How does an employee prevent leaving one toxic work environment only to take a position inside another toxic culture?  There was an interesting column recently in J.T. & Dale’s Talk Jobs column that addressed this very issue.  The question was asked how to avoid taking a job in a toxic work environment.

The wise words of wisdom from the authors was this: “Rather than look for a different industry, your best hope is to find an organization whose culture is aligned with yours.”

They further stated, “the best way to do that is to interview an employer as much as he or she interviews you.”

There are good leaders out there who want to create rewarding work environments and that don’t send employees home at night confused, deflated, depressed and anxious.  Just as good employers perform their due diligence on new employees, those in the job market need to decide what is important to them.  What are your work environment non-negotiables?  Develop some questions around those requirements to ask your potential boss.

Below are a few questions to consider asking at your next interview?

• Are employees allowed to take risks and develop innovative solutions on the job? If yes, what is a recent example of employee-led risk taking or innovation?
• What happens to a good employee who makes an honest mistake?
• When there are openings in the company does the leadership look to fill those spots from the inside first?  Who are some people who have recently been promoted?
• Is this company’s leadership flexible with the work/life demands of employees?  What are some examples of current flexible work arrangements?
• Do company leaders provide telecommuting options to get work done?
• Does this company prevent workplace bullying?

During lunch the other day I was seeking marketing advice from a good friend and respected business leader.  Full of wonderful and relevant ideas, she mentioned my writing style tended to be very direct.  This Tulsa business leader said a couple of articles seemed to reach out and grab the reader in a more threatening tone.  Because I greatly respect her opinion, I wanted to share some thoughts.

First, I apologize if my writing is too aggressive at times. Unfortunately, we work in a business climate today where overly aggressive behavior is rewarded. The “just get the job done” attitude is not the way to build long-term, viable organizations. Short-term thinking and decision-making, along with greedy behavior, will eventually lead to an organization’s failure.

Why So Direct?

It is not my intention to offend people, just help them think about important people issues at work.  Typically, leaders have no problem being excruciatingly direct with employees.  My role is to be direct with business leaders while trying to avoid a harsh tone.  Your job is difficult.  I feel your pain.

When I played tennis I found improvement was gained when playing against better tennis players. Good tennis players don’t go easy on you.  They serve hard and aggressively attack the ball. Reading challenging people practice articles, whether on this blog or other sources, is a good way to bring reality, objectivity, sincerity and best practices into your organization’s people initiatives.  However, I promise to not throw my racket at you or hit you in the head with a tennis ball – on purpose anyway.

My Dream Became a Nightmare

In my last corporate position the company was full of promise and the possibilities, both personally and professionally, were a dream come true.  I have not met many business people who have had the opportunity to help start a company and be part of the team to see it grow into a multi-billion dollar enterprise with national recognition.  It was a dream come true in many respects.

That dream turned into a nightmare for me and thousands of other stakeholders.  As the chief human resources officer, I began to sense there was something terribly wrong with the leaders and was trying to cautiously work behind the scenes to identify the issues and work with the CEO.  Eventually, my efforts to help address the company’s leadership issues failed, but not without great costs to me personally, physically and financially.

Most whistle-blowers end up being harassed, bullied or disciplined. Fifty-percent of whistle-blowers are fired.

The targets of workplace bullies typically suffer from devastating physical affects.

That company is now in the midst of a nasty, disorganized and prolonged bankruptcy.  The SEC, FBI and IRS are all investigating the events leading up to the bankruptcy filing.

My Writing Style

So why do I write the way I do?  It is my hope your company’s employees will avoid the pain and anguish associated with leadership failure.  Business leaders should take seriously their brand of corporate culture.  All organizations should treat employees with dignity and respect and adopt and model positive people practices.

Everything Rises and Falls on Leadership

Great companies can fall, and quickly. Employees do not destroy companies, the top leaders possess this power to build up or tear down an organization.

I was fortunate to escape that smoldering house before it went up in flames.  Actually, I was thrown out a second story window with only the clothes on my back while the owner was secretly dousing the place with gasoline.  The others inside were either unaware or uninterested in my observations about the company’s future.  Sadly, my predictions came true.

My motivation is to help prevent another leadership meltdown. When leaders fail, they bring many innocent people with them.  The risks are too great to sit and be silent.

