In the November HR Magazine there is an article about a recent study entitled Abusive Supervisors May be Overwhelmed. You may ask and just what is it that leads these supervisors to their abusive behavior? Are you ready for this? It’s having to achieve high goals. It seems that a recent study places “a dark side on goal setting.” Trust me on this; I’m not clever enough to make this stuff up. In the study, supervisors from the financial, insurance, banking, food, retail, education and health care sectors were canvassed. The subordinates of these supervisors stated that “my boss ridicules me” and “my boss tells me my thoughts and feelings are stupid.” The cause, according to the study, leading to this lashing out is that companies in financial difficulties set high goals for supervisors. Upon compiling the data, the researchers suggest that companies that set these high goals “do so at their peril.”
Well, I don’t know about you, but if I had ever called my superior or even another co-worker stupid, my next move would be out the front door after being politely asked to leave the company for good. The level of my stress would not have been a valid excuse for being abusive. This type of rhetoric only serves to hurl another knife into the back of personal accountability. Whatever happened to the concept of people being responsible for and in charge of his or her personal behaviors? Organizations must set goals. When business gets rough, stringent measures have to be put in place and everyone has to be on board. Employees must do well to remember that if the business succeeds, so do they. However, this is not a signal for respect, kindness and responsibility do not go the way of the dinosaurs and become extinct.
Here are some ideas to keep in mind during tough times.
For Organizational Leadership
- Share as much as is appropriate about current situations with your employees
- Build an environment whereby everyone contributes his or her part in helping get business back on track
- Provide as many stress reducing ideas as possible
- When business does get back on track, celebrate and reward your loyal employees
For Supervisors
- Ditto
In Colin Powell’s book, It Worked for me; In Life and Leadership, he writes about how kindness can work in the community, in business and even in the military. A recent article by Kerry Kerpen on Forbes.com entitled Kindness Does Not Equate to Weakness in Leadership provides an eloquent account of how kindness is a bedrock of strength when it comes to leadership. Ms. Kepen makes a point to explain that being kind does not mean that as a business owner you neglect to make the tough decisions that every business owner faces from time to time. That is indeed a lack of leadership, kind, mean, or indifferent. It just means that leaders at every level do not have to give anyone a “whack up side the head” or begin throwing knives in order to lead. Being tough while being kind may sound like an oxymoron, but it is the true sign of leadership. It is also the epitome of being in full control of one’s own behaviors. This is the personal accountability of leadership at its finest.
