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In Part 1 of this series, I made the case that predators likely exist in every workplace.

And I posed the question: What can leaders do to protect our people when most people have been victimized at work at on average five times before they say something or quit.

Why Are They Not Saying Anything?

1) Most feel they nowhere to turn for help.

2) They have no faith that leadership will believe or support them.

What Is A Boss To Do To Provide Safe Harbour

Legally and morally, you are required to provide a safe place to turn.

Legally, the courts and governments have found that workplace harassment & violence is to be treated no differently that any other type of Occupational Health & Safety matter.

Morally, you are responsible for developing policies and procedures to keep employees safe.

What Are The 3 Actions You Need To Do:

1. Implement a Policy & Procedures

Developing a policy is the easy part, just Google ‘harassment policy and the name of your state or province’ and you will find all you need.

But you must do more. Because adding one more policy to that giant thick book of policies is useless unless it is lived and breathed by everyone.

Implement an education program with lunch & learns, guest speakers, role-playing, etc. to educate everyone on the policy and what it means.

2. Evaluate the risk

Form a committee to review any history of violence in your workplace by:

– Asking employees about their experiences and concerns for themselves or others.

– Implementing a whistle-blower line

– Reviewing any incidents of violence

– Assessing the workplace for the risk factors associated with violence.

– Getting information from your industry association, workers’ compensation board, occupational health and safety regulators or union office.

– Seeking advice from local police service

3. Get Serious

You are responsible.

As the senior person in your organization, you must champion and personally communicate your commitment to a safe workplace.

When Army developed harassment policies in the 80’s, they used posters and peer training to educate the troops. That helped, but trust me, when the CO and the RSM personally came and talked about it … we took it seriously.

So get off your duff and demonstrate that you are serious

And when something comes up take it seriously, investigate it and act.

Build A Culture Of Safety To Provide People Somewhere To Go

Whether caused by predators, mental health issues, drugs & alcohol or challenging clients providing a safe workplace is 100% your responsibility as the leader.

Just as you take the financial health of your company seriously, invest the same into providing a workplace safe from violence and harassment.

Why?

Because it is the law,

It is the right thing to do, and

You are responsible!

In Part 3, We Explore The Leadership Responsibilities

Boards and executive teams everywhere spend an unbelievable amount of time and energy on developing their company’s mission statement.

To be fair, this is important work as it helps to focus the organization but, in my experience, high-level mission statements do nothing to motivate frontline staff.

In fact, the Gallup organization found that only 20% of U.S. workers feel proud of or engaged by their company’s mission statement.

Most companies promote their mission by putting up posters, give out mouse pads and coffee cups. If that doesn’t work, they push managers to explain their precious mission differently so that it will finally sink in. They believe that once those darn employees finally get it life will be all sunshine & roses and profits will climb.

Sorry to tell you that this is not going to happen.

Why? Leaders think big & are future-focused, and workers are focused on very intimate, personal and local issues.

read about reaching leadership nirvana

Focus locally

When I ask workers what matters to them, they say what matters most is their ability to support their families, have good-paying jobs and hope to have a better life for their kids — and do what they can for their community.

When you have invested so much energy into that lofty mission statement, the idea of a local mission may not make sense. Because a corporate mission is supposed to give employees something big and important to believe in and work for: but employees connect to what they do every day; their team and the community in which they work.

I could list similar examples from around the world. But when I was a leader of a large NGO we had two mission statements, the official one – World Peace – and the local one – Every person who needs help will get it – and that was the one that inspires passion.

You must understand that the mission that matters most to your workers is the local one.

You’ll find it’s almost always about keeping the doors open and the community healthy.

My recommendation is to ask your workers what’s important to them:

• What does it take to operate in their location?
• What does the plant mean to the local community?
• What would be lost if it went away?
• Ask your workers to imagine the company closing; what would they do to keep the doors open and deliver on their mission?

Talk about the questions and the answers on the shop or office floor, and invite every worker to respond. Listen carefully to what they say, and craft their local missions.

read more about how to talk to your people

Then start doing those things — now before they don’t give a rat’s patootie about anything.

When someone enrols to take my online education seminars, I ask them a simple question: As A Leader What Is The One Thing That Is Keeping You Awake At Night?

Here is one reader’s question and my answer:

Steve, what keeps me up at night is:

I currently work shift leader for a restaurant. I love the company and what I do. My boss has talked about moving me into management, and he has given me a little constructive criticism, which I appreciated.