Will you join me in spreading the message of Positive People Practices?

As a business owner, I can tell you starting a business is not for the faint of heart. It takes patience, perseverance, determination and a little bit of insanity.  Understandably, there are people who want a stable job where a paycheck arrives every two weeks. My parents worked for their companies a very long time and they never quite understood entrepreneurship. My father worked forty-four years and never used a sick day because he was dedicated to his company.

Thanks to my father’s company where he retired, my mother has the best in health insurance and a retirement plan.  Benefits like that are hard to get in today’s economy.  Unfortunately, that kind of employee-employer loyalty is rare in today’s business environment.

Would I be more comfortable working in a 9 to 5 career with business risks falling on someone else’s shoulders? I can honestly say “no.”  And here are a few reasons why:

People Issues

There is no shortage of people and leadership issues in the workforce. Unfortunately for American workers, most people are unfulfilled, unsatisfied, unrecognized, under-utilized, under-appreciated and unengaged. Why? Leaders typically rank financial issues and a host of other concerns higher in priority than people issues. Address your people issues, on the other hand, and other business concerns will begin to come together.

Mission-Based Living

I’m on a mission to help create Great Workplaces across America.  Employees will enjoy their work life much more if they see a higher meaning attached to it. Most companies say they want employees to enjoy the experience and be passionate about their work, yet that is not the case most of the time.  I am very passionate about treating people with trust, dignity and respect at work. When I confront an untouchable executive about their bully behavior, all of a sudden this passion is considered insubordination.  It doesn’t work to have high moral values and passion about developing a great company culture unless there is true independence as a consultant.

Greed is Alive and Well

Greed destroys lives. Along with many good people, I helped build a nationally recognized company that was destroyed by the uncontrolled greed of a few individuals.  As a result, I learned a very hard lesson: organizational leaders should be held accountable for their behavior.  Leaders should understand how their decisions will affect the hard-working people inside a company. If leaders start veering off a moral path, someone should be able to throw up a red flag.  If their warnings are not heeded, the leader(s) should be shown the exit. Greed has hurt a number of good, innocent people in our country and city recently.  Great Workplaces help to weed out toxic influences like greed. Making money, being profitable, incentive plans, etc., are all extremely necessary. Greed, however, must be kept under lock and key.

Take a few minutes to think about what you are working for in 2009.

This past summer our family went deep sea fishing off the coast of Florida. Along with the others on our boat, we had a fantastic, relaxing, fun and exhilarating time.  Plus, we caught hundreds of fish that day.  We joked around, had fun and were focused on the job at hand: fishing.

(Picture: Kevin and daughter Katie after a day of deep sea fishing off the coast of Destin, Florida.)

I love to have fun.  But I also love to work.  My life goal has been to have fun while I work.  My goal is to live one life no matter where I am.

Who are you when you go to work? Are you the same person your spouse married?  Are you that same thoughtful, caring parent your children see most every day? Are you the one who takes your family on fun vacations and relaxes and has a good time? I think the world would be a better place if we lived one life and remained that one person family members love at home.

My hope is that I will be the same guy at work, home, church, fishing or wherever I go.

In our society, however, there seems to be pressure to morph into Type A, no nonsense business freaks at 8:00 am each workday.   We are not supposed to care how the work gets done as long as it gets done.  Would you want your spouse to work for you?  Would you want your son or daughter to work for you?  Better yet, would you want one of your dearly loved family members to work for the worst leader in your company?

If your answer was no to any of these questions, you need to make some changes.

First, everyone deserves respect. We need to make sure we treat all people, whether employees or family members, with respect and dignity 24 hours/day.

Second, we need to lead one, consistent life, whether we are at work or at home. The struggle between work and life happens when we see the two competing for each other.  Leaders who demand employees choose work over family will eventually lose.  They may win the short-term battle for the employee’s time but will ultimately lose the talent war and the employee may lose their family.

Third, accept who you are. The pressure to morph into something you are not from 8 to 5 is more than anyone can bear over the long run.  If the office does not like who you are, find another company, career, workplace, or start your own company.  Be yourself and live one life.

