At the age of 47 I would like to think there will be no more crises coming my way.  Yet, I am realistic to know that as long as I am breathing, this world likes to deal in drama.

In my last position as chief human resource officer, we built a great company with a wonderful team of people, but executive behavior began to turn toxic and the winds of corporate culture changed from calm to stormy.
I was fired for raising warning flags about out of control executive behavior.  Seven months later the company filed for bankruptcy, apparently due to the greed and egos of a few individuals.  This bankruptcy has cost thousands of people and businesses millions upon millions of dollars.  The personal and financial costs to me were enormous as well.  It was simply a crisis of life.

If you are old enough you have likely dealt with some tough life issues. As imperfect human beings living in a volatile world we are bound to run into difficulty several times in both our personal and professional lives.  When these difficult times hit us head on there are several questions we ask ourselves, however two particular questions come to mind: 1) Why me? and 2) How do I get through this?

Why Me? Although this is a very good question, you are not going to like the answer.  Tough stuff happens to everyone. When you see someone walking down the hallway who appears to have their life together, walking confidently, dressing sharply and appearing on top of the world, you can rest assured if they have not dealt with life’s difficulties, they will.  But my money is on the fact that they have dealt, or are dealing with something in their life that has shaken the very foundation of their beliefs.

We are not alone when it comes to dealing with a crisis. It is a time to bring those close to you closer. It is also a time to discover who will stand by your side. Everyday, someone around you is likely trying to work through a difficult life or business issue.  Simply put, you are not alone.

How Do I Get Through This? This is actually a better question to ask. “How am I going to get through this crisis and become a better person as a result?” We can choose to run away from adversity in life or embrace the hard times in life.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying we should enjoy those difficult days, but rather accept that we are going through a rough time and make the best of it.  Otherwise, we will likely alienate all those people important to us: family, friends and coworkers.

The Results. I would much rather work with someone who has been tested by a crisis in life.  If they have tasted the scorn of the real world, and embraced and allowed the crisis to make them a better person, this individual will likely make a great coworker or leader. Those who have embraced and learned from adversity tend to develop genuine humility.  Humility is a wonderful quality that tells me someone is worthy to lead others.

Those who run from a crisis, or make the crisis worse by creating more issues and drama are not worthy to lead or serve in a position of responsibility.  People with excessive ego needs will likely run from a crisis and fail to learn the valuable lessons a crisis brings, hurting themselves and those around them.  I am not advocating accepting failure, but rather embracing what should be learned from adversity.

Great leaders experience success because of their humility and give credit to others rather than demanding the limelight or absolute loyalty.

What is a Crisis? The type of crisis you are enduring is not as important as how you deal with it.  Whether we are dealing with with abuse, trauma, death or disease, bankruptcy, financial setbacks, family disagreements or workplace distress, we should work to become better people on the other end of the ordeal.  This requires accepting crisis as a fact of life and learning through the eyes of humility. It is my hope you will become a better person for enduring your next trial in life and show how it can be accomplished with humility and grace.

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“The best CEOs in our research display tremendous ambition for their company combined with the stoic will to do whatever it takes, no matter how brutal (within the bounds of the company’s core values), to make the company great. Yet at the same time they display a remarkable humility about themselves, ascribing much of their own success to luck, discipline and preparation rather than personal genius.”

– Jim Collins, Author of Good to Great

Graphic Credit: Oblation by Netzie Bebing in Grey Tones

When you experience the perplexing games of a toxic manager or coworker, it is helpful to know the bully or jerk category they fit within. Bully DNA is amazingly consistent, regardless of the organization.  It helps to be prepared, if not predict, their behavior before you experience your next toxic encounter.

Knowledge is power if you want to survive a toxic workplace.

According to our good friend Dr. Gary Namie, founder of the Workplace Bullying Institute, based in Bellingham, Washington, there are four categories of toxic bullies scouring the workplace.  Dr. Namie developed these descriptive four categories after exhaustive research and his very own close encounters with the inhumane kind.  According “Busting the Workplace Bully” by Kie Relyea, The Bellingham Herald, the four types are the Screaming Mimi, the Two-Headed Snake, the Constant Critic, and the Gatekeeper.

