The Role of Predatory Leadership in Workplace Bullying

I recently attended an insightful presentation given by Amy Shannon of Pinnacle Leadership Solutions at which she talked about “Workplace Bullying – The Silent Epidemic.”  The statistics that were presented were staggering:
·    35% (an estimated 53.5 million Americans) of the U.S. workforce report being bullied at work
·    72% of workplace bullying is done by people in positions of authority
·    43% of bullies have an “executive sponsor” who protects him/her from being disciplined for the behavior

So what is the definition of workplace bullying? According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, it’s defined as “repeated, health-harming mistreatment, verbal abuse, or conduct which is threatening, humiliating, intimidating, or sabotage that interferes with work or some combination of the three.”  Some people may dismiss these behaviors saying “Oh, that’s just how he is – he doesn’t mean anything by it.”  Or “She’s just having an off day.”  The truth is, people who use predatory leadership behaviors such as bullying to influence others are doing it with the intention of creating submission through fear.  Most likely they know exactly what they are doing and why they are doing it.

Employees on the receiving end of bullying are often made to feel that they are “troublemakers” and may end up being re-victimized by managers and human resource staff who don't understand the nature of the problem or don’t enforce policies that are in place.  Not addressing an employee’s concerns about a co-worker or boss who is exhibiting bullying behaviors can be costly on several levels.   Employees who are being bullied are likely to be less productive, take more sick days and experience much higher levels of stress, which can lead to a multitude of health issues.

In addition to the above mentioned effects, employers who do not address bullying may be setting themselves up for legal issues.  If an employee reports bullying to the human resource department and nothing is done to address the employee who is doing the bullying, the employee who is being victimized may sue the entire organization for the damages caused by the bully (physical and emotional health issues, economic effects).  That seems like a large liability for an organization.  Yet, as mentioned earlier, “43% of bullies have an executive sponsor who protects him/her from being disciplined.”

All of this leads to the question we need to be asking “Why does this behavior happen in the first place?” Bullying is often tied to a perception that power is obtained through fear and intimidation.  People have subscribed to this theory of predatory leadership for thousands of years.  We perceive that the individual that acts aggressively toward others is the “leader” and the rest of the group follows out of “respect” so this has been the leadership style most widely practiced.  The reality however is that in most groups, the leader is actually the member who is calm, assertive and confident in managing the social structure of the group.  Horses are an excellent example of this kind of non-predatory leadership.  The “dominant” horse – the one seen biting, striking or chasing the other horses in order to secure resources -- is thought to be the herd leader.  This is completely the opposite of what is actually true.  The herd leader is the individual who acts in a calm assertive manner while accessing resources as well as in reacting to potential threats.  The leader is able to assess how much influence needs to be exerted to let others know what he/she expects of them.  The communication may be as subtle as the movement of an ear or as blatant as a bigger body movement.  This is non-predatory leadership at its best and creates a much healthier environment for all because the intention is not to influence through fear but through trust.

Non-predatory leadership is not about being passive.  It is about using social and emotional intelligence to show respect, create boundaries, set an example of healthy relationships and understand that everyone has an important role in the group.  Bullying has no place in the practice of non-predatory leadership and organizations that have issues with bullying should re-evaluate whether they are providing the right training opportunities for their managers and employees to prevent a culture that allows and possibly even encourages predatory leadership as the way to manage employees.

I’ll write more about the concepts of non-predatory leadership in future blogs.  To find out how you can gain the skills to lead with social and emotional intelligence, check out our website at www.wagersway.com.

Why Won't This Employee Do What I Want!

“They [business schools] rarely allow room for students to develop intra-personal skills, or the skills that come from being a self-aware person.” – Elad Levinson, Senior Organization Effectiveness Consultant

I read the above statement in Mr. Levinson’s blog titled “Training is a Necessity, Not a Luxury.”  As an advanced facilitator who owns a professional development consulting business, I of course was intrigued with much of what Mr. Levinson wrote.  Granted he was also selling his program, but the content of his blog is very much in line with what I experience in marketing my program – organizations have a difficult time understanding the importance of developing their employees through training, especially as it impacts their bottom line.

