Inappropriate banter - do you always know what to do?

We’ve all witnessed incidents, both in work and in our personal lives, which make us feel uncomfortable. Poor behaviour, on a spectrum from clumsy out-dated language to out-right bullying or discrimination. Thankfully the culture is moving on, and thanks to the ‘Me Too’ movement we are increasingly able to identify and name this behaviour. However, this doesn’t mean that we are any more equipped to challenge when we see it.

 The default setting, conditioned by 500,000 years of evolution, is to do nothing if that’s what other bystanders are doing. We will adhere to group norm of not intervening, even if we think the behaviour is wrong. Or we will wait for someone else to do something.

 This is where Active Bystander training comes in. We have developed a 90 minute fast-paced interactive course which equips delegates with the positive thinking and range of skills required to identify and tackle inappropriate or damaging behaviour when they witness it. Rather than being passive, or intervening too aggressively, delegates learn how to act appropriately to stop the situation escalating. They also realise how their behaviour, as a bystander, is a critical function of this type of behaviour being able to endure within organisational cultures – or not.

 We need to change our thinking not only about what is good and poor, even sometimes criminal behaviour, but also how instinctive human behaviours within groups impact cultures and acceptable norms.

 This course is a game changer and begins to shift the culture so the focus on poor and unacceptable behaviour becomes something everyone can have an impact on. Active Bystander training also gives people who are witness to these behaviours the ability to impact with balanced power – rather than feeling powerless together with an enormous sense of disempowerment.

 To find out more about how to be an Active Bystander click here