• Screaming Mimi is “the fist-pounding, vein-bulging maniac who chooses a public setting.” She yells. She cusses. She points her finger in your face. Think of her as the sales manager who shrieks at you in a meeting.

• Two-Headed Snake is the “smarmy Jekyll and Hyde back-stabber.”  He steals the credit for your work. He smiles into your face, then shares private information about you with your co-workers or other bosses. “It’s really about rumor, innuendo and damage of reputation. Their goal is to control others’ impressions of you,” Gary Namie says.

• Constant Critic gets you behind closed doors and tries to erode your confidence in your own competence. He’s the negative nitpicker who accuses you of getting it wrong. He’s not above doctoring documents to pin “mistakes” on you.

• Gatekeeper withholds the resources you need to succeed.

We recommend the Workplace Bullying Institute website to find advice on how to deal with these bullies.

Image Credit: HK Pro Club

The gift of a great workplace is, in fact, a rare gift. Very few people find themselves fortunate to work in a great work environment where employees are treated with trust, dignity and respect. At a time in history when our work should be challenging, rewarding and financially beneficial, most employees are faced with turf battles, brutal office politics, unethical decision-making and management by fear.

That is why The People Group Team is solidly focused on the creation of great workplaces. Research has proven, and we have observed, that positive people practices (P3) transform company cultures. As we approached the Christmas Season, it was very easy to decide what message to include on our Christmas cards:

The gift of love,

The gift of peace,

The gift of happiness,

The gift of a great workplace.

May all these be yours at Christmas and the New Year to come.

The gift of a great workplace also brings a number of other benefits, especially the gift of financial success.  Companies with great workplaces outperform their competition and experience enormous financial success.  These same companies are more likely to volunteer and invest in their community, making our society a better place to live.

To all our clients and their employees, business associates, vendors, business partners and providers, we wish all of you the absolute best as you celebrate with your employees and families during this holiday season.  This truly is a wonderful time of year. We are trying to bottle the spirit of this season and distribute it throughout the year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE PEOPLE GROUP TEAM!

Brittany Hulsizer, Consultant, Branding & Corporate Communications

Lori McNulty, Consultant, Administration

Kurt Webber, Consultant, Company Culture

Kevin Kennemer, Sr. Consultant, Founder & Partner

If you are a business leader working to create a great workplace built on trust and respect, the typical company grapevine and rumor mill can work against your best efforts.  The people who tend to run these unofficial underground communication systems may not always be healthy for your organization.  These seemingly untraceable messages can work against your great workplace strategy.  In other words, the water cooler can be a toxic meeting place.

Not everyone will join the great workplace movement with your leadership team, even though they are proven to be the most financially successful, innovative, creative and long-term successful organizations.  Not everyone wants to play nice.  And there are those who prefer to create turmoil and misery in the workplace.  Toxic employees and managers can feed the unofficial communication pipeline with questionable information merely to stir up controversy.

According to grapevine experts, the majority of water cooler talk doesn’t really happen at the water cooler any more.  Employee chatter, rumors, gossip and grapevine banter transpires at company kitchens and breakrooms across America.  Although a certain amount of communication through the grapevine is to be expected – and can be utilized as a positive tool by leadership – the vine can cross the line and hurt innocent people inside or outside your organization.

When leaders work to create a great work environment, it is a good idea to squelch rumors fairly quickly to prevent people from getting hurt.  Observing the grapevine participants allows leaders to determine who may or may not be a good cultural fit.

In companies where there is little communication coming down from the top, grapevine traffic will increase to counterbalance the information void.  The problem occurs when the information being distributed through the vine is purely speculative, untrue or aimed at individuals that could be devastating.  Leaders need to be careful not to be held hostage by the gatekeepers, gossips, rumormongers and snitches that can overrun a company if they are not properly dealt with, according to Paul Falcone, a human resource executive and best-selling author of several human resource books.  He defines the different types of grapevine participants, as follows:

• Gossips: These folks typically initiate unfounded rumors.  They obtain power from having the “scoop.”
• Rumormongers: Perpetuate rumors even if they are completely untrue, lack a foundation in truth or could damage the reputation of a coworker.
• Snitches: This role is fairly self-explanatory.  Snitches derive their power from sharing juicy information that is usually hurtful to others.  Playing the role of a tattletale is just plain wrong.

