Standing up to a bully in the workplace can be difficult, especially when the bully is your boss. Stress expert Becki Houlston finally confronted her boss by leaving him on the side of the freeway after a client meeting. She shared her story on HuffPost Live.
Houlston said that her boss would repeatedly belittle her in presentations, often winking at her or telling her to shut up in front of coworkers. "His leadership skills probably would've made the boss from the TV show 'The Office' -- they would make him look like a really good leader."
But she soldiered on and was successful, landing a big meeting with a potential client. "On the way back from attending this appointment, I was driving the car and he was in the passenger seat. And he was just moaning and moaning and moaning in my ear for the next hour," she explained to host Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani.
"And it was like out of nowhere, it was like my self-esteem arrived and said, 'not for one minute moment can you take this, at all, not for one minute moment. You do not have to put up with this.'"
"This automatic system went into place, which sort of surprised me a little bit, because in an instant, I came up with a plan to dump him at the side of the freeway," she continued. "And as I thought it, I ended up doing it."
Houlston pretended that there was an issue with the car's tire in order to get her boss out of the car. "Knowing him as I did, I knew that he would jump out of the car because of course, you know, I couldn't possibly look at what was wrong with my wheel."
"Fortunately for me, it couldn't have worked more perfect because he jumped out of the car and stood really clear of it. So I knew that it was safe for me to just floor it. And the weather conditions were nice -- it wasn't cold or wet -- which I thought was quite kind of me at the time."
She drove away, refusing to look back in case she became racked with guilt. The action ended up being an impetus for Houlston to examine what she wanted from her career, which eventually led to her becoming a life coach and stress expert.