Mean Girls at Work: How to Stay Professional When Things Get Personal

Women-to-women relationships in the workplace are . . . complicated. When they’re good, they’re great. But when they’re bad, they can ruin your day, your week—even your year.

Packed with proven advice from two of today’s leading experts in workplace relationships, this one-of-a-kind guide gives women the tools they need to navigate difficult situations unique to women-to-women relationships—whether with a boss, a colleague, a client, or an employee.

Have you dealt with a woman in the workplace who:

• “Accidentally” excludes you from important meetings?
• Seems intent on taking you down professionally?
• Gossips about you with other coworkers?
• Makes you look bad by missing deadlines?
• Forms a “pack” of mean girls to make your life miserable?

Mean Girls at Work isn’t just about surviving difficult situations. It’s about transforming a toxic relationship into one that benefits and supports both of you.

This book is also for women who engage in mean behavior . . . but don’t know it. After all, who hasn’t gossiped about a female coworker? Who hasn’t rolled her eyes in the presence of a woman she doesn’t like? Who hasn’t scanned another woman head to toe—which is just a nonverbal way of saying, “You’ve just been judged”? The authors provide invaluable advice to the more subtle ways of being mean—even if they’re not intended.

With a workforce composed of a higher percentage of women than ever, workplace dynamics have changed. Crowley and Elster cover every conceivable scenario, providing critical advice on how to rise above the fray and move forward professionally.

Mean Girls at Work is your map to dodging the mines and moving forward in today’s transformed workplace.

About the Authors

Katherine Crowley, a Harvard-trained psychotherapist, and Kathi Elster, a management consultant and executive coach, create the yin and yang of their company, K Squared Enterprises. Since 1989, they’ve combined their complementary expertise to develop a unique method for dealing with difficult people and challenging conditions at work. Their inside-out approach transforms the way businesses uncover and resolve their greatest interpersonal dilemmas.

Bestselling authors, educators, public speakers, executive coaches, and veteran consultants, Katherine and Kathi are seasoned guides in the area of professional fulfillment through self-awareness and self-management.

Kathi and Katherine have appeared on Good Morning America, CNN, The Today Show, Good Day NY, and numerous nationally syndicated radio shows. They’ve charmed audiences and led workshops major universities, Fortune 100 companies, hospitals, and professional conferences around the country.

Together they have written Working for You Isn’t Working for Me: The Ultimate Guide to Managing Your Boss. They are also the authors of the national bestseller Working with You Is Killing Me: Freeing Yourself from Emotional Traps at Work.