Fourth, live your values. Some people are comfortable when the lines are blurred between right and wrong; when values can be stretched to match the situation.  That is an uncomfortable zone for me.  I suspect it is an uncomfortable zone for you as well.  Fuzzy values and inconsistent living is no man’s land. If you won’t put up with fuzzy values at home, do not allow it at work either.  Live one life.

Fifth, listen to that voice inside your head. I believe there is such a thing as right and wrong.  There is a small little voice inside my head that tells me when something doesn’t feel right. No, I’m not crazy or hearing voices or taking some new medication.

How does this topic relate to Great Workplaces or company culture? Employees are looking for authenticity. Leaders who are authentic live the same life at work and at home.  They do not put on one face for the office and another face for home.  They have found the freedom of being one person.

Be yourself and your work environment will have a greater chance to succeed.  Be that leader who loves his/her family at night and weekends.  But don’t lock that person up when you go to work.  People at work are looking for compassion too.  To win over the head, hands and hearts of your employees you need to be yourself – live one life.

Meet Mr. Good and Mr. Evil. This was the strangest leadership style I had ever encountered. It was typical to leave the CEO’s office feeling great about the company, pumped up, energized and feeling good about work and life. Meetings with the CEO’s powerful second in command, on the other hand, left you feeling drained, deflated, confused and worried if you would even have a job the next week.

Psychopathic Polarized Leadership Sinks the Ship

The CEO was cordial, respectful and seemed to have a positive outlook on life.  His second in command was an abrasive bully who was arrogant, foul mouthed and narcissistic. This psychopathic polarized leadership style would later prove devastating to this company.  Communication within the organization was dysfunctional at best.  Executives did not know where the company was going and were hesitant to pursue cold, hard facts in a fear-based buffer that surrounded the CEO thanks to leader number two.

Good Cop-Bad Cop?

The senior management’s leadership style was confusing and left many company leaders and professionals bewildered at times. The top two management duo’s modus operandi was similar to good cop-bad cop.  Except this was good leader-evil leader.  The players were not cops but irresponsible business leaders. The victims were not crime suspects but well-respected business leaders and professionals.

Public Speeches about Great Workplaces

As the head of human resources, I would occasionally be asked to speak to groups. I was very proud of our company and the progress we had made in creating a great place to work. This was an absolute miracle considering the psychopathic leadership model at the top. Not only had we grown from obscurity to number five on the Forbes list of largest privately held companies, we also were well known throughout the city and the region as an employer of choice.

When job openings were advertised on our website, within minutes hundreds of people would be applying.  In fact, we were aware of job applicants working at other respected companies waiting for positions to come open so they could apply for a chance to work in a great workplace. This was a talent recruiting position many leaders only dream about.  We had become a magnet for the best and brightest people.

Unhealthy at the Top

When speaking to groups, it was only natural to tell audiences my philosophy of creating an employee-friendly corporate culture where people should be treated with trust and respect. The importance of a company’s internal personality cannot be overstated.  However, I knew our company’s personality at the top was sick and twisted.  Overall, ninety-nine percent of the company was comprised of very good, respectful people who cared about the organization and its people.  The company was unhealthy at the top.

Two Ten Thousand Pound Gorillas

It has been said, “You are only as strong as your weakest link.” Unfortunately for us, our weakest link was two ruthless, clever, greedy scheming executives at the top. In other words, underneath our great workplace story was two ten thousand pound gorillas.  Mr.  Good and Mr. Evil.  I dared not talk publicly about their confusing and exasperating leadership styles.

As time went on this became an enormous problem. It created fear, dread, aggravation and knots inside many peoples’ stomachs.  At first I simply thought we had an out of control, certified asshole executive along with a beloved CEO who avoided conflict and would not rise to the occasion and stop the internal psychological terrorism on employees and fellow leaders.  Later I realized they were working together to create a polarized management system.

Moral of this Story

Learn from this sad but true story. This is an extreme example. However, it is important because you need to know who is running or ruining your company. Is Mr. Good really working for the best interests of the company?  Is Mr. Evil really worth keeping around?  People practice professionals need to speak freely about what ills the company. Many executives do not want to hear about problems.  That is why it has been said most human resource executives need a “go to hell fund.”

Live your life with utmost integrity and be willing to tell the truth, even if the truth will likely cost you your job.  In the long run an integrity-based journey will make sense and bring worthwhile rewards.

