Matt Paknis Leadership Development

"Leaders who are kind of insecure or egocentric, they basically sabotage themselves." - John C. Maxwell "Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness." - Martin Luther King, Jr. #healthyworkplaces #SpeakUp #Decency #metoo #BeTransparent #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact Managers who bully employees do enough cumulative damage to their targets to where victims no longer add value to the organization. #LeadersArentBullies #workplaceculture

“In the end, those who demean others only disrespect themselves.” - D.B. Harrop "He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still." - Lao Tzu "No man is free who is not master of himself." Epictetus Workplace bullying is persistent, demeaning, unwelcome behavior. Bullies attempt to control and undermine their workers with distorted or fabricated allegations of under-performance. #LeadersArentBullies

"Accountability breeds response-ability." - Stephen Covey "Trust brings a higher level of communication and a higher level of commitment and accountability." - Bruce Arians "The consequences of an act affect the probability of its occurring again." - B. F. Skinner #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #BeTransparent #SpeakUp #metoo #Decency #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact  

"Lawsuit abuse is a major contributor to the increased costs of healthcare, goods and services to consumers." - Charles W. Pickering "Every institution, including the judiciary has its share of black sheep and corrupt judges." - Prashant Bhushan "Judges are the weakest link in our system of justice, and they are also the most protected." - Alan Dershowitz #maliciousprosecution #TortiousInterference #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #BeTransparent #Decency #SpeakUp #metoo #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

"If you see harassment happening, speak up. Being harassed is terrible; having bystanders pretend they don't notice is infinitely worse." - Celeste Ng "Intimidation, harassment, (bullying), and violence have no place in a democracy." - Mo Ibrahim #HealthyWorkplaces #SpeakUp #metoo #BeTransparent #Decency #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct   #psychologicalsafetyatworkact Even today, workplace bullying is still somewhat a taboo subject. It’s akin to how bullying among children at school and bullying in the form of sexual harassment of working women was perceived before 1970. #LeadersArentBullies

"If the First Amendment means anything, it means that a state has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his house, what books he may read or what films he may watch." - Thurgood Marshall "If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." - George Washington #maliciousprosecution #TortiousInterference #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #SpeakUp #BeTransparent #metoo #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." + Henry David Thoreau "Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil." - Plato "I believe the root of all evil is abuse of power." - Patricia Cornwell "Humility, that low, sweet root, from which all heavenly virtues shoot." - Thomas Moore "Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth." - George Washington #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #BeTransparent #SpeakUp #Decency #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact #metoo

"I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides." - Elie Wiesel "The human spirit may be muted, but it cannot be silenced." - Leslyn Lewis "Those that have a voice have to speak for those of us who are silenced." - Mike Leach #maliciousprosecution #TortiousInterference #SpeakUp #Decency #BeTransparent #metoo   #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

"Other ailments evoke sympathy. We get help. Mental illness begets, 'Oh, they're crazy.' We're belittled." - Chris Wood "Emotional well-being is more than not having mental illness. It's reaching closer to full potential, being resilient in the face of adversity." - Vivek Murthy #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #mentalhealth #Decency #metoo #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact Mental traumas are real “injuries.” Don’t let them be minimized.

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." - Helen Keller "If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself." - Henry Ford "Unity is strength... when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved." - Mattie Stepanek "People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses or the problems of modern society." - Vince Lombardi "We multiplies the power of I." - Aniekee Tochukwu Ezekiel #leadersarentbullies #Decency

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant." - Martin Luther King, Jr. "Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light." - George Washington #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #BeTransparent #MentalHealth #Decency #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact  

"Lawsuit: A machine which you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage." - Ambrose Bierce "Lawsuits - and frivolous lawsuits - are just sapping the life out of the people who perform the services and deliver the goods for the rest of the citizenry." - Conrad Burns #maliciousprosecution #TortiousInterference #leadersarentbullies #Decency #metoo  #mentalhealth  #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another." -William James "Positive emotions and mental states may make people more resilient to stress, like sturdy tree branches that bend but don’t break when battered by a storm. - Melanie Greenberg #HealthyWorkplaces #Decency #metoo #mentalhealth #BeTransparent #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact When stress goes unabated, it compromises a target’s mental health, and when unseen psychological trauma is caused by unsafe, stressful work conditions, it’s every bit as damaging as physical injuries. #LeadersArentBullies

"Trump makes NCAA men’s wrestling championships his latest sports-focused trip" - AP News "We are wired for connection. But the key is that, in any given moment of it, it has to be real." - Brené Brown #leadersarentbullies #BeTransparent #metoo #HealthyWorkplaces #decency #SpeakUp   #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

   "Awareness is the greatest agent for change." - Eckhart Tolle "The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress." - Charles Kettering "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #SpeakUp #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

"When you don't take a stand against corruption you tacitly support it." - Kamal Haasan "Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." -Leonardo da Vinci "Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life." - Marcus Aurelius #maliciousprosecution #TortiousInterference #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #psychologicalsafetyatworkact #SpeakUp

“Trauma is hell on earth. Trauma resolved is a gift from the gods.” ― Peter A. Levine “A lot of people who have experienced trauma at the hands of people they've trusted take responsibility, and that is what's toxic.” – Hannah Gadsby #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #metoo #psychologicalsafetyatworkact #decency An early Swedish study among 64 victims of bullying at work attending a rehabilitation program concluded that 65% of the patients suffered from PTSD.

"Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means." - Ronald Reagan "I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another." - Thomas Jefferson #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #MeToo #psychologicalsafetyatworkact #decency

"We need a (leader) who knows how to balance a budget, who understands the urgency of delivering all the services and procedures a great city needs, who has positive relationships with, and understands the needs of, working families." - Carolyn Maloney #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact  

"If we sit by and become complacent and put our heads in the sand, we're complicit." - Shelley Morrison "The bad man desires arbitrary power. What moves the evil man is the love of injustice." - John Rawls #leadersarentbullies #maliciousprosecution #TortiousInterference #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact #decency

“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” — Aristotle “There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.” ― John Green “The humanity we all share is more important than the mental illnesses we may not” ― Elyn R. Saks #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact A study of male industrial workers found a significant negative association between exposure to bullying at work and measurements of psychological health. Exposure to workplace bullying shows victims report a 23% adverse variance in psychological health.

"Our duty is to believe that for which we have sufficient evidence, and to suspend our judgment when we have not." - John Lubbock #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." - Helen Keller "Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert H. Schuller "When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves." - William Arthur Ward #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact  

"When you see corruption, when you see injustice, you speak up. You don't just shut up and say it's none of my business." - Manal al-Sharif #maliciousprosecution #TortiousInterference #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

"Nothing is worth your health, like poisoning yourself with stress, anxiety, and fear." - Steve Maraboli "If you get tired, learn to rest - not to quit." - Banksy "Burnout is a risk. I take short breaks; put my phone down, get into nature, and ignore the news." - Katty Kay #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #decency #psychologicalsafetyatworkact #mentalhealth Bullying victims report increased psychological distress: anxiety, depression, negative emotions, and overt anger. In the workplace, high levels of burnout and emotional exhaustion are common, as well.

"Bullying is a cowardly act. It's easy to bully someone when they aren't looking or when they can't fight back." - Ronda Rousey "The most talented and decent employees are most often workplace bullying targets. They trigger a bully’s great fear of being exposed as an incompetent fraud. Bullying managers are willing to hurt their organizational goals by demeaning and discarding its best talent” (Paknis, 2018) #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact #decency

"Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance." - Plato "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan "A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity." - Dalai Lama #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #BeTransparent #SpeakUp #decency #metoo #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact  

"Benito Mussolini created the word 'fascism.' He defined it as 'the merging of the state and the corporation.' He also said a more accurate word would be 'corporatism.' This was the definition in Webster's up until 1987 when a corporation bought Webster's and changed it to exclude any mention of corporations." - Adam McKay #maliciousprosecution #TortiousInterference #HealthyWorkplaces #BeTransparent #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

"I believe rejection is a blessing because it's the universe's way of telling you that there's something better out there." - Michelle Phan “You learn nothing about people by snubbing them and crushing their pride. Ask them what it is they can do in this world.” - Hilary Mantel #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact #decency  It hurts when people we work with, who are supposed to be our teammates, shun us. It challenges our assumptions about our relationships and human decency.

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." - Steve Jobs "I think America's strength is in innovation." - Lonnie Johnson #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct

"Look! Don't be deceived by appearances - men and things are not what they seem. All who are not on the rock are in the sea!" - William Booth "We do not see people as they are, but as they appear to us. And these appearances are usually misleading." - Robert Greene #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #BeTransparent #SpeakUp #metoo #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

“The right to think is the foundation of freedom, and speech must be safeguarded from government intervention because speech is the genesis of thought.”— Anthony M. Kennedy “Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.”—Harry Truman #maliciousprosecution #TortiousInterference #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #SpeakUp #BeTransparent #metoo #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony." - Thomas Merton #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #BeTransparent   #SpeakUp #MentalHealth #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct   #psychologicalsafetyatworkact Leaders who achieve bottom line results balance with respectful, compliant, and #transparent enterprises are rare. If you are so blessed, propose using healthy results, processes, and relationships as competencies used to select and assess all managers, to build a thriving culture.

