How to deal with misconduct
How to solve challenging situations
Misconduct is never acceptable.
No matter if the leader of an organisation on board-level, a member of the junior leadership team, or someone from operational level shows wrongdoing, you always have to act on it. Today, this is even more challenging as people will ask where you want to draw the line. Is it physical or verbal behaviour at work? Do you take social media statements into account? What about political work or statements alluding to any questionable organisation of which an employee might be a member?
Where do you draw the line?
Find out the ‘Why’
The first step on how to deal with misconduct always starts with talking to the person accused of wrongdoing. Making a statement or showing consequences before giving someone the chance to defend themselves is not only ‘not ideal’; it is undemocratic. Everyone has the right to make a statement about what happened in the past. You may find common ground and agree on consequences together. You may also not find common ground, and then you have to show consequences and decide how these will be implemented.
Populism never wins
Some leaders, many of them male, white and old-fashioned when it comes to their leadership style, show harsh consequences, announce via an email to everyone and are happy about what they have done. For sure, some people will applaud this behaviour as some people still think that “a strong hand to lead” is the best solution. History and science show how wrong you are to assume this. Your employer brand is less attractive afterwards, and it takes a lot of time, money and effort to repair the damage. The reason is plain and simple: the time of “the one strong leader” is over (top tip: not since yesterday…). Getting some applause from your best friends in the organisation is not a sustainable way to lead. Talk to the person and only act based on facts with robust, reliable and valid proof as well as evidence. It will pay off in favour of your leadership culture and employer’s brand soon.
Proactive Management
“Do you think I have time for that?” said a leader who ignored an issue in the first place and is surprised how it fired back afterwards. Once you know about misbehaviour or misconduct in your organisation, you have to address. Knowingly ignoring it is complicity. Also, you lose every social legitimisation to criticise others which as a leader will become a problem reasonably soon. There is one way for you to go: be proactive based on facts.
