From Hostility To Healing: How To Lead When Angry Mobs Come Knocking At Your Door As a leader, what will your legacy be? Maintaining a corporate culture indicative of the 20th century, struggling to remain afloat? Or, having the courage to shift direction, confront the stormy waters of the 21st Century, and develop a culture that will thrive in uncertainty?
By David Ross
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Trust is crucial to all organizations, whether they are in the private, public, or not-for-profit sectors. It is vital for organizations to be trusted by those who have a stake in their plans and actions, both internally and externally. For organizational leaders, trust is one of their most important currencies, and it is necessary for many reasons including:
To ensure an organization successfully creates the value it is seeking, in line with its purpose, vision, and strategy.
To keep the workforce engaged and productive.
To attract and retain staff.
To gain agreement or support from external stakeholders, such as communities, to undertake work that may impact upon their personal or professional lives.
To protect the brand and its reputation.
However, many organizations and, indeed, their leaders don't give enough attention to trust, which is an oversight in an era where leaders are scrutinized more than ever, and the potential for scandals, outrage, and conflict are high. One critical message I hope you take away from this is to never underestimate how challenging it is to remove an organization from a scandal or stakeholder conflict. They are draining episodes that can last for months or years. They create unwanted attention not just from stakeholder groups or individuals, but also from regulators, your teams, and the media.
After all, there are many ways that conflict is now facilitated. Thanks to the connectivity provided by the internet, stakeholders are nowadays more coordinated, more sophisticated, and more demanding in their expectations of organizations. There is also what the Norwegian "father" of peace practice, Johan Galtung, referred to as fault lines, which, when overstepped, or when one group benefits over another, lead to conflict. Fault lines include race, generation, gender, religion, and even the impacts of development on the natural environment.
As we experience frenetic and uncertain change worldwide, and people become fearful of what their future may look like, it is only natural for that fear to be expressed in anger towards organizations, where stakeholders do not believe that actions are being made with their best interests in mind.
The second critical message is that the ultimate root causes of why these conflicts are occurring lie deep within organizations. Company culture and behavior towards stakeholders has not kept pace with a time of such seismic change, and they are the real reasons why scandals and conflicts continue unabated. So many corporations, particularly hierarchical businesses, have a deeply embedded story that values control. This includes controlling staff, processes, and stakeholders, as well as seeking to control outcomes, even when great anger is being directed in their direction.
The third important message is that the "mobs" are often very reasonable in what they are seeking. While the organization at the center of a scandal or conflict often has a laser-like focus on meeting the needs of its shareholders, the aggrieved often feel that that their dignity has not been paid due respect. Actions, strategies, and operational efforts have often been imposed upon them without considering their worth, the worth of their communities, or the natural environment.
So, if leaders have not given much attention to protecting organizational trust, now is the time to refocus. Trust is extremely easy to lose, but very difficult to rebuild.
Source: David Ross
Related: The Hungry Leader: Cultivating And Habituating A Love For Learning
COMMAND IN CRISIS
The common great leader mindset where I lead and you follow, and unquestionably so, is now fraught with peril, particularly when the mob of aggrieved people are, metaphorically, knocking at the door. And when they have arrived at your door, people skills and emotional intelligence are what organizations must call on.
Here's what that could look like:
Focus on the worth of the people, even if they are vocal in their anger towards you.
Really listen, and don't get defensive.
Start reflecting on how your organization could have impacted upon them. This is always a tough task, because it means looking at an issue from another's perspective, even when the situation is heated.
Be transparent and open to other perspectives, because that is where opportunities lie. Never hide bad news—someone will always find out— and things will get worse.
Be respectful and caring. If your organization has made mistakes, own them, and genuinely apologize.
Try to find common ground, rather than operate at the extremes. You may not agree with the assessment of the scale, or the intensity of the impact, but don't diametrically oppose the assessment. Meet them halfway.
Calmly collaborate with the affected as there is potential for innovation.
Now, when the aggrieved have eventually left, don't forget what your organization has caused. Conflict can reappear if long-term plans are not made to improve relationships and rebuild trust. Organizations need to embed long-term dignity and collaboration into the way they do things. The following strategies can help in this regard:
Develop an innovative culture that values the involvement of employees and stakeholders.
Reflect on what a bold shift in culture means for your organization's vision, purpose, and strategy.
Determine what training employees will need, what systems or processes are required, and what the structure of the organization will look like.
Assess what gaps need to be filled in expertise, experience, and mindsets across your board, executive teams, and as core competencies across the organization.
As a leader, what will your legacy be? Maintaining a corporate culture indicative of the 20th century, struggling to remain afloat? Or, having the courage to shift direction, confront the stormy waters of the 21st Century, and develop a culture that will thrive in uncertainty?
