When personal power, domination and abuse become the focus of managing a business, rather than creating a winning team, this is a colossal sign the company is headed for disaster. Dr. Gary Namie, co-founder of the Workplace Bullying Institute, released a thought-provoking podcast that expertly covers this topic.  Take five short minutes to listen to his message on making civilized workplaces.

Click on the microphone…

WBI Podcast: Good People in Organizations Can Prevail

Thanks to Dr. Gary Namie and the Workplace Bullying Institute Team!

1. Be honest and kind.
2. Treat all people with respect.
3. Honorably gain people’s trust by living your values 24/7.
4. Treat your employees better than your customers; then your employees will treat customers like royalty.
5. Only hire or retain people willing to live and work by The Golden Rule: Treat others as you want to be treated.
6. Openly admit your mistakes and don’t be afraid to apologize.
7. Strive for excellence in all things; leaders and employees are to learn the business inside and out.

The obscure we eventually see. The completely obvious takes longer. — Edward R. Murrow

Recently a very large cruise ship ran aground off the Tuscan coast of Italy.  The ship’s captain navigated the vessel too close to shore and a huge span of boulders ripped open the left side of the hull.  An event that seems almost unimaginable with all of today’s sophisticated navigation technology.

Captain Abandons Ship, Passengers and Crew

Although the ship’s captain had the presence of mind to navigate the ship closer to shore, something unbelievable happened moments later. While evacuations were underway, amidst mass confusion, the ship’s captain abandoned ship and took comfort in a rescue vessel.  While he sat inside his rescue craft, safe from harm, passengers were trying desperately to escape while others were dying.

When the ship’s passengers and crew most needed their leader to help them, thinking of himself first, the captain abandoned his position and exited the ship. He failed to lead during a disaster and abandoned thousands of tourists and employees who had entrusted their lives to his hands.

Leading in Tough Times

In the business world, leading an organization during good economic times is likely to be less stressful and more enjoyable. Navigating leaders and employees through disastrous economic conditions, however, is when the best leaders rise to the occasion and assume control and responsibility of the operations.

In Corporate America, our CEO’s are the duly sworn captains of the company.  Their leadership is not tested when economic times are good. The strength of a leader’s character is tested when tragedy occurs and the well-being of the team must be placed above their own. Yet, how many times have we seen companies get into trouble and the first thing the CEO does is make sure his benefits, retirement and financial arrangements are secure before abandoning their ship.

There are some lessons to be learned from a ship captain who abandons the ship before evacuation procedures are completed.

Questions to Consider

CEO’s/Executives/Leaders: How would you react during bad times? Would you consider the needs of others before your own?

Employees: Would your company’s CEO do the right thing in the event of a tragedy?

As a CEO or top business executive, you may be asking yourself, “Why is our company performing so poorly?” Departments are warring against each other. It is hard to get employees to cooperate or accept change.  People avoid taking ownership of problems. It’s a real mess.

Sales are down. Customer complaints are up. Employee energy is down. Turnover is up.  Net income is down. Expenses are up. Employee morale is down, way down.  Plus a host of other compounding problems.

In other words, you are essentially asking the question, “Why does my company suck?”

Assuming you have a halfway decent product or service and a market for your business, below are some statements to help identify potentially business-busting problems. Respond to the following statements with a “Yes” or “No.”

1. Employees are treated with trust and respect.
2. Employees know and understand the company’s mission.
3. Leaders work and live by the company’s values.
4. Open communication is encouraged.
5. The CEO communicates the status of the company to all employees at least quarterly.
6. Employees trust their leaders.
7. The best talent in the industry want to work for the company.
8. A sense of positive energy circulates within the company.
9. Employees consider their leaders to be fair and honest.
10. Leaders do not manage by fear or intimidation.
11. Certified jerks and bullies are shown the door.
12. The CEO is committed to creating a great place to work.
13. Supervisors show personal concern for the well-being of employees.
14. Employees are recognized for a job well done.
15. Leaders are willing to answer hard questions.
16. Leaders are accessible to employees.
17. Supervisors are mentors, not bosses.
18. There is a sense of family and belonging.
19. Leaders are flexible and allow telecommuting for work/life balance and productivity.
20. Employees are encouraged to have fun on the job.

In preparation for an acquisition of another energy company, my boss asked me to prepare an executive compensation and benefit analysis. It was Friday and he needed it on Monday. I asked him a number of questions to clarify what he wanted and took down notes.  Satisfied that I had a clear vision for the project, quickly I began work on obtaining information and solicited help from our law firm’s compensation and benefits attorney.

We worked over the weekend updating the document several times until we were confident of its accuracy. We had poured many hours into this last minute project. The final version was an excellent report. The data, analysis and executive summary was exactly what was needed.

Now it’s Monday, the day he absolutely needed this report, and my boss was not available. Employees who worked around this executive never knew which boss would show up. The happy boss or the angry boss. His assistant would warn people who were going to meet with him about his temperment.