If you were faced with an evil, illegal, unethical or highly questionable business practice sanctioned by your leaders, would you have the character to stand up and declare your disapproval, even if it meant losing your job?  Would you walk away from a steady paycheck if your company’s leaders were unwilling to correct their wayward practices? When the eyes of evil are upon you the act of conscientious separation can be a very, very difficult moment in your life.

This is our hope: when faced with evil, we will stand up for what is right, good and honorable.

Group Behavioral Norms

The problem is that group behavior tends to create norms and patterns of behavior that tend to force people to conform in order to feel part of the team. That is why belonging to the right company culture is absolutely necessary for the mental, physical and spiritual well-being of employees over the long term. The people in power at your company – president, CEO, COO, CFO, CIO, CHRO, board of directors, etc. – have enormous control over the company’s cultural climate and group behavior.  Company culture flows down from the top.  It does not bubble up from the mail room or permeate the organization from human resources.  Company culture is a reflection of the leader’s personality.

Follow the Leader

Employees tend to follow their leader. I once observed the grotesque transformation of an administrative assistant. She changed from a rather nice person to an extremely difficult, overbearing, hateful and simply rude dominatrix after working a few years for her boss who exhibited the same traits.  She found her incentive plan paid better when she exhibited her boss’s behaviors.  She was mirroring and conforming to her supervisor’s behavioral norms. The leader’s evil ways rubbed off on her.  Her former nice self was not compensated as well so she shoved that character into the closet and locked the door.

The executive’s control of incentive payments changed her in a very disturbing and negative way. Sometimes soccer moms are not immune from morphing into whatever behavior pays the most money so the kids can have the latest brands, gadgets, technology and private education.

Stanford Prison Experiment

Consider the famous 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment. College students volunteered to play the role of either prisoner or prison guard.  The result: only after six days the planned two-week experiment had to be abruptly halted as the college students playing prison guards morphed into evil dictators who levied psychological abuse on their fellow students playing the role of prison inmate.

Many of the prisoners were found laying on the floor in fetal positions experiencing mental breakdowns as a result of the significant levels of psychological mistreatment.  Can you imagine what would have happened if the experiment continued for two weeks?

According to psychology professor and leader of the now famous experiment, Dr. Philip Zimbardo, said, “the planned two-week study was terminated after only six days because it was out of control. Good boys chosen for their normalcy were having emotional breakdowns as powerless prisoners,” Zimbardo stated. “Other young men chosen for their mental health and positive values eased into the character of sadistic guards inflicting suffering on their fellow students without moral compunction, said Zimbardo.

And those “good guards” who did not personally debase the prisoners failed to confront the worst of their comrades, allowing evil to ripen without challenge,” stated Dr. Zimbardo.

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

Professor Zimbardo underestimated the corruptive power of unbridled authority. Lord Acton once said, “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  Professor Zimbardo stated, “My guards repeatedly stripped their prisoners naked, hooded them, chained them, denied them food or bedding privileges, put them into solitary confinement, and made them clean toilet bowls with their bare hands.”

There are leaders who will not allow others to question their authority. They believe they can treat employees how they want – good and bad – without repercussions because they sign their paychecks.

Translation to Building Great Workplaces

You may be thinking the Stanford Prison Experiment is in no way related to building a Great Workplace. Ridding the organization of tyrants, jerks, bullies and people with evil intent is merely a good start.  Most importantly, Great Workplaces are dependent on leaders with high levels of integrity, trust and respect, especially when times get tough.

We must also be careful how much absolute power we give our leaders.  Lord Acton observed that a person’s sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases. I have seen this scenario come to fruition as business associates became the beneficiaries of enormous financial success.  Sadly, they did not know how to manage the pressures of wealth, power and authority.  Unbridled power can destroy the person and bring the company down along with the toxic executive.

Employ a Truth Telling Advisor

Top executives need someone who can speak to them without fear of being fired. This senior adviser should be able to speak freely with the CEO, even regarding issues that are unpopular or taboo.  CEO’s who are smart will hire a senior advisor who is paid to provide open, honest feedback – even if it hurts. Decisions made by CEO’s in isolation in their executive suite have the potential to cause enormous employee morale issues and severely damage the company’s public image.

