Matt Paknis Leadership Development

"Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love." - Lao Tzu "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." - Aesop #healthyworkplaces #stepup #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #DignityatWorkAct Bullies are weak and fragile, whereas good leaders are strong and tough. Strive to be the good leader you want to see. There is strength in kindness. #LeadersArentBullies #begentle

"I'm not in this world to live up to your expectations and you're not in this world to live up to mine." - Bruce Lee "If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome." - Michael Jordan #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityAtWorkAct

"With power comes the abuse of power. And where there are bosses, there are crazy bosses. It's nothing new." - Judd Rose "Nothing more completely baffles one who is full of trick and duplicity, than straightforward and simple integrity in another." - Charles Caleb Colton #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityAtWorkAct Bullies plan their sneak attacks. They attempt to immobilize and control their victims with unpredictable traps, deadfalls, and tricks. #LeadersArentBullies #stopbullying

"The worst cruelty that can be inflicted on a human being is isolation." - Sukarno "Exclusion is never the way forward on our shared paths to freedom and justice." - Desmond Tutu #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityAtWorkAct

  "Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light." - Helen Keller "I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have." - Abraham Lincoln #healthyworkplaces #stepup #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #DignityAtWorkAct Striving for good and truth leads to positive, multi-sum, outcomes. Taking a stance against abuse shines a light so bullies can't hide. #LeadersArentBullies #transparency

"I don't think ethical people deal with intimidation as a method to achieve success. Undermining someone's self-esteem isn't a method to achieve success." - Dominique Moceanu #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityAtWorkAct

"To add value to others, one must first value others." - John C. Maxwell #healthyworkplaces #stepup #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #DignityatWorkAct If company #managers do not have the ethical and moral framework to stop bullying, or if they fail to value their employees enough to stop bullying, the organization is not a worthy employer. #LeadersArentBullies

"What's the whole point of being pretty on the outside when you’re so ugly on the inside?" - Jess C. Scott "Fake people are like soap bubbles, they pop out when the sun shines brightly." - Chiranjude Bird #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityAtWorkAct

"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." - Benjamin Franklin "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all (people) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." - Thomas Jefferson #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityAtWorkAct In America, where workers’ inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are protected by the US Constitution, individuals should never allow themselves—or be allowed by liable organizational leaders—to be victimized by a bullying boss. #LeadersArentBullies

"It’s the one characteristic that connects all the defendants. A genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow (humans). Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy.” - G. M Gilbert "The opposite of anger is not calmness, its empathy." - Mehmet Oz #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityAtWorkAct

"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony." - Thomas Merton "Faith gives you an inner strength and a sense of balance and perspective in life." - Gregory Peck "A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life." - William Arthur Ward #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityAtWorkAct People are most energetic and productive when their lives are balanced. Life balance allows people to maintain rational perspectives and important relationships. Balance also fosters self-awareness and empathy, critical anti-bullying traits. #LeadersArentBullies

"The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any." - Alice Walker "Truth is powerful and it prevails." - Sojourner Truth "Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Leonardo da Vinci #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityAtWorkAct

"The energy of the mind is the essence of life." - Aristotle "Energy and persistence conquer all things." - Benjamin Franklin "When you are enthusiastic about what you do, you feel this positive energy. It's very simple." - Paulo Coelho #healthyworkplaces #DignityatWorkAct #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup Great mentors and coaches exude—and infuse in others—positive energy. They achieve their desired results while building healthy relationships with clear roles and ethical and appropriate processes. #LeadersArentBullies

On March 17, 2023, the large International Corporation dismissed their federal lawsuit against me and my book, Successful Leaders Aren't Bullies, with prejudice. This means I can resume printing and selling the book. This also means the Big Foreign Corporation admits they filed their December 2018 meritless and frivolous case against me, and used the federal legal system, not only to bully and silence my right to free speech, but to also use the US Legal System to inflict pain, suffering, and harm." It's been a long four years. The truth has now set me free! Thank you for your on going consideration and support! It helped in big way and it means a great deal. Peace!

