📙 The Canary Code | Professor, Organizational Psychology & Business | Culture | HR | Systemic Intersectional Inclusion | Belonging | Wellbeing | 🚫 Moral Injury | Neurodiversity | Autism @ Work | Global Diversity |
The mass exodus from our workplaces is, in part, a proclamation that people can’t — and won’t — tolerate mistreatment, injustice, and incompetence from their leaders anymore, particularly at the expense of their dignity and values. I am thrilled to co-author this Harvard Business Review article with the amazing Ron Carucci. Organizational conditions that caused moral injury have existed for too long. We outline six suggestions for how leaders can do better. 😇🤥 Don’t hide hypocrisy under a cloak of fairness. Just don't do hypocrisy, period. People know if your commitment to excellence, inclusion, or transparency is real. People need and deserve authenticity from their leaders. 🤔💭Know the values by which others are assessing your actions. Don't assume that your perspective is the only perspective. ✔💲Be sure priorities are appropriately resourced. Don't set your people up for burnout and failure. 😇🙄 Watch out for benevolent gaslighting. Don't tell targets of bullying "oh, they did not mean that." 🎭😷Don’t add moral insult to moral injury. Wellness apps will not help people who are experiencing betrayal and injury to their core values. Don't try to offer simplistic solutions to painful conditions. Covering problems up does not make them go away. 💔❤Make amends when you cause moral harm. Getting defensive might be a natural reaction, but restoring trust requires vulnerability and transparency. Leadership requires taking responsibility for managing moral health in the workplace. Restoring employee trust requires respecting not just their talents, but their ethics and values. If you would like to share your moral injury story, sign up to participate in my ongoing study here! https://lnkd.in/gEKpiyBf https://lnkd.in/e9UvbyYK #leadership #humanresources #management #moralinjury #culture #careers #leaders #business #ethics #health #wellness #shrm #trust #talent #employees #futureofwork #thegreatresignation #inclusion #people Elliot Polak Elizabeth Beck Jourdan Saunders, Lisa Keeping Josh Allan Dykstra Heather Crandall Ina B. Kate Alex Clapson Tom Lawrence Amii Barnard-Bahn, JD Dr. Oleg Nick Alvarez Bernard Bagorio, SHRM-CP Corey Jeff Jessica Jahns Jeff Debra Kurtz Renata Naomi Todd Kerry Martin Andrew Andre A. Dr. Brenda Marina Uk Caroline Lourdes Richard Bistrong Todd Cherches Dorie Clark Sarah R. Rodlund Celene Favila, M.S. Bernard Grant Âû, Ph.D. Sarah Evie Nicholson Jim Monroe
Grateful for the opportunity to voice this! Andre Williams Kimiko Davis, M.S. Kim Dinh, M.S.
While I agree with you that "benevolent gaslighting" is a problem, I prefer calling it something like "unwitting gaslighting." The impact of any form of gaslighting--regardless of the intent of the gaslighter--is frequently harmful for the person at the receiving end. And for the long-term well-being of the workplace culture. So it cannot be called benevolent, even if the person doing the gaslighting does not intend to harm anyone (and might even be surprised to learn that this is gaslighting). It is an important distinction to make because unlike in the movie, many people who are otherwise decent people, engage in gaslighting techniques. It seems that they have the mistaken belief that these are effective techniques for diffusing conflict.
"When someone routinely acts inconsiderately or self-servingly, your failure to address it leads others to conclude that you see that behavior as acceptable. This silences and demeans those trying to live up to higher standards. It also embeds duplicity into your team, giving everyone permission to say one thing but do another. This can result in shame, guilt, and self-doubt for those trying not to succumb to lower standards — the very people you want to keep."
A truly excellent and important article, Ludmila Praslova, and Ron Carucci! As someone who still suffers from bouts of "PTBD" ("Post-Traumatic Boss Disorder") as a result of years of abuse by former managers, I agree that it's long past time for this hot topic to finally receive the attention it needs and deserves. The hypocrisy of leaders talking about "people," "values," and "culture" while creating toxic environments of dysfunction and dishonesty has to end. For, as we are now seeing, employees are no longer willing to tolerate, accept, and endure the moral injury that has traditionally been inflicted upon them by "bosshole" managers.
I think this is the basis for honest and vulnerable maturity metrics for organizations and c-suite at the macro level. And individually at the micro level. We're having a discussion in a volunteer organization about c-suite accountability and in reading the gaslighting, I'm going to share with you what has been told to me by senior leadership in an organization making a DEI claim, to me a person that uses hearing aids, about my ongoing requests for accurate and usable captions. It is blatant, so it's not quite gaslighting, but they way they went about it was classic gaslighting techniques.
While I agree with almost everything in this article, what sticks out as most important to me is the direct connection between experiencing moral injury and the development of PTSD and other physical health problems. This isn't a "sticks and stones" kind of problem like most leaders want to believe. By creating workplaces that abound with moral injuries, these leaders are traumatizing their employees. Literally.
A terrific article that leaders must pay careful attention to - especially in high performing teams where there are high stakes, a rapid pace of change, and the values of excellence and integrity are prized. Relationships in any team can be strengthened on how moral injury is intentionally averted. Similarly, relationships can be irreparably broken when moral injury is benevolently permitted as a ‘cost of doing business’ or ‘achieving results’. It is every leader’s responsibility to ensure that performance cannot come at the expense of values and moral well-being. I believe this is what is at the heart of true authenticity in the workplace and can bring out, and bring together, the very best in people.
OMG, Ludmila, this is another banger, for sure! Way to go, calling them out! We need a new leadership model for the modern age of we even want to survive through the next few centuries as a species and it starts here. Empowering the disempowered and reminding everyone that there are roles to play in the transition and creation of the new sustainability. It starts with making business sustainable for human labor, but it's so much more than that. ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
📙 The Canary Code | Professor, Organizational Psychology & Business | Culture | HR | Systemic Intersectional Inclusion | Belonging | Wellbeing | 🚫 Moral Injury | Neurodiversity | Autism @ Work | Global Diversity |
2y"Organizational conditions that give rise to moral injury violate our sense of justice, which according to some social science theories is hardwired into our brains. This means that perceptions of justice (or injustice) in the workplace have profound effects on employees. Ron’s research on organizational justice bears this out. When people feel subjected to unfair or undignified conditions, they’re four times more likely to act with self-interest and dishonesty."