He told me that I have skills to become a manager, but that I cannot let other people see my emotions. He says I wear my heart on my sleeve and that allows employees to take advantage and use it against me.

Would you have any advice on how to check my emotions when trying to get my team to perform? How do I keep from wearing my heart on my sleeve?

My response:

What a terrific question!

It is important to be authentic to yourself – including being a boss. There is research that shows employees are more engaged, happier, loyal and productive when they believe their boss is authentic and cares for them.

Assuming your boss has your best interest at heart, I would go back to her/him and ask for factual examples of why they made that comment.

Was it something you did or said that raised concerns? Ask probing open-ended question to get them to be specific about why they think that. Then ask for ways you can improve.

You may want to read my blog on Partnering With Your Boss it walks through how you can assess the relationship you have with a Boss and how you can improve it.

But remember, as you implement their recommendations you need to be authentic and not a mirror image of your boss.

I hope that helps?

I have lots of good stuff in the blog section of my website

Take care

We often think a crisis as a flood, fire or other disaster. But a crisis can be caused by a death, an organizational change or any event that rattles an organization to the core. A crisis casts a long shadow into the future and threatens the very core of your being.

How do you make good decisions when events are confusing?

How do you decide what’s important when the decisions you make today will impact a future you can’t imagine?

Click to read about preparing for Crises

Relying on strong values in a crisis

I led the disaster management team for Canada’s largest NGO and probably one of the most dramatic moments of pressure for me was 9/11. The images and story of that day have been told many times and do not need to be repeated.

But on news of the event, my mind immediately began to focus on what decisions I needed to make quickly to keep the organization from panicking, to focus my team on the right work. At the same time, I had to respect the volunteers and staff worried about their families and friends.

As we had people & operations spread all over Canada, the first message I sent out was for everyone to pause and breath. I needed people to calm down, and then I started issuing gentle instructions: those worried about their families could leave. We had to find our people who were travelling to ensure they were safe.

The people who were willing to stay on the job were put to work on planning and providing solutions. We organized a conference call for all of our people and explained that whatever happened we would be using our organizational values as the base of our actions.

Be aware of the effects of stress

Typically, the stress you feel during a crisis is caused by fear, anticipation and desire:

• Fear of disaster
• The anticipation of the outcome
• The desire for it all to be over and get back to normal.

This fear will put unbelievable pressure on you to make decisions, solely to give the impression of doing something. You must understand that every decision you make expends your energy and organizational resources – energy you need to stay strong and lead.

Studies have shown that you can make 12 decisions a day. Make sure your decisions are focused on live safety and the survival of your organization – not the type of pizza needed for lunch.

The leadership role

Click to read more about leading in a crisis

To be effective, you need to discover what the real problem is. A challenge as you will face a tsunami of information – most of it inaccurate. It’s your task to discover the truth by asking the right questions, listening, and being present with your people.

A leader in a crisis responds by:

• Facing the crisis and building energy through positive action
• Being vigilant for new developments and information
• Maintaining focus on the priorities
• Assessing and responding to what is in your control and setting aside what isn’t.

Take action

Click to read more about business continuity planning

When taking action, you should do these 4 actions to resolve the crisis:

1. Act. Once you understand the problem, you will see that there are only a couple of realistic options open to you. Make a choice and act. General George Schwarzkopf often said that the quality of your decision does not increase beyond knowing 75% of the information available. So act.
2. Get everyone together. You have the power to draw people together to act as a team. If your people know you are in charge, they will respond to your direction.
3. Don’t look for blame. There will be an impulse to find blame. But scapegoating is counterproductive. Focus on the crisis, not on blaming others. After the crisis, it will be up to you to analyze the actions of others, but at the moment focus people on what needs to be done, not on who was at fault.
4. Do what needs to get done. In normal times, rules, policies and budgets are created to provide processes for the normal course of business. However, most rules were not created with a crisis in mind. Do whatever has to be done, and don’t worry about the ‘rules’!

I received tons of questions on last weeks blog on how not to EFF Up talking to your people.

Communication in rough times is critical, and it must be truthful, open, and proactive. But that doesn’t mean leaders shouldn’t weigh their words carefully. Here are some suggestions for what leaders should communicate — and what they should keep under their hats.

Don’t talk to workers like you would talk to analysts. The Bank and Investors need to know the details of your financials and your projections. They want hard numbers. Employees, however, need your humanity. Tell analysts that your layoffs represent a small fraction of your workforce. Tell employees that letting people go was the last thing you wanted to do.

