If you are a CEO, manager, HR professional, or business coach, please read on….

According to the Society of Resource Management (SHRM), 87% of employees say that workplace incivility has negatively affected their performance.

So, at this moment you can safely assume that one or more employees in your organization are on the receiving end of bad behavior — not only negatively affecting their performance, but also their morale and emotional and physical health.

It is your role to step in. Employers have a responsibility to manage both performance and conduct, assuring the physical and psychological safety of their workforce.

And, simply put, it’s the right thing to do for your organization and your people.

The thorny part of intervening may be the most common situation I find in my work: the abrasive leader. Because of their authority, power and influence, it’s easy to brush off the behavior as a “cost of doing business.”

The potential damage is too great to ignore.

What defines abrasive behavior?

Any interpersonal behavior that causes emotional distress in coworkers with the potential to disrupt organizational functioning
Behavior characterized by interpersonal interactions that are perceived to be disrespectful
Behavior is that not a one-off or personality clash, rather chronic behavior that repeatedly targets an individual, team, or department over time

How do I know abrasive behavior is going on?

Here are some signs and symptoms that chronic abrasive conduct is happening in your workplace:

Complaints regarding interactions with coworkers, customers, contractors, teams, etc.
Attempts by employees to transfer out of the leader’s area or avoid being transferred in
Covert cautions to coworkers: “Watch out for him — don’t get in his way,” or “Don’t get on her bad side — you’ll pay if you do!”
Attrition of valued employees from the leader’s area
Decreased morale and motivation in the leader’s area
Excessive managerial time devoted to addressing employee distress
Loss of leadership credibility: Failure to intervene is interpreted by employees as weakness or, worse, tacitly condoning the behavior

What can I do to stop the behavior?

Intervention involves setting limits and consequences for continued abrasive behavior, at the same time offering help in the form of specialized coaching to give the abrasive leader an opportunity to improve their management style.

You'll need to present your concerns to the individual — and be prepared to respond to their probable defensive reactions. You may also find that other leaders in the organization are reluctant to intervene or cooperate.

If you experience these situations, turn to an outside, impartial professional to get the results you need. As certified Boss Whispering® coaches specializing in abrasive behavior, we help the individual overcome resistance and change this unacceptable, harmful conduct. We also can work with the leadership, colleagues and teams involved, to help move the organization through to a healthier place.

Next Steps

To learn how to identify whether or not you DO have a case of chronic abrasive behavior that needs your attention, fill in this questionnaire (free, confidential, and no contact information collected): Abrasive Leader Diagnostic™

To learn more about the costs, the 'abrasive leader dilemma,' the solution, and proven tools you can use to turn the situation around for the benefit of your organization and everyone involved (including the leader), please download this whitepaper: The Abrasive Leader.

Four Myths That Perpetuate Abrasive Behavior At Work

When we join a company, partnership or team, our expectation is that everyone involved will exhibit professional behavior toward us and each other. Instead, it’s highly possible that we may become one of the more than 60 million adults in the United States who are affected in some way by bullying behavior at work.

What kind of behaviors are we talking about? Our definition is any interpersonal behavior that causes emotional distress in others sufficient enough to impede their productivity or disrupt organizational functioning. It isn’t just a personality conflict — it’s a chronic pattern of disrespectful behavior.

When your business team starts spiraling down

A healthy business team is one with strong relationships and vibrant engagement. It’s a beautiful place to be, where people feel heard and creative ideas bump against each other in an open, constructive way. We call it the Creative Tension Zone and it’s the dream (or should be) of any organization with an aim toward consistent growth.

Teams fall out of this place for various reasons, and the spiral downward can devolve into destructive conflict. It is critical to know where you and your team are on the Conflict Curve in order to make good decisions in “real time” so you can recognize what’s happening and pull your team back from the Conflict Spiral abyss.

The Difference Between HR and Organizational Ombuds Functions

On average an ombuds will see 3-5% of an organization’s members in the course of a year. Our work as organizational ombuds has increased steadily over the last couple of years, where we’re initially called in because someone in leadership is being dogged by a “small” conflict that won’t go away but keeps festering and growing until they can’t sweep it under the rug any longer. (From there, we typically enter a contractual arrangement with clients where we serve as their ongoing go-to ombuds, mediator, and conflict adviser.)

10 Ways an Ombudsman Can Increase Your Workplace Productivity

He could have been sitting in the corner of the conference room where I was convening as Organizational Ombuds for a team that was stuck - there was (emotional) clutter, plenty of discord, and a really difficult situation. Tension was high, people were venting. At any moment (my experience told me) someone could explode with frustration. It was like a freight train approaching the room, about to crash!

Creative Tension in the Workplace: Who needs it? You do!

Creative Tension Zone is where huge ideas emerge, innovation thrives, and empires are built! The most successful workplace teams know how to manage constructive conflict to encourage creative tension. What every leader needs to know about leveraging the power of conflict in a team.

Workplace Conflict: How to Deal with Hot Buttons

Have you ever said: “That person just presses my buttons”? We call these 'conflict hooks', because your reaction to the button-pusher has the potential to feed conflict. Understanding what conflict hooks are can help you and your team make better response choices.

9 Early Warning Signs of Workplace Conflict

Conflict doesn't just appear out of nowhere. There are always signs warning that a conflict is developing. Managers who know what these signs are can be more effective leaders by confronting the problem before it rages out of hand. By resolving conflict in the early stages, the company will run much more smoothly and the overall productivity level will be increased considerably. What are these subtle signs of conflict to look for?...

Resoblog

resoblog

Important Topics on Harnessing the Power of Conflict

Featured Blog Posts
(scroll down or search for all posts)

Bad behavior at work: when do you step in?

What defines abrasive behavior?

How do I know abrasive behavior is going on?

What can I do to stop the behavior?

Next Steps

Resoblog

resoblog

Important Topics on Harnessing the Power of Conflict

Featured Blog Posts(scroll down or search for all posts)

What defines abrasive behavior?

How do I know abrasive behavior is going on?

What can I do to stop the behavior?

Next Steps

Featured Blog Posts
(scroll down or search for all posts)