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Ever had a co-worker try to humiliate you or ridicule your ideas in front of others? There are professional ways to put a stop to poor behavior in the workplace.

Question: I have a co-worker who tries to make me look bad at every opportunity. For example, during a recent meeting I made a suggestion to the team. Everyone liked my idea except for this one person. She singled me out and tried to humiliate me by making fun of my idea in front of everyone. This isn’t the first time this has happened. I think she’s good at her job, but why is she doing this to me and what can I do to make her stop?

Answer: When people feel secure in themselves, believe in their skills and have a high level of self-confidence and self-awareness, they will generally not behave the way you described. It sounds like your co-worker is an insecure individual or perhaps feels threatened by your expertise.

It’s rough being on the receiving end of this type of bad behavior. How to handle the situation?

Don’t reciprocate the bad behavior. For starters, try your best to maintain your composure at all times while at work and never stoop to the behavior level of your co-worker.

Be proactive. You could choose to allow your co-worker’s behavior to continue unchecked and hope that it will eventually stop (which rarely happens), but the better method is taking a proactive approach by meeting with your co-worker to discuss her behavior.

Meet with your co-worker. Choose a private location for your discussion. Then, without sounding angry or defensive, describe to her the specific situation and behavior that occurred. Explain how her comments made you feel. Ask if it was her intent to make you feel that way.

Listen to your co-worker’s response. Then listen to what she says. Don’t get defensive or attack her behavior. Keep the discussion climate open and positive. Hear her out — she may not have even realized what she was doing to you by making those comments. Be patient and be honest with her and work to build trust between the two of you.

Demonstrate compassion. Tell your co-worker you respect her work and think highly of her – and that you want to ensure the two of you have a positive working relationship. Ask her for suggestions on how the two of you could work better together.

In my career, I’ve seen a lot of women and men act in this manner. They wrongly believe that humiliating others or shooting down other people’s ideas will somehow make them look better (or feel better).

Fortunately, most people see through this type of bad behavior and the person it hurts the most is the offender – they end up losing credibility and the respect of many of their co-workers, including management.

Lisa Quast is the author of Secrets of a Hiring Manager Turned Career Coach: A Foolproof Guide to Getting the Job You Want. Every Time.