Rosalind Wiseman is an internationally recognized author and educator on children, teens, parenting, education and social justice. Her work aims to help parents, educators and young people successfully navigate the social challenges of young adulthood.
Rosalind Wiseman
creating cultures of dignity
Jezebel Asked, I Answered: Women vs. Women in the Workplace
I was recently interviewed by the very funny Doree Shafrir for the smart, edgy women’s lifestyle website Jezebel about the updated edition of Queen Bees & Wannabes. Readers submitted a lot of fantastic questions about women’s interactions as the grow older, particularly in the work place. I love talking about this stuff because no matter how much we as adults would like to think we’ve grown up, we’re constantly faced with situations that make us feel like we’re back in middle school. In the videos below I talk about what you can do if you have a really terrible boss–particularly a terrible female boss–and also how to handle it if you work with or have to be around someone who used to terrorize you and is now pretending you’re best friends.
What situations have you encountered in your adult life that have reminded you of your worst moments in junior high and how did you handle it? Leave your comments below.
Rosalind Wiseman for Jezebel: The Bad Boss
Rosalind Wiseman for Jezebel: You Were a Nightmare & Now You Want to Be Friends?
Check out this post on Jezebel.com!
One Response to “Jezebel Asked, I Answered: Women vs. Women in the Workplace”
Leave a Reply
October 24th, 2009 at 6:51 am
With each session (we implemented “Owning Up” as a pilot program in September – appropriately on September 11), I’ve tried to incorporate statements and examples of how and why this program will help my students to effectively communicate the rest of their lives. I use this as a connecting tool so that they understand that adults deal with many of the same issues they deal with – (hopefully!) we’ve just gotten better at dealing with difficult/bullying coworkers. I also have let them know that SEAL is not necessarily a once and done strategy – it may take several encounters before issues are effectively brought to a close. This is a particular reality in the workplace…imagine the years of bullying that may need to be unhinged with some coworkers! On the other hand, as adults, we are more aware of the internal battles that all of us experience – hence the reason “Be the change you wish to see in the world” has been my personal motto since I started working with a “Peer LIsteners” group 4 years ago. Many times a bully has softened their approach just by a experiencing a proactive kindness or some “active listening”.
As an aside…I just smiled when I finally had a chance (a few days later!) to look at my training certificate after attending the “Owning Up” training in July. As synchronicity would have it, my favorite quotation “Be the Change…” was the final empowering wisdom you chose to include on the certificate. Awesome.