I am passionate about helping people realize their potential.  My work is not just a job – it’s filled with purpose and it is tremendously rewarding to watch my clients gain insights about themselves that help them to be better leaders, team members, family members, etc….  The challenge is getting potential clients to see how their misconception of the importance of training and coaching employees is having a detrimental effect on their organizations.  Over and over managers can be heard using the following descriptions of their staff: “lazy, unmotivated, unskilled, unwilling, disengaged….” the list could go on and on.  While it’s true that there is a percentage of employees who honestly do deserve those kinds of descriptions, I would offer a different perspective for managers to think about in how they interact with their employees.

In my equine assisted action learning workshops, I hear many of the same descriptions noted above when clients are interacting with the horses.  What I know about horses (after 30 years of working with them) is that they react to what is communicated (or not communicated) to them - both verbally and non-verbally.  And how we communicate with them is highly dependent on how we interpret their behavior.  If we interpret the horse’s reluctance to do something as being stubborn or lazy, then our reaction to them will be reflected as such.  How do we generally react to someone who we interpret is being stubborn or lazy? Usually with some kind of strong pressure, with the intention of making that person do what we want.  And when they don’t do what we want, we decide it is they who are the problem. This reaction rarely is successful with horses or people (when they are given the choice of whether to engage or not).  What if, just for a moment, we consider that what we perceive to be stubborn or lazy is actually protection or calm assertiveness?  Is it possible that someone’s “stubbornness” or “laziness” is actually their way of communicating that we aren’t being clear in what we want?  If we changed our perception of a behavior to reflect the latter, how might that change our interaction with the employee?

The only way for managers to gain a thorough understanding of how to see situations differently is through training that helps them gain awareness of themselves and how they interpret the behaviors of others.  If organizations want to reduce turnover, especially with non-management staff, then they need to invest in training their managers to develop the skills needed to realize that employees who are reluctant to complete a task, may not be stubborn, lazy, unwilling, etc…. They may need to be communicated to more clearly and coached on how to complete the task.

Communication is a key component in successfully leading and managing team members.  And learning to coach employees through effective communication is a skill that is critical in today’s work environment.  Are you investing in your managers?  If not, you may be affecting your bottom line and impeding the ability of your organization to stay competitive.

Wager’s Way is offering a full day workshop on “Coaching Employees to Maximize Engagement,” July 17, 2015.  For more information, visit our website at www.wagersway or e-mail me at ginny@wagersway.com.

Trust – It Really is Key in Leadership

By Ginny Telego

Recently I was talking to the vice president of a bank who participated in one of our demonstration workshops.  At our demonstration workshops, we offer participants the opportunity to work with the horses in 2 or 3 activities that we do in our regular workshops.  It provides people with a sample of the experience that they would have in our leadership and team development workshops.

In talking with the bank executive - we'll call him Tom (not his real name) -  he shared with me that the thing that stood out most to him in working with the horses was how integral trust was in getting the horses to work with the leadership team.  Tom was working with two other people to move three miniature horses from one area of the pasture to another.  They were given 2 minutes to develop a plan, but after that they were not allowed to touch the horses or talk to each other during the project.  The group approached the horses with a commanding presence and the horses responded by running away.  The group continued to approach the horses in a way that communicated “You are going to do this whether you want to or not.”  The horses continued to choose not to go where the group was asking them to go.  After about 10 minutes, the facilitators checked in with the leadership team to see how things were going and talk about what was happening.  Through the discussion, the horses were compared to a team of employees.   The group realized that they were approaching the “team” with too much command and control style of leadership and not building the trust that was needed to lead the team.

The group was given another opportunity to guide their “team members”(horses) to the area where they needed to be.  This time they were allowed to talk to each other but still not allowed any kind of tools to physically attach to the horses to move them.  And this time, they approached their “team members” with a different kind of intention.  Instead of walking towards the horses with command and control leadership, they took time to build trust with each team member, communicating in a way that was respectful to them as individuals.  The result?  The team members willingly went with the leaders where they wanted them to go.

