it's time
00:31:22.589 --> 00:31:24.789
for you to start writing things down. It also
00:31:24.789 --> 00:31:28.369
solidifies what is being done, right? You might
00:31:28.369 --> 00:31:33.250
find that this manager uses sarcasm. Let's, let's
00:31:33.250 --> 00:31:35.390
say that. And you feel like that's bullying behavior,
00:31:35.569 --> 00:31:37.569
right? But as you start to write it down, you're
00:31:37.569 --> 00:31:41.349
like, Oh, maybe I actually like this really,
00:31:41.789 --> 00:31:43.960
this really wasn't as the thing that it was,
00:31:43.960 --> 00:31:45.799
it doesn't discount your feeling in the moment,
00:31:45.819 --> 00:31:48.200
but that's when you go have a conversation with
00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:50.519
your manager and you say, Hey, listen, like the
00:31:50.519 --> 00:31:52.200
other day, when you said this thing, I really
00:31:52.200 --> 00:31:55.059
affected the way that I felt, or, you know, I
00:31:55.059 --> 00:31:58.259
don't process sarcasm. And so when you do this,
00:31:58.259 --> 00:32:02.400
like, I don't know if you're being silly or if
00:32:02.400 --> 00:32:06.079
you're trying to cause harm, right? We can stop
00:32:06.079 --> 00:32:09.599
bullying behavior more often than not by having
00:32:09.599 --> 00:32:12.779
a conversation about it and saying, Hey, When
00:32:12.779 --> 00:32:16.440
you do this thing, this is how it affects me.
00:32:16.680 --> 00:32:18.980
Can we come up with a different plan? Can we
00:32:18.980 --> 00:32:21.160
do this differently? Doesn't mean it's not a
00:32:21.160 --> 00:32:23.599
scary conversation. It's a terrifying conversation.
00:32:25.140 --> 00:32:27.920
But you can shut down because so many people
00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:32.220
lack self -awareness that they might go, oh,
00:32:32.240 --> 00:32:37.039
my word. I did not know that this is a thing,
00:32:37.180 --> 00:32:40.250
right? Or I joke with everybody this way. Well,
00:32:40.250 --> 00:32:43.630
it doesn't feel like a joke to me. It feels personal,
00:32:43.630 --> 00:32:45.890
right? It feels like you're attacking me in this
00:32:45.890 --> 00:32:48.890
situation. This is how I feel or this is the
00:32:48.890 --> 00:32:52.329
ramifications of this. So can we make some changes?
00:32:52.390 --> 00:32:56.170
So that's the first step in even identifying
00:32:56.170 --> 00:32:59.329
a bully is writing everything down, getting really
00:32:59.329 --> 00:33:02.769
specific. And then, you know, we have these amazing
00:33:02.769 --> 00:33:06.910
tools like chat GPT where you can literally take
00:33:06.910 --> 00:33:10.019
all of your documentation. and put it in and
00:33:10.019 --> 00:33:12.920
say, I feel like I'm being bullied. These are
00:33:12.920 --> 00:33:15.799
the things that are being done. Am I being bullied?
00:33:16.099 --> 00:33:19.019
Right? And GPD will give you an opinion. That's
00:33:19.019 --> 00:33:22.099
amazing. I never thought about that. It's amazing.
00:33:22.180 --> 00:33:24.559
It's amazing what you can find out. So you can
00:33:24.559 --> 00:33:26.619
go through, because sometimes we also look at
00:33:26.619 --> 00:33:29.700
it through our emotional lens. And so we apply
00:33:29.700 --> 00:33:32.220
it, right? Or we go tell the people in our lives
00:33:32.220 --> 00:33:35.039
these stories and they're like, oh yeah, you're
00:33:35.039 --> 00:33:36.920
totally being bullied. And then you're like,
00:33:37.279 --> 00:33:41.000
I am? Right. So it's a way to like be impartial
00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:43.299
with this information. And then, like I said,
00:33:43.339 --> 00:33:46.660
the very first step, if you can, right now, if
00:33:46.660 --> 00:33:48.599
they're physically intimidating you, that's a
00:33:48.599 --> 00:33:50.920
different story. Go to HR immediately. Right.
