A sick culture
Can we please stop talking about bad leaders and bad leadership all the time? If we are to say bad leaders exists, we have to say that bad employees also exists. It is disrespectful, unconstructive and unproductive to have a conversation from this perspective.
A quick browse through our feed on LinkedIn today gave us ten examples of leader bashing. The talk is about "arsehole bosses", "the talentless leader", "the psychopath leader", "the control freak", "the toxic leader" etc.
Udskammende diskurs
Vi talte med en business journalist for et par uger siden, lad os kalde ham Peter. Peter fortalte, at i hans netværk og på arbejdspladen gik snakken p.t. på at medarbejdere skulle sparke opad og ikke finde sig i mere pis. At man havde fundet sig i dårlige ledere alt for længe, og at nu skulle det være slut.
But honestly. What kind of way is that to talk about each other? What absurd notion of leaders and their motives is this? And yes, we know for a fact that leaders also say ugly things about their employees, calling them lazy and indifferent, spoiled and complainers. And that should also just stop. It is an embarrassing discourse that does not change anything.
Because there is simply no one who gets up in the morning and thinks: “Today I will be a real arsehole. I will try to make life as miserable for my employees as possible, and see how much life energy I can suck out of them. ”
Probability suggests that people get up - leaders as well as employees - with the intention of doing their work properly and to the best of their ability. And no, that's not always enough, but if we do not assume that people actually have good intentions, then it is not possible to better ourselves.
It is like saying to a child who has to learn to read: “Yeah, it's not like you're making an effort. You just decided to obstruct. And by the way, you're fucking bad at it, too. ” The probability of that child learning to read very well or very fast is not very likely.
How about we talk about leadership being a complex discipline instead? That it is a job full of dilemmas, compromises and unpopular decisions? And that the trust and psychological safety we believe must be present for employees to function and perform well, must also be present for the leaders? And that really often it isn't because it's considered perfectly ok to bash the leader? That is not a very psychologically safe space to be functioning in.
This is not to say that leaders do not also make blunders, do not keep their promises, do not deliver half-finished stuff or give unconstructive feedback. Of course they do. Just like the employees.
What does the culture allow?
What we, on the other hand, can work to change is a culture that allows and perhaps even rewards bad and disrespectful behaviour. Again, we would argue that an overwhelming portion of leaders and employees want the common good. And thus, there is plenty of hope to get rid of the bad culture that allows the bad behaviour.
It requires examining the culture. Is interested in how it is expressed and creates space to talk openly about it. And it can be very, very difficult if employees (including leaders) repeatedly experience that there is retaliation if you speak up.
Ultimately, it's about a psychologically safe culture, and it is beneficial for all members of the organisation to ask the following questions: If you have a higher position in the organisation than me, can I still express my opinion? Is this organisation a true "idea meritocracy"? I.e. is it the best idea that wins no matter who has come up with it?
What can you do?
Psychological safety is not something a single person can create, not even a leader. In order for an employee to experience the work environment as psychologically safe, it is influenced by all colleagues, leaders in other departments, etc. It can never be, and should not be, the leader's responsibility alone. And perhaps the leader is often the one who experiences the work environment as most psychologically unsafe.
In fact, both leaders and employees have the responsibility to speak up and say if there is something they disagree with, do not understand, or do not have the resources or competencies to solve. And both leaders and employees have a responsibility to make an effort to see perspectives other than their own
As a leader, you have an extra responsibility to hold both yourself and your peers responsible for working for a more psychologically safe environment. For example, you can start doing this:
- Set the stage for the work. Tell them that you know things can go wrong, where you and others have failed, what it entailed of learning. Also make sure that it is crystal clear that there is a goal of eg 5% productivity increase - psychological safety is not about us not committing and striving for difficult goals
- Invite everyone to participate. Show the way by breaking down the silos and hierarchies when solving problems, launching new initiatives, etc.
- Be extra ultra aware of how you react when people then actually speak up about their concerns, insecurities, criticisms and different ideas. This is the crucial thing. Because this is where you must walk-the-talk.
And finally - it's not easy, but no one said it should be, did they 🙂