So how does this work with the horses apply to leadership in the human world?

1.  Trust comes from respect.  Almost every leadership book, blog and article talks about trust as the key characteristic of an effective leader.  In their book The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner (2007) note that “Without trust, you cannot lead” (p. 224). They go on to state that “We listen to people we trust and accept their influence” (p. 225).  Once the leadership team built trust with the team members (horses), they were able to influence them to move where they needed them to go, with minimal effort.
2. Leadership is about relationships.  Kouzes and Posner hit the nail on the head when they write “A leader-constituent relationship that’s characterized by fear and distrust will never, ever produce anything offering value.  A relationship characterized by mutual respect and confidence will overcome the greatest adversities and leave a legacy of significance” (p. 24).  For this leadership team, the command and control approach with the team (horses) was highly unproductive.  When they took the time to build a relationship with each team member, mutual respect was established and the team willingly followed the leaders.
3. Command and control does not build relationships or trust.  How much do you like someone who leads you using a command and control leadership style?  Probably as much as the horses.  The horses respond by not cooperating – this is usually what happens with people too.  Command and control might work temporarily, but long term it will only create an environment where team members avoid cooperating whenever they have that option.

Kouzes and Posner note that “People are just more willing to follow someone they like and trust” (p. 295).  When people work with the horses in our action learning program, they are able to literally see how they are influencing others.  The horses willingly follow when participants take the time to build trust through relationships and intentions are honest.  What kind of relationships are you building?  Are your team members running around the pasture or willingly following you where you need them to go?

Ginny Telego is the president and founder of Wager's Way, an equine assisted action learning program that partners with horses to offer leadership and team development as well as executive coaching.  Find out more at www.wagersway.com.

Action Learning in a New Arena

By Ginny Telego

What if leaders and managers across your organization had the ability to adapt quickly, understand their teams better and work together to solve organizational challenges?  In today’s world, these skills are not only desirable, but they are necessary in order for organizations to thrive.

Traditional leadership and team development programs have not been enough to create the kind of change that needs to take place in order for leaders and managers to develop the skills necessary to be successful in today’s business environment.  In an article titled "Use it or Lose it" in the February 2015 issue of TD Magazine, the authors share that “few [training] programs are designed to help learners permanently store information or help them when they need to retrieve essential knowledge.”  The article is about the neuroscience of learning, retention and transfer and discusses the importance of putting into practice the lessons that are presented in corporate training.  While the authors focus on implementing continuous opportunities for learners to practice what was presented in the “days, weeks and months following a training,” the need to include action learning in the training process can provide additional opportunities for learners to solidify what was presented in a training.

Action learning was developed in the mid-20^th century and is becoming a widely used methodology in the world of leadership and team development.  The essence of action learning is based in providing learners with activities that generate reflective questions and having a skilled facilitator guide participants through the process of gaining self-awareness and discovering the root issues that may be impeding forward movement in their department or the organization as a whole.  According to Michael Marquardt, who authored an article on action learning in TD Magazine, there are 10 key elements that can increase the success of action learning:

1.  Presenting a problem that has some measure of urgency and complexity

2.  Powerful questions that encourage creative thinking and that the group can reflect on

3.  The mindset and values of the group members needs to be one of a willingness to change behaviors and work collaboratively

4.  Ensuring that the learning that takes place are skills that can be integrated into their work

5.  Clarification of norms – such as “focusing on questions, taking time to learn, seeking input from all members, respecting different perspectives, and accepting the role of the coach/facilitator”

6.  Commitment of top leadership to the action learning project

7.  Clear timelines and expectations

8.  Teams need to feel that they have the support from top management to implement what is learned

9.   Diversity among team members

10.Most importantly – skilled coaches and facilitators who can “create an atmosphere of learning and reflective inquiry”