00:33:50.940 --> 00:33:52.740
Right. But if you go through and you're writing
00:33:52.740 --> 00:33:55.059
these things down and you're just like, yeah,
00:33:55.079 --> 00:33:57.700
I'm being bullied. If you can have the conversation,
00:33:58.099 --> 00:34:00.279
have the conversation with your manager. Again,
00:34:00.519 --> 00:34:03.299
they're all untrained humans that are just walking
00:34:03.299 --> 00:34:06.920
around, hoping for the best. have the conversation.
00:34:07.160 --> 00:34:08.900
If you feel like you can't have the conversation
00:34:08.900 --> 00:34:10.880
or you feel threatened or you feel that's then
00:34:10.880 --> 00:34:13.079
you take that documentation and you escalate
00:34:13.079 --> 00:34:16.489
it and the best place to escalate it. is within
00:34:16.489 --> 00:34:19.730
your HR team if you have an HR team. If you don't
00:34:19.730 --> 00:34:21.570
have an HR team and you're in the United States,
00:34:21.610 --> 00:34:23.750
there are outside organizations that you can
00:34:23.750 --> 00:34:27.130
escalate to, the EEOC being one of them. So these
00:34:27.130 --> 00:34:29.090
are places where you can create escalations,
00:34:29.230 --> 00:34:31.110
you can create records, and you can help protect
00:34:31.110 --> 00:34:34.590
yourself from this behavior. But again, you have
00:34:34.590 --> 00:34:38.090
to document, document, document. And then again,
00:34:38.469 --> 00:34:42.000
similar to a narcissistic manager, you've got
00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:44.840
to get out. Now you can escalate and sometimes
00:34:44.840 --> 00:34:47.579
your team will come in and jump in. Sometimes
00:34:47.579 --> 00:34:49.980
your team won't. Sometimes your HR team will
00:34:49.980 --> 00:34:52.820
be like, oh, you're being sensitive or this really
00:34:52.820 --> 00:34:56.900
isn't an issue or, okay, if people don't have
00:34:56.900 --> 00:35:00.360
your back, then it is time to go. No, that's,
00:35:00.360 --> 00:35:02.239
that's great. And, you know, all three of these
00:35:02.239 --> 00:35:04.219
types of bosses we talked about are similar,
00:35:04.239 --> 00:35:06.619
but different. And I think the big takeaway is
00:35:06.969 --> 00:35:08.650
you have to deal with all of them, right? Like
00:35:08.650 --> 00:35:10.690
you just can't sit back and be miserable and
00:35:10.690 --> 00:35:13.789
take it and become so small because you think
00:35:13.789 --> 00:35:16.250
you deserve it or there's no way out or whatever
00:35:16.250 --> 00:35:18.050
it is. So it's, it's all a little different,
00:35:18.170 --> 00:35:20.150
but whether it's documenting, having the conversation
00:35:20.150 --> 00:35:21.550
with them, because to your point, I do agree,
00:35:21.730 --> 00:35:24.130
self -awareness is a major issue for so many
00:35:24.130 --> 00:35:26.690
people. So, and especially in the bully situation,
00:35:26.769 --> 00:35:28.590
they may have no idea they're doing it. They
00:35:28.590 --> 00:35:30.389
think they're funny, especially sarcastic people,
00:35:30.389 --> 00:35:33.019
I think get a little. close to the line at the
00:35:33.019 --> 00:35:35.619
time. So I think the big takeaway with all this
00:35:35.619 --> 00:35:38.599
is, is you need to get help, you need to document,
00:35:38.639 --> 00:35:42.159
you need to, or the last straw is to not rage
00:35:42.159 --> 00:35:46.199
quit, hopefully. Or do if you feel like that's
00:35:46.199 --> 00:35:48.039
your only option. Or do it and become a TikTok
00:35:48.039 --> 00:35:51.119
star. I mean, it's such a great story. I love
00:35:51.119 --> 00:35:54.480
that so much. So in addition to all that, when,
00:35:54.800 --> 00:35:56.099
now that you've been doing this for a few months
00:35:56.099 --> 00:35:58.300
and you get such engagement, what has been the
00:35:58.300 --> 00:36:01.300
one topic or video that people have just been
00:36:01.300 --> 00:36:03.800
like, Oh my god, this is me and I just are so
00:36:03.800 --> 00:36:05.739
engaged with or you've gotten so much feedback
00:36:05.739 --> 00:36:08.519
from the last few months. You know, I've actually
00:36:08.519 --> 00:36:10.340
had a number of them. I've been very fortunate.
