Why do so many organisations endure consistently poor behaviours from often easily identifiable people or teams? It’s not too twee to state that ‘we are what we tolerate’ and in enduring substandard performance leaders undermine any growth they achieved through positively focused strategies.

We are not talking here about people whose circumstances may have changed for the worst and thus impacting on their delivery -these people can be nurtured through compassion and an emotional intelligent leadership approach. Rather we are discussing those people who embed themselves in organisations in such a manner that their impact can have a disproportionate negative impact on colleagues. Here’s the thing: they are often (though not always) charismatic; they have complex knowledge that is of value; they have support from some colleagues within their sphere of influence; they have a past history of delivery which they consistently bring to the fore; their current role can often be perceived as being vital to future performance delivery; they can articulate their well thought through position with gusto; most importantly, they draw on the anxiety they cause to those around them and utilise this to secure their organisational position.

When leaders and managers face these individuals, they often feel disempowered for very tangible reasons: they may not be charismatic or have a similar knowledge base to those challenging organisational progress; they may be currently unpopular because they are changing people’s norms and known context; and in a world of continual movement, the future may not be clear particularly when something as elusive as AI enters the vocabulary.

Here is the advice these managers are often given – “you need to have a difficult conversation with person ‘A’ – they are causing problems.”

Well, no shit Sherlock!

Senior leaders within organisations have a duty to ensure that those who are doing the heavy lifting of management and leadership roles are fully equipped. They also have a role in ensuring that they get ahead of the issues by asking themselves and the organisation some probing questions. Building on our own interactions with organisations, here’s a few suggestions that senior leaders might want to consider when helping other leaders and managers get the best from their people:

1. Are we aggressively promoting and rewarding emotionally intelligent leaders who can connect with people at an authentic level?
2. Have we a known bank of informal leaders who we are deliberately targeting with rigorous personal and organisational growth and impact plans?
3. Is ‘difficult conversations’ a critical skill for managers and are they being given the right development programmes that help them cultivate these skills? And do we give them constant best practice updates?
4. Do we have an ‘earliest opportunity’ mindset? In other words, do we encourage challenging conversations to take place as close to the point of issue as possible?
5. Do our managers believe that we have their back if they engage with a difficult individual?
6. Is our grievance procedure so bureaucratic that managers shy away from engaging with it?
7. Does our organisation embed emotional intelligence into every programme it develops or purchases?
8. Can people bring their uniqueness into the workplace and feel that it is authentically welcomed?
9. Are our leaders – formal and informal -being regularly exposed to coaching and mentoring skills?
10. Is personal responsibility a core doctrine within our area of business?
11. Are we absolutely clear why people would want to work for our organisation. And are we aware why some might hesitate?
12. As part of the executive team, am I part of the problem? Are any of my behaviours sending the wrong signals throughout the organisation?If organisations want people to lead and manage effectively then those with significant power and influence need to ensure the environment is conducive to authentic conversations. Most importantly, they need to equip people to do the job effectively and not just expect that they will develop critical skills over time!

If organisations want people to lead and manage effectively then those with significant power and influence need to ensure the environment is conducive to authentic conversations. Most importantly, they need to equip people to do the job effectively and not just expect that they will develop critical skills over time!