We present this blog from consultant Jodie-Beth Galos who is both a lawyer and an executive coach. The situation she presents is an amalgam of several from her career, and it highlights how an assessment can be part of a solution for a very sensitive problem.
It’s a nightmare: a valid sexual harassment complaint against a senior executive. It could be a CEO or CFO, or any head of marketing, operations, information services, etc.
The organization faces serious external legal challenges and internal credibility issues. Showing good faith and improving the organization’s position by firing the executive isn’t in the cards—you can’t or don’t want to take that step. The executive is otherwise an asset to the organization, possessing expertise difficult to replace.
The problem won’t be solved by a written warning or by sending the executive to a sensitivity class. This particular executive is skilled at rationalizing and externalizing blame. The charge is seen as a lie or retribution for something the executive did. So any harassment prevention training will be disregarded, accountability for behavior change won’t occur and the odds are set for a repeat performance. Legal risks remain, coupled with the probability of harm to future employees.
Assessment can be a part of a different approach to reduce the very real liabilities.
The executive needs to express credible remorse without killing your case. Your employees need reassurance that the organization doesn’t advocate a culture of expedience: the rules apply to everyone, even or especially to those at the helm.
The solution? An individual, intensive coaching intervention combined with follow-up to minimize a repeat problem.
A first step is to engage a coach familiar with harassment litigation, and who can listen to the executive’s view of what actually happened. This includes discussion about the personal relationship between the executive and the person charging harassment, reflecting distorted views of romantic involvement and the executive’s need to be in charge. This helps promote empathy for the victim’s experience, a key step.
Next, the executive needs to take steps to picture behavior in a greater context. Multi-rater 360 assessments (such as the Clark Wilson Group Executive Survey) provide the feedback necessary for the executive to learn how others perceive their actions. So the harassment victim is not singled out but part of the network of relationships the executive has with other employees.
Of course this needs to be combined with tutorials on discrimination and harassment law, and organizational policy and procedure. The responsibilities of management then take on real significance. By reflecting on the ways in which the conduct violated another’s rights, the potential for repetition of the problem conduct is dramatically reduced or even eliminated.
And, the executive is positioned to create a thoughtful action plan to improve a broad spectrum of leadership effectiveness, moving from personal feelings to an appreciation of personal impact. Follow-up coaching supports self awareness and achievement of the action plan.
Accountability replaces defensiveness, and openness replaces anger. The executive finds balance, prepared to distinguish between friendly business interactions and inappropriate behavior. With a development approach like this, a nightmare can become an organizational culture-reforming message in disguise.
Jodie-Beth Galos, Esq., SPHR is a consultant and executive coach who specializes in counseling C Suite executives accused of harassment and discrimination. Her background as a former litigator and HR professional makes her uniquely suited to reducing legal liability while improving leadership effectiveness. She has effectively testified on behalf of organizations as a fact witness. Her website is http://www.jbgalos.com/.