00:36:11.079 --> 00:36:15.039
I think the probably my very first viral post
00:36:15.039 --> 00:36:19.519
continues to get a lot of play. And it's about
00:36:19.519 --> 00:36:23.420
talking about managing high performers and how
00:36:23.659 --> 00:36:25.760
you know, you have to show up differently for
00:36:25.760 --> 00:36:28.679
them. You have to show up. You have to be accountable
00:36:28.679 --> 00:36:31.699
because when you're working with a high performer,
00:36:32.139 --> 00:36:34.380
a high performer holds themselves accountable.
00:36:34.739 --> 00:36:37.059
They are somebody who shows up, you know, we
00:36:37.059 --> 00:36:38.840
talked about it a little earlier. They are the
00:36:38.840 --> 00:36:40.940
person who shows up and gives a hundred percent
00:36:40.940 --> 00:36:44.219
because that's who they are. They want, they're
00:36:44.219 --> 00:36:45.840
bought into the process. They're bought into
00:36:45.840 --> 00:36:50.099
the mission and managing a high performer can
00:36:50.099 --> 00:36:53.909
be very challenging. If sometimes you you can
00:36:53.909 --> 00:36:56.630
give them just a little bit of direction and
00:36:56.630 --> 00:36:59.170
then you need to just get out of their way, right?
00:36:59.570 --> 00:37:02.449
And then it's alignment. It's like, oh, you know
00:37:02.449 --> 00:37:04.050
what? We might've gone a little far on this one.
00:37:04.130 --> 00:37:06.630
Let's pull this back a little bit. But I would
00:37:06.630 --> 00:37:09.090
say that my high performer post, which was my
00:37:09.090 --> 00:37:11.309
very first one, which has gone like 9 million
00:37:11.309 --> 00:37:14.610
on TikTok and 9 million on Instagram. Yeah. It's
00:37:14.610 --> 00:37:17.530
probably still, I still get pop -ups where it's
00:37:17.530 --> 00:37:19.130
like, oh, this one was just played. And I'm like,
00:37:19.130 --> 00:37:22.150
really? Cool. And that was clear back in May.
00:37:22.900 --> 00:37:25.340
That's amazing. And yeah, we could talk all day
00:37:25.340 --> 00:37:26.940
about the different challenges of that. But I
00:37:26.940 --> 00:37:28.599
think the whole other piece of being a manager
00:37:28.599 --> 00:37:31.039
too is you can't treat everyone the same, right?
00:37:31.079 --> 00:37:33.559
Like you have to support everyone on your team
00:37:33.559 --> 00:37:35.519
differently. And I just would always crack up
00:37:35.519 --> 00:37:38.780
when I would have one -on -ones and the difference
00:37:38.780 --> 00:37:41.019
in the conversations was just insane. Like some
00:37:41.019 --> 00:37:43.519
people needed more hand -holding and more details
00:37:43.519 --> 00:37:45.639
and let's go through to -do lists and like...
00:37:45.210 --> 00:37:47.409
painful details, because I'm not a detailed person.
00:37:47.789 --> 00:37:49.349
And others high performers were like, here's
00:37:49.349 --> 00:37:52.050
three things to do some gone, gone, like 10 minutes,
00:37:52.250 --> 00:37:54.570
which again is great. So you know, if you are
00:37:54.570 --> 00:37:57.389
managing people, it's realizing that one size
00:37:57.389 --> 00:38:00.030
does not fit all. So it's even more challenging.
00:38:00.130 --> 00:38:02.210
That's even why it's more fun to manage people.