One form of action learning that is effective in meeting the 10 key elements identified by Marquardt is equine experiential learning, where horses co-facilitate the learning process alongside trained human facilitators.  This learning modality is not based on learning horsemanship – in fact most programs use only ground activities, no riding is involved.  However, the horses provide immediate, non-judgmental feedback to participants that then generates powerful reflective questions and is not a professional development experience that is quickly forgotten.  Because of this, the learning tends to be retained and continues to be utilized long after participants have left the arena.  At Wager’s Way, participants have the opportunity to put leadership and team development theory into practice through this unique, effective form of action learning and the lessons learned are powerful.  One participant who was very skeptical at the start of a workshop wrote the following on his evaluation at the end of the day “I learned that I have a lot to learn about leadership.”  This kind of outcome is action learning at its best.

Ginny Telego is a Certified Advanced Facilitator and owner of Wager's Way, an equine facilitated action learning program in Ashland, OH.  www.wagersway.com

"Show 'em who's boss" -- Really?

(http://swebman.com/2013/04/29/boss-vs-leader-2/)

I’m sure that most people have seen the image that has circulated on Facebook featuring a list of traits that differentiate a “boss” from a “leader.”  I think this is an important distinction to make in light of how these opposite styles of leadership can affect an organization.

On occasion when I was teaching riding to kids, parents would be nearby, watching proudly at the sight of their child happily leading a thousand pound horse to the grooming stall.  As often happens with inexperienced horse handlers, the horse would sometimes veer “off course” to the hay pile that was just beyond the grooming stall.  When the child struggled a bit to figure out what to do, parents would quickly say to them “You need to be the boss of that horse and make him do what you want.” 

     

      Okay, let’s chew on that statement for a moment.  

A. What does “be the boss” mean to a 12 year old, who has likely expressed disdain at being bossed around by anyone?  Words and phrases in the thesaurus describing “boss” include: “Command, Bully, Give orders in a demeaning manner and Person in charge.”   To most kids and adults I know, none of these words represent positive attributes.  In fact, most people clearly state their dislike of other people who exhibit those characteristics.  And, I find that many people are actually uncomfortable with the thought of being “the boss.”  My guess is that most people don’t want to be called “the boss” as they believe that it paints them in a negative light.

      B. What is the parent inferring when they use that phrase?  Where is the parent getting their reference of the term “boss” from?  When people use the phrase “you need to be the boss” I immediately begin to wonder what their reference point is for it.  Do they have a “boss” who “makes” people do what the boss wants?  Or are they themselves “the boss” who tries to make others do what they want?  As I work with individuals and groups in my equine experiential leadership and team development program, the notion of “being the boss” is one that quickly becomes a point of discussion when people realize that it is not the way to lead others in a way that creates trust.  The horses are very good at providing non-judgmental feedback to support this.    

C. Do the actions of “being the boss” really make a horse – or people for that matter -- do what you want? Going back to the parents encouraging their child to “be the boss and make the horse do what you want” -- have you as an adult ever tried to “make” someone do what you want and been successful in the long term?  While horses can be extremely compliant, they also are quite a bit more powerful than humans and if they really don’t want to do something, they don’t have to.  If you’ve ever been bucked off a horse, you know what I’m talking about.  When you think of someone who is bossy, what are the actions that you associate with that?  I’m guessing they are not actions that create a warm and fuzzy feeling for you or encourage you to want to go along with them.  Going back to the thesaurus: “Command, Bully, Superior, Give orders in a demeaning manner….”  In most instances, these are not the actions that make people (or horses) willingly follow someone.

Certainly there are times (with horse and humans) that we need to be insistent on getting our needs communicated - especially if there is risk of harm.  But in most cases when people use the phrase "Show them who's boss" it is simply a way to portray dominance, which is not leadership.

What if, instead of advising their child to “be the boss and make the horse do what you want,” the parent said “be the leader and the horse will come with you” – would this change the interaction?  How many organizations have too many people in leadership positions thinking that “being the boss” is the way to get people to do what is needed?  I’m guessing your response is “Too many.”  I agree.  So let’s start changing our leadership vernacular. Trust and a willingness to follow are not the result of “being the boss” – but they ARE the result of being an effective leader who communicates clearly with intention, empathy, compassion and an understanding of what motivates different individuals.  It’s what horses respond to and I believe it’s what people want as well.

