You may be seen as a "bad" leader if you use a humble leadership style in a toxic culture, writes Dan Rockwell, who recommends exhibiting a dozen "bad" behaviors such as holding mediocre performers accountable, soliciting honest feedback, making values-based decisions and listening to critics, especially if the culture expects blind followers. "When bad means caring when others don't or truth-telling when others won't, being bad is the best thing you can be," Rockwell writes.

Put it into practice: Prove that your "bad" leadership is good by producing results, staying positive in a destructive environment, avoiding defensiveness and showing care for everyone, even those you want to change, Rockwell advises. "Tip: Prepare an exit strategy."

Taking time to draft your leadership statement can not only help you clarify your values and goals, it can help to create trust with your team which can make them more motivated and engaged, writes leadership coach Elisabeth Hayes. Craft your statement by clarifying what matters most to you as a leader, think of the qualities you admire in other leaders, as well as the cautionary tales you've encountered, then choose a framework to make your statement short and memorable, Hayes advises.

Put it into practice: Use a framework to structure your statement, such as a values-based one that states core values and how you live into them or a mantra-style framework that boils core principles down to a single sentence, Hayes advises. "Treat it as a living document, revisiting and refining it as you grow."

If a coworker bullies you in public, there are several ways you can respond, writes workplace strategist and author Mita Mallick, who suggests using humor to deflect, being direct about how you don't appreciate that treatment or asking a colleague to intervene on your behalf. "Don't get baited into raising your voice or getting distracted by saying something you might regret," Mallick notes.

Put it into practice: If you don't feel safe speaking up in the moment it may be best to walk away without saying anything, Mallick notes. "Power dynamics in our workplaces can impact our ability to speak up in the moment. We can be afraid of retaliation during or after the incident and how it might impact our careers."

Otis Worldwide CEO Judy Marks says she sees her job as balancing two roles -- strategy and stakeholders -- and works to meet with customers, mechanics and other front-line workers to get real-time feedback. "The challenge is trying to continue to learn to be your best at all the roles and understanding, situationally, when to use them," Marks says.

After "Flow" won an Academy Award for "Best Animated Feature" earlier this month, pet owners are reporting that their furry friends prefer to watch the movie over other shows such as "Severance," the Apple TV+ hit. Several dog owners reported on social media that their canines paced and whined during the dystopian office drama. "Severance" rerecording mixer Jacob Ribicoff says that may be due to the high-pitched sounds they use for card scans and elevator dings.

Not everyone in the office is going to be your friend. Just like in school, there are a few bullies on the playground who want to try to make your life miserable by teasing or taunting you. I have used all of Mita Mallick's suggestions -- humor, directness, walking away and recruiting others to help.

Humor is, by far, my favorite tactic. I recall a coworker who remarked on my hair. "Hey, Candace, you've got a lot of those gray hairs coming in these days!"

I smiled and said, "Thanks for noticing. I've worked hard for each one of them, and I love my gray hair. I can't wait for it to all go gray!"

He constantly would make such observations, and I would reply humorously each time until he finally said, exasperated: "You take all the fun out of making fun of you."

Indeed, I did.

Mallick makes a good point, however. Sometimes, the power imbalance may make it necessary for you to walk away or remain silent. It may not be good for your career to even use humor with a manager or a more senior member of your company.

Like my coworker, though, if they're not able to get a visible rise out of you, they may soon get bored with bullying you. Sadly, they may move on to someone else, but hopefully, you have some avenues through human resources to handle even bullying from those above you in the organization.

As Mallick suggests: "Put a stop to public bullying not just for yourself, but for others who may be experiencing this harmful and hurtful behavior as well in our workplaces."

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