Be careful what you wish for
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen” Winston Churchill Hello, Clive here, Last week, one of my colleagues brought to my attention a newspaper article featuring a story on bullying at the Tate. It charts the outputs of an employee survey which indicated that 13% of the 586 employees questioned had experienced bullying. For those employees affected by such events, it must be dreadful to wake up every morning and go to work in fear of what is ahead. It is unlikely that the theme of events documented will be exclusive to the Tate alone of course. I recall a story many years ago where a woman had alleged that she was being bullied and harassed by her line manager. On meeting her it was obvious that she was unwell. The signs that led me to this conclusion were her flaky skin, bald patches from her hair falling out and the difficulty to engage in eye contact. After spending a day facilitating a session with her and her boss working through the issues and witnessing an apology and the shaking of hands, I revisited a month later. I was sitting in reception and glanced up to see a young woman walking towards me. I looked back down at the newspaper I was reading. A few moments later there was a tap on my shoulder. It was the same woman, but she looked totally different. She took me to our reserved room and I apologised for not recognising her and explained that she looked totally different. Finding it difficult to control her emotion she commented how she hadn’t realised just how much the experience had affected her. Even her doctor, in taking her off her medication, was shocked at the impact of the experience. Since about the early 1990’s organisations have been using the power of surveys in earnest to find out what people think. Surveys provide great information from both customers and employees. The challenge can be when organisations receive the data. As the saying goes, sometimes, the truth hurts. One HR professional recently told me about how during one briefing session for senior managers on the latest employee survey, a number made excuses or blamed people for submitting the comments that they did. If we choose to utilise employee surveys, we must also be willing to face the consequences of what they might reveal. Being openly or aggressively defensive about data that is not as one might have wished, is only likely to send those with comments you would most like to hear underground. The good news documented in the article is that the Tate has faced the consequences and is working through an action plan. There in lies the challenge. The challenge to change hearts and minds and encourage all colleagues to work together without feeling that bullying and harassment is what one needs to do to ‘get on around here’. Easier said than done, I know.. You can see the Tate article here: For some advice on what to do if you are being bullied and/or harassed click here: Links Attend our next 5 day accredited workplace mediation certificate - September, London Commission an Employee Investigation Attend our next Difficult Conversations training course - September, London Contact Clive Lewis to act as mediator or facilitator for an ongoing situation Join Clive Lewis’ books on Facebook To recommend a friend or colleague to register to receive these missives, ask them to sign up here Finally, we are holding a free breakfast briefing session on ‘how to manage difficult conversations’ in partnership with Harvey Nash in Central London on 11th October. Please drop me a line if you would like some further information. Space is limited. Until next month,
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