So Who Is Dr. Christi…

As a leader – known as the go-to for validation and clarification to the people around me, I felt like I was seriously letting them down. I was struggling with what this whole leadership title really meant.

That “you’re not good enough to be here” feeling seemed to keep me stuck – and my authentic voice was consistently unheard.

I didn’t feel very much like a leader. It seemed my workplace had this sort of clique I was not part of. I constantly felt like the outsider – not one of the popular people – and my ideas and influence never fully appreciated.

What kind of leader was I really?

As a natural introvert, I was constantly observant – figuring out the best way to share an idea. Introverts tend to process things deeply but it was giving off the perception that perhaps I wasn’t as interested or knowledgeable as my more talkative, outgoing peers.

Of course this wasn’t true, but I had succumb to their perception of who I was (self-fulfilling prophecy) and many times found myself on the “outside” and being passed over. It wasn’t until I received two severance packages that I realized I was being singled out – being treated differently. But in most organizations that is considered the way businesses operate. Little did I know I had been bullied.

Now you may think bullying has been buried deep with all those high school memories – along with bad hair choices – but my front row seat assured me bullying was alive and well in the workplace.