The point of gaslighting is to instill self-doubt, so when an employee has the courage to come forward to share their experiences, leaders must start by actively listening and believing them. The employee may be coming to you because they feel safe with you. Their manager might be skilled at managing up, presenting themselves as an inclusive leader while verbally abusing employees. Or they may be coming to you because they feel they’ve exhausted all other options.

Do not minimize, deny, or invalidate what they tell you. Ask them how you can support them moving forward.

Here are some potential warning signs: 

• A manager who is gaslighting may exclude their employees from meetings. 
• They may deny them opportunities to present their own work. 
• They may exclude them from networking opportunities, work events, and leadershi...