Malicious Obedience
During the armed conflict in Vietnam there were incidents of “fragging” whereby American infantry soldiers killed their commanding officer because they had entirely lost trust in him and believed he would unnecessarily put them in danger. Most leaders today don’t need to fear that consequence but losing the respect and trust of your people will likely lead to disaster, albeit not death — and it can certainly stall or even end your management career.
It can take months or years to earn your people’s trust, but just minutes to lose it — at great peril to your effectiveness and career trajectory. So be hyper vigilant about your behavior and decision making because your people are always assessing your credibility and concern for them. You definitely don’t want to be metaphorically “fragged” by those you’ve been tasked with leading. To be sure this is an extreme example of subordinates undermining a leader they don’t trust. But there are many other examples of disgruntled employees working quietly behind the scenes to help their boss be embarrassed, reprimanded, or even fired. Malicious obedience is one way to accomplish this.
For example, as the Customer Service Manager I decree that everyone under my command begin processing orders in a new way without seeking input from the people that will have to implement the new procedure. A couple of the veteran Customer Service Reps know this will be a fiasco and will result in cancelled orders, irate customers, and a slew of highly negative reviews on social media.
But they simply say “Yes sir Mr. Frank, we will get it on it immediately” knowing it will blow up with disastrous results that will cause me to look foolish and likely get me chewed out by my boss. And the folks I ignored when implementing this order? They are quietly smiling in the background thinking “That’s what you get for being arrogant and not asking us before making a decision”.