Reflective Sunglasses

As the prison guards began to fully assume their role as sadistic rulers, they began to wear reflective sunglasses 24/7. The inability to peer into the eyes of your tormentor was a way for fellow students to distance themselves from their prisoners whom they were severely mistreating.

In the event your company’s leadership begins to distance themselves from employees and peers, be prepared for upcoming decisions that could negatively impact the entire workforce.  Looking straight into the eyes of your leader can be very revealing.  The eyes can be a window into their heart.  Are your leaders in hiding?  Are they creating distance between themselves and employees? The act of creating distance may be an advance warning of impending trouble.

How Good Leaders Turn Evil

Most people do not determine in their hearts to turn evil.  It is a process of compromise over the course of time.  They surround themselves with people who are more interested in the benefits of group acceptance and membership rather than pointing out problems and issues with their leader’s decisions and actions.  The “how” things get done become unimportant just as long as the work gets done. Before you know it, the leader has succumbed to evil.

If a company’s leadership has intentions from the beginning to operate a fast-growing business in an unethical and illegal manner, while maintaining a positive public image, I have observed one possible sadistic model that can be successful, at least on a short term basis.

The CEO needs to be a well-liked, mild-mannered, suave, polished and articulate business person.  His second in command, on the other hand, should be a domineering, short-tempered, intimidating, executive bully who doesn’t take no for an answer.  It’s his way or the highway and he drives the truck that runs over you. The second in command essentially takes direction from the CEO and barks out orders and creates fear across the organization.

The second in command is seen as someone to be feared and most people will never cross him nor question the direction of the company, even if it is unethical or illegal.  All this while the CEO looks like the good guy and the company is considered an excellent corporate citizen.  It’s the corporate version of good cop, bad cop.  Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the C-Suite.  This leadership model is confusing to employees on the inside but the public never notices the sadistic practices of the operation.

Welcome to Evil Inc.

According to the 2007 National Business Ethics Survey published by the Ethics Resource Center, the second most observed ethical violation is abusive or intimidating behavior observed by twenty-one percent of employees.  That means one out of every five employees routinely observe the use of abusive or intimidating behavior in the workplace.

Abusive and intimidating behavior is evil, wrong and has no place in the business world. Bullies use the resulting fear to prevent employees from questioning unethical or illegal decisions or methods.  According to the Ethics Resource Center, almost thirteen percent of employees experience retaliation for reporting misconduct.  If you work for Evil Inc. the leaders get what they want and nobody dare stop them. Employees and middle management lack the nerve to question their methods because fear is the weapon of choice at Evil Inc.

Evil Inc., however, is not a long-term going business concern.  Typically the business owners, who are narcissistic and ruthless, run the business long enough to make as much money as possible for themselves before the company folds.  One day everything seems fine to the public then suddenly the company files bankruptcy or closes its doors.  Their voodoo business act is over. The curtain falls on their bipolar management style and operations stop as quickly as they started.  Sadly, the last chapter of Evil Inc.’s story is never a happy ending.

CEO’s find the truth hard to handle at times.  Especially regarding employee relations issues, and their resulting effects on morale, quality and productivity.  For example, the CEO may have a hard time believing one of their top performers is a certifiable asshole who is damaging the company’s morale and causing a deterioration of trust in leadership.

The good news is there is a five step program for ridding your company of corporate assholes who have burrowed themselves inside your organization.

Step #1 – Admit assholes are bad for business. Recognize that assholes are bad for the organization. Yes, take that truth syrum and walk over from the dark side to the light.  Believe it or not, there are some CEO’s who think a few assholes scattered throughout the organization actually increase productivity. If this is the case, why not give those assholes some chains and whips to help their cause and instill greater fear.  If fear really works, why not increase the fear for greater effect? Nonsense!  You know it and I know it; assholes must be terminated.

Step #2 – Understand assholes are expert kiss-ups. Understand that assholes are masters at managing up, kissing up and brownnosing, all while causing terror down the corporate ladder.  While you are feeling good about your asshole, he is instilling fear in your organization. As the CEO, the asshole who is your direct report typically makes you feel good when you are around them.  It feels good to have your back end massaged by these clever manipulators.  They are experts at massaging your backside in order to protect theirs.

