When will the end of corporate bullies come?

I am aware that I am touching on a very sensitive subject… but the current context of the “big resignation” convinced me to open the debate by sharing a professional experience. ⬇️

A few years ago, as a consultant, I led a major transformation project with a client known to be “difficult”.

From the very first weeks, signs of dictatorial leadership appeared:

➡️ Repeated questioning of the experts’ skills (all senior).
➡️ Lack of listening, recognition, and willingness to decide everything alone
➡️ Direct and scathing criticisms of the ideas put forward in meetings
➡️ Establishment of a climate of terror

I even had to audit the work done by one of my senior collaborators who was certified and recognized for his skills. The client had great doubts about the quality of his work.

The reason?

During a creative brainstorming session, the collaborator would not have used “the right color” to record the fruit of a brainstorming session.

Previously, the client had taken a training course on this type of work session, and the trainer had given him his own color-coding method (a sort of personal recipe). Although the audit showed that the employee’s work was exemplary, the client asked me to replace him because he no longer had confidence…

And that’s not all:

➡️ I had to reconstitute the entire team of seasoned experts twice in the span of a few months
➡️ Key team members became ill, unable to continue in this toxic climate
➡️ The project was headed for the wall

When I decided to talk openly to the client about the situation, the client basically said, “Make your choices and I’ll live with it, but I won’t change.

I then made the difficult decision to withdraw from the project and leave it up to my team members to do the same. My employer was not very happy with my unilateral decision and it left a mark on our relationship and my reputation.

So here is the message I want to get across:

There have always been tyrants, and there always will be. And some of them act like this because they don’t know how to manage otherwise, it’s the directive mode of management they have undergone or learned.

No one should feel compelled to be around toxic people for fear of losing face or reputation. The long-term health effects are too damaging. As a leader, if you can’t avoid them, you must have the courage to “take the hit” to protect your teammates by getting as far away from them as possible: “Clients pass, teammates remain.

In short, don’t be afraid to say ENOUGH!

Think of your health and that of your team members first.

 

This article was originally published on LinkedIn in February 2022.