Your leaders already know
Oct 24
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Eight people around the table. The engagement survey is up on the screen. One department scores far below all the others. Nobody asks why, because everybody around the table already knows the manager's name. Two people look down at their coffee. The CEO says the data needs a closer look. The item moves to next month's agenda.
Capdeca Solutions wanted to find out how much leaders know about toxic workplaces. They collected 8,478 stories from people who had worked in one. Only 4 percent think their leaders didn't know. Two in three say the leaders did nothing or took part themselves.
This shows a pattern. And I agree. The silence afterwards does more damage than the bad behaviour itself.
This shows a pattern. And I agree. The silence afterwards does more damage than the bad behaviour itself.
Amy watches what happens next
Every person in your organisation has a security guard in the brain. I usually call her Amy. Her job is to keep you safe, which includes keeping your place in the group. To Amy, unfairness feels as dangerous as a physical threat. She reacts to it fast.
Every person in your organisation has a security guard in the brain. I usually call her Amy. Her job is to keep you safe, which includes keeping your place in the group. To Amy, unfairness feels as dangerous as a physical threat. She reacts to it fast.
When a manager behaves badly, Amy pricks up her ears. But there is something she watches even more closely than the bad behaviour. What do the people at the top do about it? Does anyone step in? Or does the toxic manager keep the big projects and the good reviews?
When nothing happens, Amy draws a conclusion that she holds on to for a long time. The rules here don't apply to everyone. Speaking up is a risk. From then on she stays on watch in every meeting, even the ones that manager never comes to. People who used to tell you about problems early start keeping them to themselves.
What the silence costs
In my book I describe three things that trust needs. You can do the job. You want good things for the people around you. And you do what you say. The third one, which I call Congruency, is the one that breaks when leaders stay silent. The values on your website talk about respect. What people see is a leadership team that knows and waits.
In my book I describe three things that trust needs. You can do the job. You want good things for the people around you. And you do what you say. The third one, which I call Congruency, is the one that breaks when leaders stay silent. The values on your website talk about respect. What people see is a leadership team that knows and waits.
People notice when words and actions don't match, even when they can't say what is wrong. They feel it. And they start telling you less. The same report shows what happens to people who speak up anyway. Only one in ten who made a formal complaint felt it was handled well.
Many CEOs say they can't act on rumours. That's fair, since nobody should be judged on a rumour alone. But people aren't waiting for a verdict. They are waiting to see one thing happen. And most leadership teams know far more than rumours. After a bad survey I often see the same thing. A new survey gets booked within a few weeks. The talk with the manager everyone knows about never gets booked at all.
Start with what you have seen
Stop before the item moves to next month's agenda. Say out loud what everyone around the table already knows. Then ask what each of you has seen or heard yourselves, not what you have been told. Write down only that. A meeting where the manager shouted at someone. Three good people who left the department in one year. Now you are no longer talking about rumours. You are looking at facts that the whole leadership team shares.
Stop before the item moves to next month's agenda. Say out loud what everyone around the table already knows. Then ask what each of you has seen or heard yourselves, not what you have been told. Write down only that. A meeting where the manager shouted at someone. Three good people who left the department in one year. Now you are no longer talking about rumours. You are looking at facts that the whole leadership team shares.
Then decide who will talk to the manager, and when. Make it within a week. Tell the department that you have seen the survey and that you are acting on it. They don't need the details. They need to see that someone at the top has moved. After a few months, ask yourself one question. Do people tell you about problems earlier than before?
The people in that department are waiting to see if anyone at the top will do something. Every month the item waits on the agenda, Amy gets her answer. Which name does your leadership team already know? And what has the silence told people so far?
The people in that department are waiting to see if anyone at the top will do something. Every month the item waits on the agenda, Amy gets her answer. Which name does your leadership team already know? And what has the silence told people so far?
/ Maria