Interruptions and “Machine Gun Rants”
I often outranked people in group or private meetings and would interrupt others and engage in what I call “machine gun rants” where I would talk over the other person with a string of statements, many times with an escalating tone.
This is a very popular tactic with many managers and part of most of the organizational cultures I have worked in.
It is not only difficult for any employee to point this out, it can be SCARY when many high ranking supervisors do the same thing. Interruptions and “machine gun rants” can be part of an organization’s culture.
Any direct reports wanting to raise this issue with their boss or HR could also be pointing out that this was a bullying tactic conducted by the big bosses in the organization!
Who wants to do that?
Looking in the mirror can be scary sometimes, especially when we are doing the same thing some bosses have done to us in the past...