Later in the week when I finally met with him (he was in angry boss mode), I highlighted our findings in a quick bullet point fashion because his attention span was very short.  When I was finished, he yelled, “this is not what I asked for! Give me your report and shred any other reports you have in your office!”  Although I was completely stunned. I was also very angry inside, considering the careful and detailed analysis that we performed over the weekend. I asked him if he could tell me what was wrong, incorrect or missing from the report.

Silence. He would not answer the question.  The meeting was over as he pouted and snorted while walking from his office table to his desk.

This is only one of many unfortunate encounters I had with this very tempermental, angry, unstable boss.  This one encounter alone would not be an issue if he was just having a bad day and later apologized for his behavior. His bosshole behavior was frequently in the realm of the Twilight Zone.

A Message to CEO’s: If you have executives who manage by fear, intimidation, bullying, psychological abuse, or any other type of inhumane treatment, get involved and resolve the situation immediately. And make it known throughout the company this type of behavior will not be tolerated. We call it the “No Bosshole Rule.” If they will not change, fire them before they destroy your company.

 

A Message to Employees: If you work for a bosshole today. You need to determine if the situation is fixable. If your company will not resolve the situation, you need to take control and make a move. Your health is more important than a paycheck. Find another job.

Do you belong to a great place to work? If not, you should begin your search today!

Although my mission is to assist organizations transform average or toxic work environments into great workplaces, in the meantime, we should also focus on helping great people in toxic organizations find great workplaces.  It has been overwhelmingly proven there are substantial financial rewards for creating a great workplace. These workplaces benefit employees, families, leaders, companies and society.  Plus, it is the right thing to do.

As we see the emergence of great workplace awards, we will begin to see an exodus of great employees to great workplaces. Eventually, organizations with great workplaces will be the overwhelming majority in America.

Hopefully, very soon, toxic workplaces, bad bosses, jerks, bullies, and bossholes will be a thing of the past.  Remnants of the toxic workplace will be open for business only in museums as artifacts with a sign that says, “The Unenlightened American Workplace.”

A few years ago I personally experienced the rewarding journey of building a great workplace. I also experienced the devastating effects of toxic leadership and how it eventually destroyed that company.  The company’s downfall also devastated employee and vendors financial future. The title of that drama should be, “How to Build and Destroy a Great Company in Eight Years.”

We could review the playbook on destroying a great company, and there would be some good lessons to learn, however, let’s focus on great companies.

Companies with great workplaces weather bad economic conditions, consistently beat their competition and enjoy long-term financial success. CEO’s who adopt, model and promote a great workplace strategy will enjoy many operational and financial rewards, which is the result of having committed and engaged employees. In addition, your company will more likely have the ability to positively impact your community. Companies with great workplaces become known in the community as great companies.

Employees win. Families win. Leaders win. Communities win.

Just in case you don’t believe me, review the elite members of the great workplace community. The members of this group are winners. Simply click on each image to see the current list of the nation’s great workplaces.

If you are the CEO, you need to begin the process of building a great workplace. If you are a leader or employee, urge your company to begin the journey towards a positive culture transformation.

For a list of all the benefits of creating a great workplace, click here.

Our friends at CultureRx recently posted a great article (click here) and infographic (below) discussing the blind spots bosses have about their management style.

If micro-managers are like babysitters, then the bosses we all hope to have are like great coaches. Coaches inspire and bring out the best in their team. Micro-managers slowly suck the life out of you. – Cali & Jody, Co-Founders of the ROWE Movement

Below are a few quick observations Cali & Jody make regarding micro-managers and coaches:

Micro-Manager

• There is no shortage of insecure micro-managers
• Likely thinks she is a very good leader
• Tells employees when to arrive and leave – rigid schedules
• Controlling and critical
• Assumes employees must be watched to get work completed
• Finished product is likely not good enough
• Employees are afraid to make mistakes
• She belittles her employees
• Must get permission to leave early
• Obtaining approval to work from a home office would be a “Moses parting the Red Sea” type of miracle
• She will gladly throw employees under the bus if something goes wrong

Coach

Take this quiz and see how you measure-up.

Image Credit: CultureRx

I saw this first hand in one my departments I managed. We had a highly effective team that worked well together. Disagreements in methods or strategy would be worked out with civility. The camaraderie among this team was excellent, until….

Susan became a new member of the team.  The environment began to quickly change from healthy to toxic. Controversy was almost an everyday occurence. And all the incidents had one similar characteristic; Susan was always at the center of the conflict.  She disagreed with most everybody and her way was the right way or the highway. Often she got personal and attacked members of the team.

She was like putting a Great White Shark in an aquarium full of Sea Otters and Dolphins. The team couldn’t get work completed because they were on the lookout for the next attack.

She was like putting a Great White Shark in an aquarium full of Sea Otters and Dolphins. The team couldn’t get work completed because they were on the lookout for the next attack. Blood was in the water and Susan’s main goal was to attack her team mates, not get work done.  It was daily drama.

January begins a new season of hiring for many corporations who have received an approved headcount increase. Avoid Shark Week in the office and be careful not to hire Susan, the Great White Shark.

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The People Group utilizes an assessment tool that helps prevent bad hiring decisions for our clients. If you are interested, contact us at 1.888.797.9992.