  "(A person) who has health, has hope; and (a person) who has hope, has everything." - Thomas Carlyle "I'm still coping with my trauma, but coping by trying to find different ways to heal it rather than hide it." - Clemantine Wamariya "The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect." - Peter A. Levine #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityAtWorkAct

"Remember, of all the elements that comprise a human being, the most important, the most essential, the one that will sustain, transcend, overcome and vanquish obstacles is - Spirit!" - Buddy Ebsen #healthyworkplaces #stepup #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #DignityatWorkAct People who transcend workplace #bullying learn to respond with the physical, emotional, and mental resources needed to block and filter all attempts to harm them with abuse, distorted fears, and criticisms. #LeadersArentBullies #workplaceculture

"Managers tend to blame their turnover problems on everything under the sun, while ignoring the crux of the matter: people don't leave jobs; they leave managers." - Travis Bradberry "Employers who recognize employees and the importance of investing in their workforce have a more productive workforce, a more efficient workforce, a more loyal workforce, less turnover, and, in the private sector, more profitable." - Valerie Jarrett #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityAtWorkAct

"Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment." - Lao Tzu #healthyworkplaces #stepup #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #DignityatWorkAct When dealing with a bullying incident, focus on facts. Cite specific observations and behaviors. Avoid jumping to conclusions and being hijacked by emotions. #LeadersArentBullies

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when (adults) are afraid of the light." - Plato #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityAtWorkAct

"Ethics and equity and the principles of justice do not change with the calendar." - D. H. Lawrence #healthyworkplaces #stepup #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #DignityatWorkAct Document, record, and address all performance inconsistencies. If some workers know they are protected, acknowledge and shed light on nepotism, favoritism, and passive-aggressive retaliatory behaviors. #LeadersArentBullies

"The trust of the innocent is the liar's most useful tool." - Stephen King "While seeking revenge, dig two graves - one for yourself." - Douglas Horton "A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit." - Arnold H. Glasow #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #StepUp #DignityAtWorkAct

"When we make progress and get better at something, it is inherently motivating. In order for people to make progress, they have to get feedback and information on how they're doing." - Daniel H. Pink #healthyworkplaces #stepup #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #DignityatWorkAct Honest improvement feedback is key to learning and growing into a job.... workers trust when feedback is given without petty berating and irrational attacks.  When it is based on observable and agreeable facts, they strive to improve performance. #LeadersArentBullies

"To advocate a New Order was to seek freedom and respect for peoples without prejudice, and to seek a stable basis for the existence all peoples, equally, and free of threats." - Hideki Tojo #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityAtWorkAct

"In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same." - Albert Einstein "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." - Jesus Christ Happy Easter! To be effective, anti workplace bullying policies must apply to everyone, from board members to chief executives to field and front-line staff, and from directors to team leaders to customers. #LeadersArentBullies

"Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance." - Saint Augustine #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityAtWorkAct

"If we destroy human rights and rule of law in the response to (bullying and abuse) terrorism, they have won." - Joichi Ito #healthyworkplaces #stepup #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #DignityatWorkAct When bullied employees approach, reassure them all abuse is addressed with appropriate and professional workplace conduct policies demanding dignity. Establishing healthy workplaces requires efficient, consistent, and effective responses to bullying. #LeadersArentBullies

"Much of the time, the things we feel guilty about are not our issues. Another person behaves inappropriately or in some way violates our boundaries. We challenge the behavior, and the person gets angry and defensive. Then we feel guilty." -Melody Beattie #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityAtWorkAct

"Whoever fights monsters should,  in the process, not become a monster." - Friedrich Nietzsche "You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward." - Amelia Earhart "Confidence comes from discipline and training." - Robert Kiyosaki Use training to ensure all employees are offered consistent information describing the organization’s anti-bullying values and bullying response policies and procedures. #LeadersArentBullies

"I don't think ethical people deal with intimidation as a method to achieve success. Undermining someone's self-esteem isn't a method to achieve success." - Dominique Moceanu #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityatWorkAct

"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." - Viktor E. Frankl #healthyworkplaces #stepup #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #DignityatWorkAct Approach problematic / power and control / parent - child / criticism - fear  employee relations and behaviors with mature, rational, objective, realistic, equitable, and consistent perspectives and responses. #LeadersArentBullies

"Arrogance, ignorance, and incompetence. Not a pretty cocktail of personality traits in the best of situations. No sirree. Not a pretty cocktail in an office-mate and not a pretty cocktail in a head of state. In fact, in a leader, it's a lethal cocktail." - Graydon Carter #leadersarentbullies #healthyworkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #stepup #DignityAtWorkAct