At last, social attention has turned to bullying in schools. Researchers are identifying   the psychological costs, administrators are being sued for not keeping kids safe, and the media is reframing the conversation about acceptable behavior between students. “Boys will be boys,” hazing and tolerance for “mean girls” are losing their dismissive power. This is all good.

On a parallel path, as awareness of workplace bulling increases, organizations are quickly developing policies to protect employees and prevent lawsuits. The problem with these laudable efforts is that most workplace bullying is not among co-workers but between bosses and their employees, which makes the policies nearly impossible to enforce. Giving orders and using force is what bosses do. How do you tell when a supervisor has crossed the line to bullying employees? Simple, ask the employees.

When employees feel discouraged, dispirited, anxious and fearful, there is likely boss bullying going on. These are not natural employee feelings. Managers and supervisors who treat employees as their servants, their inferiors or their children are bullies. The best way to address boss bullying is to redefine the leader’s role, from commander to coach, from dictator to facilitator, from master to servant.

Learn more about how to deal with bully bosses, and how go avoid becoming one, in my book, Management Culture at mgmtculture.com.