I recently started in a corporate position after working in healthcare for ten years. In this new role, I haven't encountered anything like the overt bullying I experienced in healthcare. Still, I have been working on a project with the Senior++ Leader, and I have just been bollocked because they didn't read my email, which lept to some conclusions. My only other previous interaction with this leader also involved such an intense rant that was borderline offensive about other members of staff that, in the end, I just kept my mouth shut and waited until they had finished.
In this discussion, they accused me of criticising colleagues in an email because I had explained that there was a roadblock with the original agreed plan and that I had found a solution. They also said that I had lied about the project to other members, and when I explained this did not happen, they said they didn't believe me. Having previously been a bit of a hothead, I advocated for myself well, and I was able to talk their emotions down to a reasonable level. But, I realised I didn't possess any corporate "speak" or knowledge of handling this situation.
I know it is unachievable to expect all leaders to be reasonable people all the time, and apart from this person, the rest of my role is pretty chilled and interesting. I was hoping that the wise members of the bullying group had some key phrases or techniques they had found effective when working with reactive leaders in the corporate world.