Don’t let the rumour mill take over. As bad as things seem, the rumour mill will always make it sound worse. So communicate regularly through every available channel, and — whether the news is good or bad — make sure the message is consistent across all channels. Tell employees everything you can about your company’s finances and how they affect individual employees.

Talk about the greater good. Your business strategy, tactics, and changes are meant to preserve the health of your company. Let employees know when hard decisions are necessary to ensure your company’s survival, especially painful changes like job cuts.

Don’t let employees hear the bad news first on Twitter. When a companywide decision has been made, employees need to hear it first and from you. In tough times, employees need a sense of security, and they won’t get that if they are the last to know.

Be visible. Employees need to see you believe you. They can’t trust that you understand their troubles if you’re not visible in their world. Make the rounds, listen to people, and ask about their situations. Workers will know you care, and you’ll learn things you couldn’t have learned otherwise.

Explain how the economy is affecting your company in words everyone can understand. Don’t assume that your employees know esoteric financial terminology — but don’t talk down to them either. It’s wise to explain why, for instance, a lower share price doesn’t necessarily mean downsizing or how a leveraged buyout will affect personnel.

We are in choppy waters as the international trade war ramps up.

Markets are in chaos, oil process are 

The oil crash in 2014, from over $100 a barrel to $30 in 18 months, has been hard on our economy, with over 100,000 layoffs. Many companies have closed their doors and are in dire financial trouble.

The community is rife with terrible stories about how companies handle employee communications—from lies, senior leaders told people everything was good, then announced layoffs the next day.  One company asked all their staff to go into their offices, close the door and wait till 11:00. If they hadn’t been told by 11:00 that they had lost their job, they could have come out and continued.

In short, many companies and bosses have messed up by not treating their people with respect and dignity.

How Not To Mess It Up

How do you talk to your employees honestly about company finances and plans?

It’s hard to be a business owner with people counting on you when you have worries and aren’t sure what is appropriate to share. As an employee, it is also hard to be in the dark regarding your employer’s plans and wonder if layoffs are looming or your job is changing.

Here are four tips for talking with your employees when business is in tough times:

Tip #1: Don’t keep your employees in the dark- speak to them.

Here is the number one truism about your employees: They will make it up without information.

Employees are much closer to what’s going on than you are. They will know if sales are slowing because they are dealing with the phones and the deliveries each day. They also watch the news and follow social media, so they know. Never think that no news from you will be seen as good news.

There is a fine line to know when to discuss finances with employees. You didn’t want to alarm anyone, but you also didn’t want them to jump to conclusions because they aren’t getting information from you.

Bring everyone in, sit them down, and lay out a few key points about the company’s situation. Don’t dwell on bad news, and don’t always show a picture of sunshine and roses—be balanced. Tell your people the steps you are taking to address the situation. You don’t have to have all the answers (see the next point below), but you should also not give the impression that you’re clueless.

Read More about using silence while communicating

Tip #2: Allow for two-way communication.

When delivering bad news, I suggested speaking so your humanity and empathy come through.

Because we live through profit, losses, and recessions, you won’t have answers to every question. DO NOT make promises you cannot keep (like I guarantee no one will be laid off).

However, letting employees talk and ask questions will make them feel part of the process. They will know you are listening. Hearing their questions will tell you much about what your people are thinking. You may be able to dispel rumours and reassure them.

Please keep track of the questions you have not answered and address them in subsequent meetings.

Tip #3: Convey confidence.

Suppose you are in a panic; that will be magnified tenfold in your employees. If employees sense that you are coming across as if the sky is falling, they could start heading for the door.

The best way to deal with your emotions is to know, plan, and write out what you want to say in advance. Practice it if necessary. Take a deep breath and put on your game face before you meet with your people. You will feel calmer and more confident and convey that image.

Tip #4: Be a good fiscal role model.

Who would you support as a leader during challenging times?

The CEO of an oilfield services firm overheard griping about the first-class service he received on his last flight just before he told his managers they had to cut staff by 5%.

Or, the Boss who took a more significant pay cut than the staff got, cancelled the Palm Springs leadership Team retreat and cut out catered lunches for management meetings?

Double standards destroy your credibility. When you share bad news and try to reassure people, they will likely not believe you unless they feel you have skin in the game.

Let me close by saying that each situation is different, so there are no simple answers to how to communicate bad news to employees. But I do know that without your employees, your company is nothing.

Put yourself in their shoes and be the leader you would want to have during tough times.

Leading means you need to be in front.