When someone volunteers a juicy piece of information while you make your morning or afternoon run to the break room, do you choose to participate, even if the information could be hurtful or degrading to a fellow employee? It is best to live by higher standards and refuse to listen to or perpetuate company gossip.  Creating a great workplace requires a certain amount of discipline.

Image Credit: A.V. Club

When the day is sunny, cloudless, warm and bright, I am at my best.  In fact, most people I know prefer the light and enjoy being outdoors when the sun is shining bright. Even your indoor time is better because you know the outdoors are so beautiful.  It makes you want to open the windows and let that good stuff inside.

I have found the same holds true in the workplace.  It is good to keep things well lighted.   Bad behavior tends to occur during the cover of darkness.  Not only is it a good idea to light your actual office or work area, it is also a best people practice to light up your company culture. The company culture needs a good dose of light to keep things headed in the right direction because negative and toxic actions most likely happen in darkness.  In the famous Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by Dr. Philip Zimbardo, the worst behavior of the prison guards occurred during the nighttime when fewer people were around to watch them beat and torment their prisoners.

Toxic managers, office jerks and bullies only survive because they are allowed to spread their toxic venom under the cover of darkness. This darkness comes in the form of leaders looking the other way, human resource professionals siding with inhumane treatment of employees, posting code of conduct policies that are not followed by leadership, Alpha Males who are allowed to create mobs to terrorize individual targets in the organization, coworkers who don’t want to get involved, CEO’s who prefer to keep high-performing jerks regardless of the body count, or the mere fact not one leader is brave enough to step forward and call out the toxic individual’s behavior.  Firing an employee should not be an easy or enjoyable process but sometimes it is needed to save the organization.

Is there sufficient light in your organization? Do you have the official policies but subversive work is conducted behind the scenes in the dark of night?  Is there open communication up and down the organization? Start a revolution of light. Walk into the light and bring some people with you.

Image: iStockPhoto

Asher Adelman, Founder of eBossWatch, started his company to help people avoid hostile workplaces.  Adelman has undertaken an important and surmounting mission.  Unfortunately, there is a great deal of work yet to be done.  In other words, there is plenty of work for consultants like us who are working to create a nicer workplace.   While serving as one of the panelists who selected and ranked the 25 Worst Bosses of 2009, I read some horrifying accounts of just how toxic the workplace can be.  It’s a jungle out there!  We have included the eBossWatch press release below.

The eBossWatch Worst Bosses of 2009

December 7, 2009 — In the first ever contest of its kind, eBossWatch assembled a panel of workplace experts who selected and ranked the 25 Worst Bosses of 2009 from across the country and abroad.  eBossWatch is a career resource that helps job seekers evaluate managers and potential employers.

The Worst Bosses of 2009 include a coroner, the former NASA inspector general, an NFL head coach, and a candidate running for US Congress.

The eBossWatch highly regarded panel of workplace experts includes:

• Dr. Gary Namie, founder & president of the Workplace Bullying Institute and author of “The Bully at Work”
• Dr. Christine Pearson, professor of management at Thunderbird, The School of Global Management and co-author of “The Cost of Bad Behavior: How Incivility is Damaging Your Business and What to Do About It”
• Kevin Kennemer, board member of the Oklahoma Business Ethics Consortium and founder of The People Group
• Erica Pinsky, workplace consultant and author of “Road to Respect: Path to Profit“

Here are a few of the managers who made The eBossWatch Worst Bosses of 2009 list:

