Trump's Brownshirts: Sieg Heil!

Today, Donald Trump finally gave a speech where he condemned what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend. What took the Bully-in-Chief so long to call out White Supremacists in response to the recent horrific incident where a motorist killed counter-protestor Heather Heyer who was protesting against white nationalists?

In a review I wrote on Eric Larson's In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin (Crown; 2012), one can see clear parallels to what is going on today in America. Trump is a master of deception, deceit, denial, DIVERSION, and manipulation, who when backed into a corner will do anything to hang on to his power. Mueller and the congressional committees are closing in and he knows it.

Although Trump finally issued a condemnation, how are we to believe that he is sincere when we already know that almost everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie? Instead of further placating his diminishing number of supporters, what he should be doing is using the full force of law to punish the hate crimes.

There is no doubt that Trump sees the world through white privilege. His own father was arrested after attending a KKK rally in 1927. It is interesting how Fred Trump, like his son, sought out those who use fear as a weapon. This is why Trump deserves the title Bully-in-Chief; he instils fear in those around him in order to hold onto his immorally obtained power at any cost.

There are many who spotted this dangerous attitude months ago. My mother, who served in the Dutch underground during World War II fighting the actual Nazis, shared her warnings about the cost of unchecked Fascism in this column, “An End-of-Year, Near End-of-Life, Message From My Mother.”

To combat the use of hate, what is required now is a full-on assault against bullying, especially in the workplace. Without psychologically safe cultures in which to work, there is no chance that bystanders will stand up to the injustices which bullies like Trump use to dominate others with no sense of fair play.

Because the highest office in the land is doing everything it can to unravel the republic, question the Constitution, and bring the country to its knees, organizational leaders must take the initiative to actively embrace the Ethic of Reciprocity. Executives have the power to change attitudes, so this begins with them. They should take a moment to put themselves in the shoes of the oppressed. To combat the growth of fascism, everyone must do their part. As Edmund Burke observed, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

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

Photo credit: NBC News

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 

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

The James Comey Guide for Bullied Employees and Whistleblowers

As an expert in workplace dynamics, I was struck by how today’s Senate Intelligence Committee hearing with former FBI Director James Comey was really an issue aboutworkplace wrongdoing and a bully boss. While a few of the senators asked pointed questions about the Russian investigation and, perhaps in the effort of obfuscation, Hillary Clinton, the questions centered on why Comey was fired.  Comey’s answers really made me sit up and take notice—they were a master class in what to do when dealing with a bully or the need to become a whistleblower.

1. Trust Your Instincts

When Donald Trump sent the attorney general and the vice president out of the Oval Office in order to talk privately to Comey, red flags popped up in Comey’s head. Additional concerns were raised when Trump changed the reason he had fired the FBI director. This is where the skills of emotional intelligence are vital—understanding the mood and tenor of a situation will let you know when to be on your guard.

2. Keep a Paper Trail

Given the red flags and his solo meeting with Trump, Comey felt compelled to keep a detailed account of every interaction they had. This was unnecessary under presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, who only spoke to Comey on rare occasions and never improperly. Because he kept a paper trail, investigators can now use the documents to get to the truth.

3. Try Not to Be Alone with the Bully Boss

It‘s important to have witnesses when malfeasance happens. Comey knew that Trump’s request to have a meeting alone was highly improper and went to great lengths to keep it from happening again. This is also why he celebrated the idea that there might be tapes.

4. Go to Independent Investigators Outside Your Company

Comey gave the detailed memos he wrote to Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller III for his investigation for a good reason. According to the New York Times: “I woke up in the middle of the night on Monday night, ‘cause it didn’t dawn on me originally that there might be corroboration for our conversation; there might be a tape,” Mr. Comey said, referring to May 15. “And my judgment was I needed to get that out in the public square so I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter. Didn’t do it myself for a variety of reasons but I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel. So I asked a close friend of mine to do it.”

For more information about dealing with bully bosses and protecting yourself if you need to become a whistleblower, please read my book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire.

Photo credit: CNN

Trump’s Official Biographer Thinks the Bully-in-Chief Will Resign

There’s no question that Donald Trump’s self sabotage is rooted in his past. In his insightful article in the Washington Post, Art of the Deal co-author Tony Schwartz points out how all of the behavior we’ve come to abhor from Donald Trump as president was clearly laid out years ago.

Schwartz spent almost a year following Trump, interviewing him, observing him in action and otherwise studying the man for the 1987 memoir. He says that nothing Trump has done as president surprises him. “The way he has behaved over the past week — firing FBI Director James B. Comey, undercutting his own aides as they tried to explain the decision and disclosing sensitive information to Russian officials — is also entirely predictable.”