Step #3 – Adopt, model and promote your company’s code of conduct. I recommend your company also adopt an Anti-Bullying and No-Jerk policy.  Why?  The Workplace Bullying Institute and Zogby research indicate that 37% of American workers have been bullied at work.  That is almost 4 out of 10 employees.  Bullying is four times more prevalent than illegal harassment, yet most companies overlook it.  Because this has become such a prevalent workplace problem, a number of respectable companies have adoped No Jerk Hiring Policies:

“No Jerk Policy” Hall of Fame Companies

Barclays Capital | SPM Communications | Lloyd Gosselink Attorneys at Law

IDEO | Sterling Foundation Management | Gold’s Gym | van Aartrijk Group

Robert W. Baird | The Wine Buyer | Mozilla | Washington Mutual | SuccessFactors

Arup | Goldcorp | Hamilton Canada

Step #4 – Require thorough investigations and no cover-ups. Make sure human resources completely investigates claims of workplace bullying by corporate assholes.  The typical response will be for HR to conspire with or feel pressure from the asshole manager and eventually assist in the firing of the targeted employee or employees.  This allows the evidence to be terminated and walk out the front door.  In other words, assholes like to eliminate their dirty laundry.  Require HR to document the behavior, obtain witness accounts and submit a full written report to the CEO office.  Identify patterns of behavior and provide support to human resources when they recommend bullies and assholes undergo counseling.  Finally, terminate jerks if they don’t straighten up, regardless of their position in the company.

Step #5 – Communicate to stakeholders your company is a Jerk Free Zone. Communicate to employees, applicants and stakeholders your company is a Jerk Free Zone.  Don’t even permit customers to treat your employees terribly.  If you want to create a high-performance team environment, protect your employees.  Sure, develop lofty goals for your team members and create high performance expectations.  Driving out fear in the workplace will almost ensure your organization will be successful. Do this and success will follow you wherever you go.

Before taking a position with a new company, how does one avoid a toxic company culture? Applicants are well within their rights to interview current employees to obtain honest feedback on the company culture. If you are not allowed to interview existing employees of your choice, this could be a sign your future employer is hiding a toxic workplace. For those in the job market, the following are potential clues a workplace has a noxious work environment.

1. Employees are not allowed to voice their honest opinion on workplace issues.
2. Employees fall in or out of leadership’s favor without explanation, and as a result, are included or excluded from company events, projects or meetings.
3. Employees with opposing viewpoints are not welcomed visitors to the executive suite. \
4. Employees are fired without warning or explanation, nor are they given the opportunity to address the real issues leading to their departure.
5. Receptionists and assistants tend to be beautiful, attractive eye-candy for chauvinistic executives.
6. Overweight people are routinely urged by leadership to exercise and made to feel inferior to their slender coworkers and leaders.
7. Employees are expected to assume heavier workloads and work excessive overtime while legitimate requests for headcount increases are denied, all while the company is promoting the importance of work/life balance.
8. Employees with excellent reputations are abruptly fired or transferred because their performance is suddenly unsatisfactory.
9. The human resources department is viewed by leadership as an administrative function or transaction facilitator rather than a partner in developing great people and work environments.
10. The human resources department merely follows orders from leadership and is afraid to question company practices.
11. Rude behavior is routinely allowed.
12. Employees who treat people with trust and respect are considered weak and not management material.
13. Tough, no-nonsense supervisory behavior is rewarded.
14. Executives are assigned reserved parking spaces.
15. The CEO and his/her executive team rarely walk around the office to visit with employees.
16. Company information or news is not consistently shared with the entire workforce.
17. Employees routinely read breaking news about their company in the local newspaper or online news services rather than from internal company publications.
18. Press releases are distributed to public media outlets prior to employee distribution.
19. Political views of the leaders are expressed to employees, and the employees are expected to blindly support and/or vote for those causes.
20. Executives have their own restrooms.
21. The company has a code of conduct policy but does not provide regular training to leaders or employees.
22. Employees are expected to intuitively know what is expected from them without explanation and can be disciplined for not following these unwritten rules of conduct or performance.
23. Employees who raise legitimate company issues are summarily terminated without cause.
24. Executives hire C-level and professional staff outside the approved recruiting process and do not carefully consider the recruit’s management style or their potential impact on company culture.