Taking Active Learning to a Whole New Level

By Paul Andrew Johnson, Ph.D.

Crawford County CU Lead is a leadership development program with a focus on community involvement. Our leaders make a difference, not just in the workplace or in the family, but in the community, as well. We believe that when it comes to transforming communities, not only does leadership make a difference, it is the difference!

Over the past four years Wager’s Way has become a keystone experience for our CU Leaders. Wager’s Way takes active learning to a whole new level! Through the Wager’s Way experience, our leaders learn that leadership is the process of developing relationships through trust and respect, clear communication, and effective action; all essential elements of effective leadership in any setting.

One of the most powerful lesson’s of the Wager’s Way experience is that leadership is all about relationships, connections, and influence.  Just as ensuring the well-being of the herd is an ongoing process that relies upon strong and trustworthy leadership, team work, communication, active participation, and relationships, so it is with leading communities.

One of the most elusive aspects of leadership is motivation. Effective leaders are attentive to the needs and motives of followers and endeavor to help followers improve their performance and reach their fullest potential. As such, effective leadership involves motivating others to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the team, the organization, or the community. The Wager’s Way experience gives leaders the opportunity to explore what motivation looks like from a horse’s perspective. In so doing, leaders gain insight into their own leadership behaviors in ways that other group process activities just can’t match.

As a result of their Wager’s Way leadership experience, our CU Leader’s have learned that effective leadership means actively facilitating and supporting the leadership of others and the collective capacity of people to lead as they respond to situations they confront as organizations and communities.

How have CU Leaders evaluated their Wager’s Way leadershipexperience? One CU leader expressed it best: “Wager’s Way changed my life!”

Paul Johnson, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Leadership and Policy Studies

Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green, Ohio

A Leader's Journey to Self-Awareness

Photo by Nancy Rebman

In developing our equine assisted professional development programs, my colleague and I regularly read books, blogs and research studies to stay abreast of current trends in workforce development.  Most of what we read about leadership and team development focuses on building trust, being transparent in communication and an ability to adapt to an ever-changing global economic environment.  These seem like common sense traits for leaders and successful team members to possess and yet professional development programs continue to try and find ways to teach and enhance these skills. 

So what makes these skills elusive?  As we work with participants in our program, there are some common challenges that are reflected in the responses of the horses during activities.

1. Communication.  This is one of the biggest barriers to effective leadership and successful teams.  We all think we are communicating information effectively, but team performance often reflects otherwise.  If your vision isn't being implemented, check in with your team on whether they are understanding what you need and expect from them.
2. Adaptability.  A participant in one of our leadership development workshops had the following revelation at the end of the day - "Just because it's not my way doesn't mean it's the wrong way."  For him, this was a moment of self-awareness as he had stated at the start of the day that one of his challenges was managing different personalities.  In reality his challenge was managing team members who approached projects from a different perspective - this awareness of his need to adapt to his team helped him lead more effectively.
3. Trust.  Horses are clear about whether they trust you or not.  Without genuine trust, the horse will choose to not engage in being part of a team.  Horses are also very adept at picking up inconsistencies in our intentions.  Using fear to lead does not gain trust and given the option of whether to follow or not, team members who are fearful will find ways to disengage from the team.

All of these challenges can be overcome through increased self-awareness.  Emotional intelligence has become a popular tool in leadership development and gaining self-awareness is a primary path to becoming a more effective leader.  The journey to self-awareness is not easy -- it takes an ability to look in the mirror and a willingness to see your true self.  But I've watched clients take this journey with the horses and the willingness of the horses to allow clients to explore and practice better ways to lead makes the journey more palatable.

Where will your journey start?

Ginny Telego is the president and founder of Wager's Way, an experiential learning program that partners with horses to offer leadership and team development.  Find out more at www.wagersway.com.