I’m in complete agreement about Trump’s predictability. He behaves as a classic bully—a fragile sense of self-worth, impulsive behavior, blaming others for his own misdeeds, and a worldview that everything is a zero-sum game of winners and losers. Most notable is his use of deflection, deceit, denial and deception. That’s why he’s the definition of a bully in my book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire.

How much of Trump’s behavior came from a critical and demanding father whose abuse froze his emotional development in early childhood is best left to the experts, but the result is someone who is clearly unqualified for the highest office in the land. However, Schwartz doesn’t think that Trump will continue in that position much longer.

He told Anderson Cooper on CNN that he doesn’t believe Trump will go through the impeachment process. “There is no right and wrong for Trump; there’s winning and losing. And right now, he is in pure terror he’s going to lose.” To circumvent that, Schwartz predicts Trump will find a way to resign and then “figure out a way, as he has done all his career, to turn a loss into a victory so he will declare victory when he leaves.” 

We can only hope that happens before he takes the rest of us down with him.

Photo credit: MMM

When the Director of Education is the Bully-in-Chief

What recourse do parents and educators have when the school board’s director of education is the chief bully? That was the dilemma faced by parents in the York School District located north of Toronto. After a parent was the target of a racial slur by a former trustee a provincial investigation found that the school district was guilty of an astonishing number of violations, including:

·       ignoring the incident of racism,

·       using public funds for international travel that didn’t benefit the schools,

·       more allegations of racism and Islamophobia,

·       covert deal making among board members for their own purposes,

·       a lack of evaluation process for the director, who insisted on a “contract for life,”

·       and spying on team members by sending their laptops for forensic testing.

In yesterday’s post I urged potential whistleblowers to seek an external auditor for serious internal issues and this is wisely what happened in this case. Education Minister Mitzie Hunter appointed two independent investigators to review what was going on in the school district including going through more than 280 emails and interviewing 140 people. Their report was a scathing indictment of the board’s behavior, which generated 22 directives and the failure to do so would mean a formal investigation of the board—one step from being taken over by a provincial supervisor, according to writer Caroline Alphonso at the Globe and Mail.

The chief bully behind all of this was Director of Education J. Philip Parappally. The fearful and threatening environment he created caused staff members to spy on one another and compete for rewards based on favoritism. Parents also pointed out that incidents of racism were ignored after Parappally was hired.  Not atypically, Parappally himself would only concede that the board recognized areas for improvement.

It’s shameful that this became such a toxic culture of fear and intimidation that it requires outside intervention, but this isn’t unusual when the person in leadership is the cause of much of the misery.

Photo credit: Toronto Star

Liar, Liar, Bridge on Fire

One of the traits that mark an adult bully is his tireless efforts to deflect blame onto others, most frequently subordinates and coworkers. That is certainly the case with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie whose former deputy chief of staff, Bridget Kelly, and former ally, Port Authority executive Bill Baroni, have been sentenced to prison for their roles in the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane closures that led to days of traffic gridlock.

Christie, an early supporter of Donald Trump who at one time seemed poised for a position in the new cabinet, appears to be back in the administration’s good graces. It is a bitter irony that at the same time his scapegoats were convicted of public corruption thanks to a mission of political revenge on Christie’s behalf against Mayor Mark Sokolich of Fort Lee for not backing the governor’s reelection.  Christie showed his support by being in Washington while the pair was sentenced.

While Christie may have escaped unscathed, others aren’t fooled. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, Judge Susan Wigenton said, “It’s very clear to me that the environment in Trenton created a culture of either you’re with us, or you’re against us.”

The response from a Christie spokesman wasn’t surprising. He tried to explain away the judge’s comment by saying that her “ill-advised remark is based on the perjurious testimony of three convicted felons.”

Not unlike the case with the executives at Wells Fargo, Christie feigned ignorance and threw others under the bus. There is no scenario in which this conviction exonerates Christie; either he was lying and corrupt, or he was inept and refused to hear what was going on around him. Either way, he reveals himself as the worst type of bully boss. It amazing it took this long for him to get back into favor with the Bully-in-Chief.

Illustration credit: Chip Bok/Bokbuster.com

The Bully-in-Chief Up Against a Wall

In today’s New York Times article “Pause This Presidency,” columnist Charles M. Blow makes a compelling argument for putting the Trump administration on hold when he writes,

“The American people must immediately demand a cessation of all consequential actions by this ‘president’ until we can be assured that Russian efforts to hack our election, in a way that was clearly meant to help him and damage his opponent, did not also include collusion with or coverup by anyone involved in the Trump campaign and now administration.”

As an expert in human dynamics and adult bullying it has been my observation that bullies are masters at manipulation, deception, deceit and denial, and are in many cases—delusional. What we woke to on Saturday morning was all of these and more on public display by the current president as he tweeted his newest conspiracy theory about his predecessor.