• Alan Parks, manager, US Army Warren Arsenal, Warren, Michigan
  Sued for workplace bullying and disability discrimination by a former soldier who received a Purple Heart and who lost his hand and suffered other serious injuries in an explosion while serving in Iraq.
• Sean Benton, water distribution superintendent, City of Monroe, Monroe, Louisiana
  Benton’s employees recorded a four hour meeting that took place late last year where Benton used hundreds of obscenities and ordered one of the supervisors to physically attack an equipment operator.
• Mike Swindle, supervisor, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Montgomery, Alabama
  A federal jury found Swindle guilty of sexually harassing a subordinate, making lewd comments to her for about five months, and pressing his body against her while propositioning her on at least one occasion.  Other supervisors who the victim complained to either ignored her or harassed her themselves.
• Philip Meeson, CEO, Jet2.com, Leeds, United Kingdom
  Received a warning from Manchester Airport Police after publicly screaming at his own employees in front of hundreds of customers lined up at the airline’s check-in counter, ignoring a sign that warned passengers: “Abusive behavior towards staff will not be tolerated.”

Asher Adelman, founder of eBossWatch, said, “It is shocking to think that such horrific experiences still occur in the American workplace.  Nobody deserves to be subjected to a hostile work environment.  This contest demonstrates how important it is for job seekers to Google potential bosses and to research potential employers on sites like eBossWatch.”

The entire eBossWatch Worst Bosses of 2009 list is available at eBossWatch.com.

About eBossWatch

eBossWatch was launched in 2007 to help people avoid hostile workplaces.  eBossWatch is a popular career resource that enables people to rate their bosses in a professional and non-libelous manner so that job-seekers can evaluate prospective employers and avoid workplace bullies.

eBossWatch has been featured in many media outlets, including ABCNews.com, Fox News, Forbes, TheStreet.com, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Houston Chronicle, Seattle Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Orange County Register.

More information about eBossWatch can be accessed at www.ebosswatch.com.

Media Contact:

Asher Adelman
Founder
eBossWatch
contact@ebosswatch.com

______________________________________________

Graphic Credit:  Graphic obtained from The Smarter Wallet

Workplace jerks are dangerous to your health. Long-term exposure to psychological mistreatment at the hands of a jerk or bully typically leads to a number of harmful medical conditions, according to the Workplace Bullying Institute, an organization dedicated to the eradication of workplace bullying.

Nausea, tremors of the hands and lips, feeling uncoordinated, chills and profuse sweating, gastrointestinal disorders, rapid heart-beat, rapid breathing and increased blood pressure, chest pain, uncontrollable crying, and headaches are some of the stress symptoms one may experience when subjected to the health-harming treatment of a workplace jerk, according to research by the institute.

If faced with a workplace jerk or bully over a long-term basis, an employee’s prognosis is not good, especially if that jerk is their boss.  Some of the resulting physical conditions experienced by targets include hypertension, heart attacks, post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, neurotransmitter disruption, immunological impairment leading to more frequent infections, fibromyalgia, diabetes, skin disorders, and finally, suicide.

Despite all these horrible side effects of jerks in the workplace, it is not illegal to act like a jerk at work, unless the behavior is related to sexual harassment. Too many organizational leaders are willing to allow inhumane behavior, which leads to toxic company cultures where employees work only to earn a paycheck as opposed to building a great life where they enjoy their career. There are a number of reasons for this, including: (1) employers do not know how to confront the office jerk, (2) leaders are afraid of the jerk, (3) the top leader is a jerk, (4) organizations believe the jerk, even with all his/her flaws, is considered indispensable, and (5) managers consider the jerk’s target a weak person who deserves such treatment.

CEO’s rarely see the jerk’s behavior, because bullies are very clever in their approach. Those who engage in psychological violence are experts at causing fear down the corporate ladder while massaging egos up the ladder in order to protect their own career.

Why should a CEO adopt and model a Jerk-Free Workplace? Jerks make you sick and the resulting medical care, absenteeism and presenteeism, lost productivity, employee turnover, and poor public relations exposure is extremely expensive. To counteract employer-provided health costs, there has been an increasing movement to champion healthy workplaces by encouraging exercise, good nutrition and wellness education. Since improved employee health leads to lower health care costs and increased business performance, many organizations are willing to make substantial investments in wellness programs, as well as provide financial incentives to healthy employees.