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then you are a leader.” —John Quincy Adams "We cannot build our own future without helping others to build theirs." - Bill Clinton “The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.” – James Madison "All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." - Edmund Burke #leadersarentbullies

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." - Steve Jobs "The biggest part of leadership is that you lead by example with your performance first and foremost." - Jude Bellingham "A basic tenet of a healthy democracy is open dialogue and transparency." - Peter Fenn #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

"We are the United States of Amnesia,  encouraged by a media with no desire to tell us the truth about anything, serving corporate masters who have other plans to dominate us." - Gore Vidal "I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country." - Thomas Jefferson #maliciousprosecution #TortiousInterference #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #BeTransparent #SpeakUp   #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

“Emotional detachment is a simple and effective way to maintain your poise in a stressful environment and around taxing people.” -  Remez Sasson #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #mentalhealth #InnerPeace #BeTransparent #psychologicalsafetyatworkact #SpeakUp #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct Presenteeism also describes bullied workers who cannot find another job elsewhere with equivalent pay. So, they stay, show up daily, but they are present only in body and not in spirit or mind. They are the antithesis of an “engaged” worker.

"Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all." - George Washington "Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth." - Abraham Lincoln #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #SpeakUp #mentalhealth #BeTransparent #innerpeace #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

"The predator wants your silence. It feeds their power, entitlement, and they want it to feed your shame." - Viola Davis "Power is no blessing in itself, except when it is used to protect the innocent." - Jonathan Swift #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #SpeakUp #BeTransparent #mentalhealth #innerpeace #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

"Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness." - Malcolm Gladwell, David and Goliath "Goliath was a champion, a monster who had never been beaten, and then this young guy, David, came forward, a child who believed in God and did it." - Tyson Fury "Nobody roots for Goliath." - Wilt Chamberlain #maliciousprosecution #TortiousInterference #HealthyWorkplaces #SpeakUp #mentalhealth #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact #BeTransparent #innerpeace

"Perception is reality." - Lee Atwater #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #SpeakUp #BeTransparent #mentalhealth #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #innerpeace #psychologicalsafetyatworkact Several small and isolated bullying incidents at the worker /operational level can spread through the rumor mill and be perceived to reflect a hostile and threatening global workplace culture.

"I am a tariff man, standing on a tariff platform." - William McKinley "That's all a man can hope for during his lifetime - to set an example - and when he is dead, to be an inspiration for history." - William McKinley #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #mentalhealth #SpeakUp #BeTransparent #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

“When mental health is ultimately recognized as essential to physical health, not an extraneous element of it, then we will have access to true, complete, modern medicine.” - John Campo "You've got to change incentives for good behavior as opposed to just disincentivizing bad behavior." - Gavin Newsom #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #mentalhealth #SpeakUp #BeTransparent #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

"I have no patience for injustice, no tolerance for government incompetence, no sympathy for leaders who fail their citizens." - Donald Trump "If the Court always voted for the corporation against the plaintiffs, and for the government against the condemned, a vital spark of American democracy would be extinguished." - Sheldon Whitehouse "There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." - Elie Wiesel #maliciousprosecution #tortiousinterference #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

"In psychotherapy, we talk about our problems, our symptoms, or our relationships. And then the therapist often tries to get the client to feel what they're feeling when they talk about those kinds of things." - Peter A. Levine #healthyworkplaces #mentalhealth #innerpeace #leadersarentbullies #psychologicalsafetyatworkact The most common, primary response is to discuss the bullying problem with colleagues. This debriefing, non producing time has a negative impact on productivity. This hurts the organization.

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." - Plato "The single most important ingredient in the recipe for success is transparency because transparency builds trust." - Denise Morrison #leadersarentbullies #BeTransparent #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." - Martin Luther King, Jr. "Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness." - Desmond Tutu "Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark." - Rabindranath Tagore #leadersarentbullies #BeTransparent #innerpeace #psychologicalsafetyatworkact #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct

"The collusion of big business, big labor, and big government threaten the spirit of small business that makes America great." - Foster Friess "When there is no sharing of power, no rule of law, no accountability, there is abuse, corruption, subjugation and indignation." - Atifete Jahjaga #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #maliciousprosecution #mentalhealth #SpeakUp #BeTransparent #psychologicalsafetyatworkact

"We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." - Elie Wiesel "The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people." - Martin Luther King, Jr. #LeadersArentBullies #SpeakUp #psychologicalsafetyatworkact The most commonly accepted definition to-date of bullying, is when “one or more targets, repeatedly over a period, are exposed to negative acts conducted by one or more predators.” 

"Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don't believe is right." - Jane Goodall "It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels." - Saint Augustine #leadersarentbullies #HealthyWorkplaces #leaderselevatethoughtandconduct #psychologicalsafetyatworkact