Leaders must be firm! Transformational leadership is not about being liked; it’s about creating a healthy, productive, and respectful workplace. Creating a warm atmosphere is not synonymous with allowing every act of bad behavior. The most critical test of leadership often comes not in beautiful gestures but in how swiftly and decisively one addresses negative behavior. When we fail to deal with little acts of omission, they may end up creating problems. Leaders must be kind, but the inability to confront negative behaviour is a subtle acceptance of it. There is a huge cost to being silent, especially when a negative attitude is being noticed in any organisation.
The story of Uber under the leadership of Travis Kalanick comes to mind one more time. For years, toxic workplace culture was allowed to fester, with reports of sexual harassment, discrimination, and unprofessional behavior. The outcome was a massive cultural implosion that nearly destroyed the company. When Susan Fowler, a former engineer with the company, published her explosive blog post in 2017, it revealed years of systemic issues that leadership had chosen to ignore. She detailed her experiences of sexism and harassment. She expressed how the company’s HR department refused to act even when she reported the incident. Sarah’s post triggered widespread outrage at Uber’s culture, and this led to an internal investigation. The CEO was forced to resign in June 2017, partly due to Sarah’s blog post and subsequent investigation. Amongst other things to learn in this story is that there are things that won’t remain a secret forever. Stop bad behaviour before it stops you as the leader.
Letting bad behaviour slide isn’t just a moral failure—it’s a business risk. Subtle acceptance of bad behaviour can lead to business failure. The next example can easily be understood by anyone who has a background in sales. When the achievement of sales becomes much more important than the process, it leads to unethical behavior. When a culture prioritises results over ethics, and leaders fail to confront early warning signs of misconduct, it usually leads to reputation damage. Take the example of Wells Fargo’s infamous scandal, where employees created millions of unauthorised customer accounts to meet the bank’s aggressive sales targets. This was done without the knowledge or consent of the customers. Wells Fargo had a sales culture where those who failed to meet sales targets faced disciplinary action, including termination. The company ultimately paid over $3 billion in fines to resolve their potential criminal and civil liability. They also suffered irreparable reputational damage.
Learn to say no as a leader! Learn to say stop as a leader! You will ruin your team if every action by your team members is accepted by you. There are team members who will understand your body language and do what is right. For those who can’t read in between the lines, give them strong signs of caution. Confronting bad behaviour doesn’t mean being cruel, nor does it indicate aggression. It means being clear, compassionate, consistent, constructive, and, above all, being firm. When your team becomes “anything goes,” then you have sent a signal of approval to other team members and many more people in your team to repeat such bad behavior. It is the leader’s responsibility to stop bad behaviour to avoid chaos. Your team is watching. Every time you let a small infraction slide, you’re writing an unspoken rule. Every time you address an issue promptly and fairly, you’re building a culture of respect and excellence.
Some leaders find it difficult to confront bad behaviour, and some of these reasons include, but are not limited to, their inability to have difficult conversations, making excuses for nonperformance, and playing double standards because of their personal biases. I will be sharing some suggested actions that can help leaders put an end to bad behaviour in their team or organisation.
- Intervene immediately when you notice the unethical or bad conduct. Do not overlook the attitude when it occurs at first. Stop it immediately; it is noticed. When Google discovered inappropriate behaviour during the #MeToo movement, they took swift action. CEO Sundar Pichai immediately addressed sexual harassment claims, ending forced arbitration for sexual misconduct cases and demonstrating zero tolerance.
- Clear communication with agreed consequences. As a team, you can agree that this will be the consequence for particular kinds of behaviour, including lateness to meetings. This can be passed through the layers in the organisation. Microsoft’s transformation under Satya Nadella provides an excellent example. When he noticed a culture of internal competition that was destroying collaboration, he didn’t just criticise; he actively reshaped the company’s performance review system to emphasise teamwork and personal growth.
- Document clearly through organisational policies and procedures and let everyone have a copy of this document. Addressing bad behaviour requires specificity. There must not be ambiguity or assumptions, and this can only be achieved through a documented policy handbook. Also, in the process of giving feedback, be specific with what has been identified.
Take note that courage to address what others ignore is what gives legacy to your leadership. Your silence is a choice. Remember, a small weed, if left unchecked, can destroy an entire garden. The same is true in an organisational ecosystem.
Oluwole Dada is the General Manager at SecureID Limited, Africa’s largest smart card manufacturing plant in Lagos, Nigeria.
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