But before building that onsite gym, subsidizing health club memberships or installing a comprehensive wellness program, the CEO should first take action on behalf of the company’s employees by implementing a Jerk-Free Workplace. It is doubtful exercising, nutrition and wellness education will nullify the compounding, daily effects of jerks who routinely mistreat their targets in the workplace.

There are a growing number of employers who see the advantages of creating civil work environments with rules of engagement where jerk behavior is not allowed. These companies typically require each employee and leader to sign a code of conduct. Jerks are expelled if they do not change their ways. Some organizations have even publicly adopted and publicized their Jerk-Free Workplace status.

I predict there will be a growing trend of employers adopting the Jerk-Free Workplace model because it makes solid business sense and ultimately, it is the right thing to do.

Kevin Kennemer is president of The People Group, a consulting firm committed to improving employee lives, business performance and society through positive people practices. Kevin is also a board member of Tulsa CASA and OKEthics. Kennemer may be contacted at kevin@thepeoplegroupllc.com.

QuikTrip, a convenience store enterprise headquartered in Tulsa, Okla., has demonstrated how to succeed through Positive People Practices. One of those is the practice of showing respect to their employees 24/7.

You will find no bigger QuikTrip fan than me. I use their gasoline almost exclusively for my cars, and our family frequents their stores because they are clean and well-stocked with a great selection of convenient items.  Look at my bank statement and you will see the evidence of my QuikTrip addiction.  I am hooked on their Diet Coke with Vanilla.  I love their French vanilla cappuccino. When my wife is not around I will buy a hot dog.  In fact, every time I leave town I stop by QuikTrip and buy a drink before I leave. But the biggest reason I am a QuikTrip fan is because their employees are friendly. They show respect to their customers.

Every time you walk into one of their stores an employee will welcome and acknowledge you.  At a time in America when many companies have forgotten about customer service, friendliness and showing respect, QuikTrip stands way above the pack in the convenience store industry, or most any industry. If you don’t believe me, visit a city that does not have a QuikTrip presence.  In fact, the City of Tulsa should advertise QuikTrip as a selling point for living here.

Showing respect to customers has to be one of their key ingredients to success. More importantly, I will venture to guess their employees are first shown tremendous respect by their leaders.  Typically, employees model the behavior they see in their leaders.  The dictionary defines respect as giving particular attention to something or someone worthy of high regard.  I suspect their employees treat me well when I walk through those swinging glass doors, because they are first treated in high regard by the company.

This is amazing when you consider the culture we live in today. Cable television provides an onslaught of news programs where people are arguing and yelling at each other. There is an endless lineup of reality shows where cut-throat antics are utilized to gain a competitive advantage.  Drivers on American roadways are even becoming more aggressive, less forgiving and impatient.  The workplace is becoming more dangerous and disrespectful where employees are seen as expendable assets rather than people with feelings and families.

So I salute QuikTrip for creating an atmosphere of respect for employees, which ultimately trickles down the line to their loyal and happy customers, like myself.  Before the customer enjoys respect the employee must first benefit from a culture of respect.

Note: QuikTrip is currently rated by Fortune Magazine as the 27th Best Company to Work For in America.

Although it has been tough for most companies in this economic recession, a new study reports Great Workplaces have performed better, with revenue and stock prices to the avoidance of the dreaded layoff and its terrible consequences. Our good friend Asher Adelman, Founder of GreatPlaceJobs.com, said their recent study “shows that even though top-ranked employers have suffered through the current recession, their revenue levels and stock prices are still in better shape than their competitors.” He also stated “the general sample of companies laid off employees almost twice as often as the excellent employers.  A shocking 86% of the Fortune 100 largest companies have laid off workers since the recession started in early 2008,” stated Adelman.

Let’s revisit the proven reasons Great Workplaces survive in a rough economy, which I shared with you last September.

