One of my favorite quotes that always resonates with people when I’m talking about accountability in the workplace:

“What you permit, you promote”

This comes up countless times when working with leaders and organizations – “somehow” there are managers and employees that are outright hostile, bullying, discriminatory, or harassing others.  

But nothing ever happens to them.

As a senior leader – you may not even realize what’s actually happening.

Either no one ever complains because they fear retaliation or they do complain and nothing comes of it.

At best, it looks like you’re avoiding it.

At worst, it looks like you’re endorsing this behavior and/or protecting this person.

And even if you acknowledge it’s not great, you may find yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

But the longer you don’t say anything, the more you’re not staying neutral, the more you’re deciding the behavior is worth it.

Why do so many leaders avoid addressing it?

In my work, what I see over and over again is this dynamic:

It doesn’t get addressed because there’s some skill set/talent/knowledge that this person holds that makes it too costly to get rid of them. 

But, if you can’t get rid of one employee because it would disrupt your entire organization, your employee isn’t the biggest problem.

It’s the entire system.

What’s the cost of harassment/discrimination/bullying?

You may not realize the true cost of this allowing this behavior to go on:

• $50,000 to $200,000+ for discrimination lawsuits – even if you win
• $30,000 to $100,000+ for harassment lawsuits

I’m willing to bet you don’t want to throw around money like that.

But here’s the bigger issue:

• 40% of people who experience this report adverse health issues as a result (anxiety, depression, physical health issues)
• Decreased productivity
• Increased absenteeism
• Increased turnover (one org I recently spoke to had 180% turnover in one team alone last year)

Some of you are still thinking – “that hasn’t happened at my company!”

Here’s what you’re still missing:

You’re trading short-term stability in exchange for long-term credibility, trust, retention, and reputation.

What can you do about it?

I can’t make you care about this, if you truly believe the ends justify the means, then I wish you luck.

But if you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels:

Assess what’s going on

Ask yourself these questions:

1. If this person left tomorrow, what would actually break?
2. Who have I already lost because of them?
3. What message does my silence send to my other top performers?
4. If my Board fully knew the situation, would they agree with my decision?
5. Am I avoiding this because it’s hard – or because it’s strategic?

Do some level setting

• Get clear with everyone on what is acceptable and not acceptable. Make sure everyone knows what appropriate behaviors are and what won’t be tolerated anymore.

• Get clear on what will happen if people continue to engage in those behaviors – and follow through on consequences.

Fix processes

• Get training for people on conflict resolution and mediation if needed.

• Implement reporting mechanisms. Create channels where employees can anonymously report issues without fear of retaliation.

• Implement processes for investigations by 3rd parties – remove your own bias and have professionals do deep dives and figure out what’s actually happening beyond just regular personality differences.  If you have HR resources – this is what they’re trained to do.

Have the hard conversations:

Start having the difficult conversation with the manager(s)/employee(s) in question.  

Give them the feedback that their behavior is unacceptable and what you expect them to do instead.

If they don’t change?  

All this won’t mean anything unless you have this vital ingredient – courage to make hard decisions.

At the end of the day, you’ll have to decide whether the destination is more important than how you get there.  

Most leaders don’t fail because they don’t care.

They fail because they underestimate the political, legal, and cultural ripple effects of not confronting bad behaviors.

If you’re ready to choose long-term stability over short-term convenience, this is leadership.

PS – If you need help navigating this, it’s exactly what I do – reach out and let’s chat.