I was talking to a leader about how good cultures are created, and happened to mention in passing the need for leaders to discipline or get rid of bullies or other bad actors who make the organization a crummy place to be. When I did, his lights really came on and he said, "Oh my, I saw a great example of that when I first took over my position."
"What happened?" I asked.
"Well, I took over and there was a guy who I felt like just did not have the kinds of values that were important to where I wanted to take the company, and also there were some real tangible business reasons why I did not think he was right. So, I talked him in to leaving. Then, I could not believe what came next."
"I got bombed with e-mails, calls, and people coming up to me and thanking me for getting rid of him," he said.
"Why? What was the issue?" I asked.
"It was all about how he treated people and the kind of atmosphere he created around him," he went on. "The way that they talked, you would have thought that I had gone in and liberated a country from an oppressive dictator. A tyrant. It was like they were celebrating in the streets."
"But the big lesson I learned was what they all said in passing, in different ways. They all said something like, 'Finally! It is about time someone did something about him,'" he said.
The lesson was that the entire organization had been affected in some way by this person's personality and behavior, for a long time, and yet no one stood up to him and did anything about it. Why?
The reasons are myriad as to why leaders do not stop such behavior. Sometimes they have become dependent on such a person because their performance is good. They are strong in some area, like sales, and bring in a lot of revenue, so the leader feels like he or she can't do without the person. They would lose too much if they went away. So, they are stuck. But, even with the strong area of performance, there is so much collateral damage that the net effect is not worth it. They should go, and yet the leader is afraid. (See my book Integrity for a further discussion of this dynamic.)
Or sometimes, the leader is just conflict avoidant. But, as a result of avoiding confronting that person and dealing with them, the culture and other people are suffering. The workplace is not safe, and is not conducive to creativity, productivity, and other indicators of performance. Studies have shown that when a culture is allowed to have these kinds of problems, many indicators of productivity go down.
So, a leader has to remember that he or she is the ultimate playground monitor. Good companies have leaders who step in and do not allow people to be disrespected, demeaned, or treated poorly. Even by customers. They support their people if they are being mistreated by a customer, and sometimes even fire the customer. Either way, the people feel supported and the environment is one that helps people thrive and become all that they can be.
Also, if the leader is not dealing with such problems, he or she is losing respect in other areas as well. People do not respect the passive leader who allows the elephant to be in the living room and never say anything about it. They want to follow someone who is not afraid to deal with an obvious problem. Confronting such people and dealing with them will help your leadership in other ways as well.
So, here are a few tips:
First, look around. Are you aware of anyone whose patterns of dealing with others may need some attention? You may be, but are avoiding letting yourself be aware of it enough to do something about it.
Second, ask yourself "why?" Why are you avoiding it? What is your fear? What skills do you need to work on to deal with it? Do you need to face some fears of conflict? Do you need some work on communicating and confrontation? Do you need a coach?
Third, ask some others whom you trust. Usually a person like this has been noticed by other people and you can find out if your perceptions are off or not. Also, they might let you in on other problems that you have not known about.
Fourth, ask yourself and others why this problem has not been openly discussed or brought to you more directly? If there is a problem person and no one is talking about it, then you do not have a very open environment and have not created an atmosphere where people can come to you. If no one is talking and there is a real problem, ask yourself what is wrong with the communication lines in your teams.
Fifth, check with HR, figure out what is legal and right and ethical, and deal with the problem. Everyone will be glad that you did. If discipline is needed, implement it. If training is needed, support it. If firing is necessary, pull the trigger. But deal with the problem, directly, and decisively. Everyone will be glad you did.