00:38:02.789 --> 00:38:05.070
Yeah, yeah, it's kind of like being a parent
00:38:05.070 --> 00:38:08.469
to many, many, many children. Yes. Yeah, exactly.
00:38:08.489 --> 00:38:10.190
You have to treat them differently. And you have
00:38:10.190 --> 00:38:12.010
to give empathy differently. And you have to
00:38:12.010 --> 00:38:14.230
care for them differently and show interest differently.
00:38:14.769 --> 00:38:16.510
Uh, one, you need to be like, why aren't you
00:38:16.510 --> 00:38:18.110
more like your sister? And the other one be like,
00:38:18.269 --> 00:38:20.829
be less like your sister, right? Like it's just,
00:38:20.969 --> 00:38:23.230
it's kind of like that. That's awesome. Well,
00:38:23.250 --> 00:38:25.010
this has been amazing advice. If people want
00:38:25.010 --> 00:38:27.070
to connect with you and be, when hopefully let's
00:38:27.070 --> 00:38:28.889
get you to a million followers in the next few
00:38:28.889 --> 00:38:31.610
months. So where can they find you? Yeah. You
00:38:31.610 --> 00:38:34.269
can find me on TikTok and Instagram and Facebook.
00:38:34.889 --> 00:38:36.750
Uh, and well, and I mean, you can find me also
00:38:36.750 --> 00:38:40.110
on LinkedIn, but it's Linda leads. Linda is with
00:38:40.110 --> 00:38:43.929
a Y and Linda dot leads on. all of those platforms
00:38:43.929 --> 00:38:47.650
and on LinkedIn, it's Linda again with a Y Harvey.
00:38:48.010 --> 00:38:50.630
And I use the same picture, so I'm easily identifiable
00:38:50.630 --> 00:38:53.250
across all the platforms. That's amazing. Well,
00:38:53.289 --> 00:38:54.989
Linda, thank you so much for being here. We greatly
00:38:54.989 --> 00:38:57.409
appreciate your insights. Thank you so much.
00:38:57.469 --> 00:38:59.590
It was fun. Alright, I love this conversation
00:38:59.590 --> 00:39:01.610
with Linda because it wasn't just, here's what's
00:39:01.610 --> 00:39:04.929
wrong. It was, here's what to do next. If you're
00:39:04.929 --> 00:39:06.809
dealing with a micromanager, you heard how much
00:39:06.809 --> 00:39:09.010
of it comes down to trust and how getting proactive
00:39:09.010 --> 00:39:12.090
can sometimes shift the dynamic. If it's a narcissistic
00:39:12.090 --> 00:39:14.969
leader, Linda laid out why staying calm and detached
00:39:14.969 --> 00:39:17.869
matters, plus the power of documentation and
00:39:17.869 --> 00:39:20.090
those follow up notes to keep the record straight
00:39:20.090 --> 00:39:23.050
when the story changes. And if it's bullying
00:39:23.050 --> 00:39:25.650
behavior, you've got a clear path. Document the
00:39:25.650 --> 00:39:27.969
details, escalate right away, and if If no one
00:39:27.969 --> 00:39:31.190
has your back, it may be time to go. If this
00:39:31.190 --> 00:39:33.670
episode, unfortunately, hit home, send it to
00:39:33.670 --> 00:39:36.010
a friend or a teammate who needs it because nobody
00:39:36.010 --> 00:39:38.429
should have to white knuckle their way through
00:39:38.429 --> 00:39:40.949
work. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow
00:39:40.949 --> 00:39:43.769
or subscribe and leave a quick rating or review.
00:39:43.929 --> 00:39:47.230
It helps more women to find our show. Thanks
00:39:47.230 --> 00:39:48.690
for getting loud and lifted.
Manager Guru
Lynda Harvey turned a moment of corporate frustration into a thriving business, founding her company after rage-quitting her high-level corporate job. She specializes in training managers with a raw, real, and unapologetically direct approach that cuts through traditional corporate jargon. This refreshing honesty has garnered her a dedicated following and near cult status across social media platforms.