Dealing with discomfort is a fact of life for leaders. So much of leadership makes us step outside of what we find comfortable and into the unknown.
Whether it’s walking through a heartbreaking situation with a coworker, the difficult decision to let someone go, or leaving an organization, leadership is uncomfortable. We have to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
Yet, there are things leaders should never be comfortable with. These things cause internal conflicts within organizations, hurt others, and damage the organization’s overall health.
What are those things leadership should never get comfortable with? Let’s take a look.
5 Things Leaders Shouldn’t Get Comfortable With
Disrespect:
First and foremost, we must deal with disrespect within organizations. This disrespect often comes from the leaderswithin when they talk about their direct reports or the competition.
There may be discussions about how you can’t compliment an employee group because it goes to their head. It may be making fun of or calling people names behind their backs (that would never happen, right? Right?!???). Or it could be screaming at someone in public rather than having a private conversation.
All of these things are disrespectful. Maybe to you, maybe to the team member.
We can’t get comfortable with disrespect.
Gossip:
If you had kids in the 90s or early 2000s, you probably remember VeggieTales. This series was a wholesome series by Phil Vischer. The series followed animated vegetables that helped kids understand Biblical values and how to treat others.
In 1999, Larryboy and the Rumor Weed was released. This episode of VeggieTales showed viewers how insidious spreading rumors (AKA gossip) was. Rumors were like weeds that grew uncontrollably.
We cannot allow gossip in our organizations. As gossip and rumors swirl, the truth gets distorted. People become angry, frustrated, and angst-ridden around their coworkers.
Never, ever get comfortable with gossip in your organization.
Infighting:
There’s going to be conflict in your organization. High performers will challenge one another. However, you can’t let this lead to infighting.
The dictionary describes infighting as hidden conflict or competitiveness within an organization..
Your organization suffers when there’s hidden conflict or unhealthy competition (especially when others don’t know there’s a competition). There will be a sense of uneasiness swirling through the office.
Help your team bring those hidden conflicts to the surface. Then help them work through them.
Gaslighting:
Far too many leaders use the tactic of gaslighting to keep employees in their grasp. They will use psychological methods to make their employees doubt their sanity. This is unacceptable!
Gaslighting hurts not only the person being gaslit but also the organization. People become afraid, bitter, and scatterbrained the more they’re gaslit.
Don’t allow gaslighting in your organization. It is damaging emotionally and mentally.
Avoidance:
The last thing we should never get comfortable with in our organization is an employee who practices avoidance. What does this look like? You’ll notice employees who avoid the hard conversations, difficult tasks, and challenging situations. They run and hide when they should be tackling the problem at hand.
Avoidance makes others have to pick up the slack. Their teammates must seek them out, find out what’s happening, and what needs to be done.
You cannot allow employees who practice avoidance in your organization. It’s a behavior that must be corrected or you will have ineffective employees.
Let’s get rid of being comfortable with these toxic behaviors.
