How to respond to being thrown under the bus
Yesterday I had a *fun* experience of being thrown under the bus publicly. The individual inaccurately accessed a situation then cc’d numerous people on the email explaining her version of my incompetence (which was actually their incompetence). My immediate reaction was, you bitch! But I tempered my immediate response and held off from sending any deterimental communications, email or otherwise.
This morning I approached the individuals directly and said, “is there any other issue I can help you with, and please feel free to raise concerns with me directly if you have this type of issue again.” I think the person realized that I was saying, “hey don’t be a bitch next time.” Only time will tell.
Even if you totally don’t get through to the person who threw you under the bus, at least you can feel good about handling the situation with respect and maturity. And I believe this approach is the best way to prevent it from happening again. If you respond bitterly, and with a short fuse, you just let them win. And nobody wants that.
