There are countless books on the subject of leadership and what leaders should be doing, however sometimes it’s more important to stop doing something.

I once witnessed the implosion of a highly productive business development organization after the arrival of a new Director. In very short order the organization went from one where people were clambering to work there to one where stress was rampant, morale was lower than a snakes belly and where everyone wanted out. Productivity dropped off the map.

You might wonder how one man could do all this in not more than a year.

In his case it was easy, it was all in how he managed his staff (I won’t use the term “lead”, it didn’t apply!) Three management techniques which people found particularly offensive included:

1) Extreme micro-management. The organization was science based and the new director did not have a research background, which may have accounted for his difficulty in trusting his staff to do what needed to be done. Whatever the reason every action had to be cleared through him. The ultimate insult came when he issued a directive stating that staff could not leave the building to meet with ‘clients’ without first getting his approval and that any discussions with internal or external ‘clients’ could not be held without first outlining the purpose of the discussion, justifying the reason for it and obtaining his approval. Given the level of knowledge, skills and expertise each staff member possessed it should not come as a surprise to anyone that this was particularly galling to one and all and contributed to the growing toxicity of the workplace environment.

2) Not walking the talk. In spite of a clearly stated organizational Mission and Values document, which included the importance of people and recognizing them for their contribution, he let it be known that he did not have time to speak with staff. In fact it became widely know via his secretary that he never took calls from anyone except those higher on the organizational chart! Needless to say people quickly lost interest in going the extra mile for this “leader-by-title” and productivity suffered.

3) Asking for input with no intention of using it. While I’m not sure how rigorous it is in other organizations, in a research based organization it is normal and natural to have documents reviewed internally before publication. Following organizational procedure, the Director sent a major policy document out to all other senior directors and deputy-directors in the organization, with a request to review and comment on by a certain deadline. Imagine the reaction when the senior people discovered that he had already finalized the document and sent it to be printed well before the deadline he had given them!

People talk – and actions such as these quickly become the main topic of conversations and stories spread like wild-fire throughout an organization. Morale drops, loyalty goes out the window. And some wonder why there is a rising wave of dis-engagement and workers looking elsewhere for employment!

If you are truly interested in raising morale and getting productivity back on track, examine the day to day actions of those in charge, yourself included, and make sure you are not doing anything that could result in a toxic working environment. Let’s all do our part in creating workplace environments that foster creativity and productivity, ones that people want to come to each day and that bring out the best in all involved.

©2011 Karen Switzer-Howse

Print PDF