The people inside Great Workplaces make the difference because their company truly cares for them by creating a sustainable, flourishing culture.  As a result, a majority of their energized employees are engaged and running on all cylinders. The benefits of creating a Great Workplace are numerous.  As chairman of the board, CEO, business owner or start-up entrepreneur, the proven benefits of building a Great Workplace will likely make your company a powerful force even in the most difficult of times.  Why? The benefits of creating a Great Workplace have been researched and proven by the Great Place to Work Institute:

• Higher productivity
• Higher profitability
• Better customer satisfaction
• Lower staff turnover rates
• Greater number of applicants for open positions
• Attraction of the best and brightest talent
• Less resistance to change
• Lower health care costs
• Lower workers’ compensation costs
• Lower absenteeism rates
• Lower presenteeism rates
• Higher levels of cooperation
• Higher quality products and services
• Increased innovation and risk taking
• Higher returns to stockholders

When you build a winning team with a great work environment, employees will take care of business during both good and bad times. It is a winning formula for building a long-term, growing and profitable organization.

So how can you better insure your company against the doom and gloom of the latest economic recession? Become a Great Workplace. You will not only attract the top talent your industry has to offer, but you will also keep that talent by developing a positive work environment designed for the success of your employees.

Go here to read the rest of the GreatPlaceJobs employment study on why Great Workplaces are outperforming their competitors in the recession.

To get more information, or to develop strategies for turning your company into a Great Workplace, contact Kevin Kennemer with The People Group at 888.797.9992 Ext 1, or by e-mailing kevin@thepeoplegroupllc.com.

When I get up in the morning, my goal for The People Group is to help organizations create work cultures where employees feel safe to be productive, innovative, healthy and profitable. The good news: there is no lack of potential clients who need help. The bad news: our nation is filled with company cultures mired in political infighting with out-of-control, jerk bosses and uncivilized behavior where employees leave the office each day anxious, depressed and beaten down.

There is no question in my mind why the family unit is in danger, and the health of the American worker is likely at its worst in recent history.

Why am I so passionate about the creation of great workplaces?  Why do I consistently admonish business owners and executives to treat employees with trust and respect? It is related to my unfortunate encounter with a sadistic, cruel and bully boss who routinely yelled, screamed, cursed and threw temper tantrums. When he didn’t get his way, or I expressed opinions that upset his tiny world view, he would go ballistic. He was like an evil two-year-old baby inside a fifty-year-old body.

This workplace psychopath was also known for heavy consumption of alcohol, and would regularly drunk dial employees at home to ferociously complain about their latest manufactured failure.

Unfortunately, without knowledge and information about workplace bully behavior, I allowed the son of Satan to affect me personally, which ultimately resulted in detrimental costs to my health. At the time, I didn’t realize targets of bullies are typically bright, successful and well-respected individuals.  I thought there must have been something wrong with me to be treated in this manner. Sadness, darkness and pain eventually took over my life and caused unbelievable torture.  The mental anguish eventually led to a number of physical conditions that were costly to me personally and financially.

So, back to my question of why I am so passionate about the topic of work culture and creating great workplaces.  No one should be subjected to the hurt and shame of a workplace psychopath. I do not want anyone to experience what I experienced.  Workplace bullies should not be allowed to continue their goal of destroying their subordinates and coworkers.  Rather than focusing on organizational success, bullies focus on personal survival by torturing their fellow employees.  This reasoning only makes sense if you are a psychopath.

How do you know a bully boss has crossed the line?  How do you determine the jerk is simply having a bad day or is a certified bully?

The following list of injurious behaviors, called “The Dirty Dozen” and published by the McKinsey Quarterly, will help you identify enemies in your midst.

The Dirty Dozen

1. Personal insults
2. Invading coworker’s personal territory
3. Uninvited physical contact
4. Threats and intimidation, verbal and nonverbal
5. Sarcastic jokes and teasing used as insult delivery systems
6. Withering e-mails
7. Status slaps intended to humiliate victims
8. Public shaming or status degradation rituals
9. Rude interruptions
10. Two-faced attacks
11. Dirty looks
12. Treating people as if they were invisible