Beating the Workplace Bully

13

HOW TO HANDLE A SCORCHED-EARTH FIGHTER

Courage is never to let your actions be influenced by your fears.—ARTHUR KOESTLER

MAURA HAD DONE the right thing. She had fired Elliott, an employee who’d lied on his employment application and expense account, and then created havoc in her small company, holding closed-door meetings with the goal of turning one employee against another. A soft-hearted woman, Maura hated firing anyone and told Elliott she wished him well.

Months later, when she learned Elliott had pirated written materials she’d spent decades developing, she initially sent him multiple letters reminding him the materials weren’t his. When her clients began telling her Elliott was still passing her materials off as his, insisting he’d ...