Do you need to report a hard truth about someone? Maybe a co-worker is making sexual advances to you? Or, maybe someone in your professional circle is stealing money.
If so, you likely know this: Telling the truth can be uncomfortable. It can get you into trouble. Why? Because, those individuals you need to back you up, and come forward with details, will likely deny the truth.
And, they'll swear, nine times out of 10, that you're the problem! They'll fear getting involved.
A friend of ours we'll refer to as Ava tried to report her boss for stealing money. He was running an investors group in Tennessee. But, the co-workers she tried to engage to back up her accusations came against her. They leaked her info to the boss.
"What came next was horrible," says Ava. "The boss started grabbing me and coming onto me sexually. He wanted to get me into a double-whammy whereby I would not be able to tell anything bad on him."
Telling two large truths would really scramble the facts and the needed support, says Ava.
But, Ava began to outsmart her traitors. She went to state officials and the state District Attorney. She also got a top lawyer outside of her region to stand with her.
"I reported the covert actions of my boss through a white-collar crime program in our state," says Ava. "I went the extra mile and told them everything, risking my life, I'm sure."
Ava also recorded her boss via a secret camera under her desk. "Sounds like a movie," Ava explains. "But this man was ruining the finances of many people. I'm one of the accountants for the company, so I knew how bad it was."
If you're in a similar situation, review your options. Maybe you're involved with a workplace engaged in abusive tactics in some manner, or maybe you're in a family where someone is abusing children or a spouse. Find a way to tell the truth and also protect yourself.
These tips can help:
(ASTERISK) Stay cool and calm. Don't react too strongly, or you'll turn yourself into a victim. Keep a level head so you can plan a step-by-step strategy. Don't rush, no matter how tempting.
(ASTERISK) Enlist some help that's outside your region. Never confide in local authorities if you can help it. Call someone in your state capital, for example. Ask them to never use your real name. Tell your state attorney general's office that you're a whistleblower, if this is appropriate.
(ASTERISK) Don't take cowardly behavior too personally. If your friends, co-workers or family members refuse to back you up, don't quit. Reporting bad behavior is a personal risk. Most people will not rise to the occasion.
"Sticking with my plan brought auditors into my world," says Ava. "Because I was an accountant, the state officials took me seriously. They planned their crackdown on my boss through the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. He was prosecuted."
We've all heard this saying: "Evil people need only one thing to succeed. That one thing is for good people to do nothing."
Reporting child abuse, spousal abuse, theft, or mismanagement is tough.
"The worst part of my ordeal was the sexually inappropriate behavior," says Ava. "But, my husband tiptoed into the office one day and came up behind my boss. He never bothered me after that. His arrest, though, took another year."
