She said I was bullying her...60 seconds into interviewing her about her grievance.The line manager looked at me and said,
โThis is what weโve been dealing with.โ
๐ The grievance file was thick.
โ๏ธ Past disciplinaries.
โ๏ธ A long absence.
โ๏ธ A history of complaints - none ever concluded.
And now, this.
I didn't jump to a defence.
Especially when the label of โbullyingโ is used too lightly.
So I followed process.
Proper process.
HR Habitat process.
I had already reviewed every note, policy, and interaction.
I spoke to witnesses.
I led the grievance interviews - myself.
And I used the exact methods Iโve trained leaders to use:โ Neutral tone
โ Open questions
โ No judgment
โ No assumptions
But in the first 60 seconds of our meeting, she accused me, a stranger, of bullying her.
Before I even started.
And suddenly, it all became clear.
This wasnโt just a grievance.
This was a breakdown in trust.
Between her and the company.
Between her and the entire system.
And behind that breakdown was a trail of unmet needs, unmanaged expectations, and a serious fear of being unheard.
So, hereโs what we did:โณ We didnโt react - we listened
โณ I noticed she wanted out so we lawfully and ethically moved the conversation into a mutual separation via settlement agreement
โณ We preserved dignity on both sides
We supported the exit via settlement legally and ethically.
She began to trust me.
And even better -
It wasn't just a favourable outcome for both parties..
We saved the company from even more risks.
Our report showed wider issues they had never dealt with;โณ lack of accountability
โณ underskilled management
โณ tick-of-the-box performance review processes
โณ lack of boundary-setting from day one
And here's another risk we prevented.
The employee was a woman.
But we didnโt let that blind us with bias.
We didn't leave any room for potential unfairness or unfavorable treatment on grounds of sex.
I'll bet a similar experience or story comes to mind after reading this?
๐๐ฝ ๐๐ถ, ๐โ๐บ ๐ง๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ, ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐.
๐ช๐ฒโ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฅ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐, ๐๐ผ๐ผ.
๐ช๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐
๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฅ ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ปโ๐ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ด.
๐ ๐ ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ - ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ.
๐
Book a consultation with me:
https://lnkd.in/eSXgRSX5๐งญ Test your leadership style โ are you a Labyrinth or a Leader?
https://lnkd.in/eguiG_pU๐ฅ Join the waitlist for my People Pathway Blueprint โ the plug & play tool for managing your staff from entry to exit without risk or turbulence:
https://lnkd.in/dSVjYQT2