The application of those nefarious traits by the Bully-in-Chief confirms for me the possibility of a cover-up of immense proportions.  In my January 13 post, “Predicting What Trump Will Do Next,” I wrote that bullies are particularly dangerous when their back is against the wall. This is because they will do anything to maintain power and control. Clearly this tweet was a stab in that direction.

But the danger isn’t over. I predict that Trump will willingly abuse the presidency up to, and including, martial law if he feels threatened.  According to a CNN/ORC poll, 65 percent of Americans say an independent special prosecutor should be appointed to investigate Russia’s involvement in the election. This should be heeded—and fast! This is a serious case of obfuscation that will lead to more devastating actions if left uninvestigated. I don’t wish to be an alarmist, but having researched hundreds of cases of adult bullying, I have witnessed how bullies take drastic measures when their backs are against the wall.

Can we really afford to wait any longer?

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

Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons

Is Secretary of State Rex Tillerson a Wimp?

Rex Tillerson was known as many things when he was nominated by Donald Trump for Secretary of State: CEO, friend of Vladimir Putin, a strong, pragmatic executive, but right now the only word that seems to describe him is—wimp.

Consider the evidence. When Trump vetoed Tillerson’s hand-picked choice for deputy secretary, foreign policy veteran Elliott Abrams, Tillerson did nothing. This left the new secretary of state running a department void of experienced hands. (There was a mass exodus of experienced staff after the election.) It’s true that Trump nixed Abrams because of his sharp warnings about the former candidate during the election, but as someone who has put dozens of successful senior executives in place, I’m actually stunned that Tillerson didn’t demand being allowed to hand pick his own staff as part of the deal when he accepted the nomination. Trump’s endless need for power stripped Tillerson of the prestige and authority he needs to succeed at his new post.

As Tillerson cowers before the Bully-in-Chief, we begin to wonder if he has any influence. According to Politico, Trump never conferred with Tillerson when he changed his policy about Palestinian statehood or castigated Iran for its ballistic missile test. Tillerson was conspicuously absent when Trump met with the leaders of Israel and Canada and little seen during the visits from Japan and the United Kingdom. Vice President Mike Pence will be touring Europe without Tillerson, and when Tillerson did go to Mexico and Germany he took no questions and gave no official version of his discussions. In fact, most of what we know about any of his interactions have come from foreign governments. Press briefings by the State Department have been put on hold for now. 

It appears that Tillerson, like Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, is bowing to the pressure of his bully boss. DeVos recently tried to stand her ground when she refused to sign off on the repeal of the nondiscrimination laws against transgender students, fearing for the students’ safety. Attorney General Jeff Sessions pressured her, and when she still refused, he went to Trump, who demanded she drop her opposition. Since then she has characterized the nondiscrimination rules as overreach by the Obama administration. So rather than resign, she’s been bullied into toeing the party line.

Clearly Tillerson and DeVos are dealing with a toxic workplace. The ramifications are frightening, which is why the quest for psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplaces is so dire. You can learn more about how toxic workplaces operate and how they can be fixed in my new book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire. But until this becomes a priority in the White House, I have no doubt we’ll see more cabinet members being bullied into submission by Trump and his cronies.

Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Much More Than a ‘So Called Judge’: Our Revolutionist of the Week

The jurist who Donald Trump sneered at as a “so called judge” after he issued a temporary restraining order on Trump’s immigration ban is this week’s Revolutionist of the Week. Judge James L. Robart of the Federal District Court in Seattle is a highly respected mainstream judge who was appointed by President George W. Bush and confirmed in a 99-0 vote in the Senate. This is the most positive endorsement any nominee can receive—and it happened during the contentious Bush years. His peers agree with those who confirmed him: he’s been called a “judge’s judge” by the lawyers who have come before him and is known for his keen intelligence and even temper according to Michael D. McKay, an active Republican and former United States attorney. Another former U.S. attorney described him as “strict” and absolutely committed to the independence of the judiciary branch of government.

It’s telling that Trump took the judge’s action so personally. Judge Robart’s ruling had nothing to do with the legality of Trump’s executive order, but rather he had to decide whether the people Trump banned had an excellent legal case in their favor, if affected individuals would suffer irreparable harm, and if the ban was against the public interest.  Clearly Judge Robart ascertained that the answer was “yes” to all three questions.

So why did Trump attack such a respected judge? Once again, Trump’s true colors as a bully are showing. In my book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire, I devoted an entire chapter to describing the characteristics of a bully boss—and these characteristics are modeled by Trump on an almost hourly basis, validating my findings.  I take no pleasure in this though. When the president disrespects a most respected jurist this way, he continues to put democracy at risk. 

Credit: KVIA.com