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Leadership & the ‘No Asshole Rule’ - Act your Age not your shoe size

 

One thing that really bugs me is people who bully others to get their own way. It has no part to play in shaping a culture that maximises the potential of all. Besides, managing and retaining "talent" is difficult enough.

 

Having a bullying approach to managing just drives the best people away, and creates a seething resentment amongst others, and has a huge impact on a company's TCA (more on this later).

 

There is just no need to adopt childish schoolyard tactics to get your own way. And yet it does happen.

 

To recognise that this is a problem in today's organisation I consulted a brilliant book which I had bought it last year and was reading through preparing for a training session for next week. It's a book written by Bob Sutton who is a leading academic at Stanford. The title of the book is "The No Asshole Rule". It's subtitle says it all - "Building a Civilised Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't."

 

Bob Sutton & The No Asshole Rule

 

Bob Sutton is a Business School Professor at Stanford in Connecticutt near to GE University at Crotonville. I like his approach - he hits the hard issues and focuses on the key people in the news. His regular column focuses on 'Bullying' and how not to become a real 'Asshole' and draws on the writing and thoughts of Suzi and Jack Welch (Jack is ex CEO, legend and miracle worker of change management of General Electric Suzi was Editor of the Harvard Business Review).

 

Suzi and Jack draw a distinction between various types of Leaders and much of their ideas are based on what Jack did in his 20+ odd years to turn a huge lumbering bueaucratic giant that was GE in the late 70's into todays fleet of foot performer.

 

Jack Welch - No Bullying Culture

 

Before Immelt became CEO of GE, Welch lay a firm foundation on no bullying. The strong performance culture had previously yielded an extremely tough set of managerial styles bordering on the dictatorial - 'it's my way or the highway' approach.

 

From Welch's early days in the business, he was determined that the old style would be driven out of the culture and replaced by a style that maximised the potential of all staff without being in any way 'laisez faire' or 'touchy feely'.

 

I know its true because I have worked in many of the GE businesses, and the fundamental drive behind introducing change was instilling a strong behaviour of celebrating the potential and achievement of all rather than dealing with people as assets and treating them harshly.

 

If GE Can Do It We Can Too

 

If Jack can lay the guidelines, leadership style and values of the business to achieve an outsanding culture reflected on double digit proftability growth for 20 years and without intimidation then the rest of us can easily follow his example.

 

The book - "The No Asshole Rule" is easy reading. Bob talks about the "inner Jerk" that befalls us all. Unfortunately, over the years I can relate people's style of management to the examples he outlines. I have been both the unwilling and outraged recipient many times of this behaviour and also unfortunately, on occasion, the instigator of such behaviours. Whereas, some people adopt the style as 'business as usual'

 

They reap what they sow. It's how they express their personal power and how they get their satisfaction, but there is a huge cost associated with this behaviour. You see it niggles away at their self worth and most secretly they wish they could repair the damage.

 

Unfortunately, those who don't repent and relent suffer big time when it becomes their default manner of interacting and managing. They become enraged stress monkeys and pay for the consequences of their behaviour.

 

What's Your TCA?

 

What is the Total Cost of Assholes in Your Organisation? It can include damage to victims and witnesses to the events and the rumours that spread through the organisational grapevine. It spreads quickly even including suppliers, customers and business partners and, eventually potential investors.

 

It's most prevalent in organisations where the top team have little self reflection of their behaviour and the impact this has on others.

 

Then there is time spent dealing with legal issues in Tribunals, out of Court settlements, counselling, time lost, stress, ill-health - even sabotage and collusion expressed by employees trying to get even. Those who have high potential will not tolerate the atmosphere and will leave. Those who have less choice of moving, concentrate on protecting themselves and never give their best.

 

Making Good Business Sense

 

To be honest it's not worth being an 'Asshole'. It only drives up blood pressure of all concerned, and who wants to rule by fear when there are so many better and more productive ways of doing business?

I'll leave you with a few examples of "Asshole" behaviour outlined by Bob ...........and you may want to self-assess on when you demonstrate these behaviours.

 

.................and remember to pay Bob's website a visit and do the Asshole Test or, better still, get someone else to do the test from their perspective of your behaviour.

 

The Asshole Test

 

The Dirty Dozen Asshole Test Behaviours

• Personal insults (sometimes veiled as jokes)
• Invading other's personal territory
• Uninvited personal contact
• Threats and intimidation: both verbal and non verbal
• Sarcastic jokes
• Withering emails
• Status slaps to intimidate others
• Public admonitions of 'status degradation' to others
• Rude interruptions
• Personal attacks
• Dirty looks and radically inconsistent behaviour
• Treating people as if they are invisible

Luckily, I have not come across too many organisations displaying these tendencies, but all of us need to take a good look in the mirror from time to time just to ensure we are not the Asshole!

 

I have a feeling that we will be contributing more on this in the next few weeks.