Month: November 2019

 Want to Avoid McDonald’s Fate? Here’s How

The New Reality:  In the face of #MeToo, Steve Easterbrook, the highly successful McDonald’s chief executive, became the latest casualty. He was abruptly fired last week over a consensual relationship with a subordinate that the board decided violated company policy. McDonald’s standard of business conduct prohibited employees with “a direct or indirect reporting relationship” from “dating or having a sexual relationship.” McDonald’s HR chief also left the company.

Unfortunately for the company, they lost a CEO who had been credited with boosting McDonald’s out of the doldrums.

Prohibiting Dating?  Ironically, many organizations prohibit these kinds of interests in their general conflict of interest policies, rather than prohibiting dating, because of the laws in many states that limit a company’s ability to prohibit conduct outside the workplace that is otherwise legal activity. These laws were originally passed by the cigarette lobby to discourage businesses from firing employees who smoked outside the workplace. Thus, for example, if you see an employee on the news marching in a KKK parade or a Gay Pride event, you can’t terminate or discipline them for that activity alone in states with these laws. McDonald’s may have had a more express policy prohibiting dating itself.

The Power Differential:  “It is not appropriate to show favoritism or make business decisions based on emotions or friendships rather than on the best interests of the company,” McDonald’s policy states. Such policies underline the reality that relationships that appear consensual may not be if the power difference discourages an employee from rebuffing advances. Many employees may feel that they must engage in a sexual relationship in order to keep their job. In addition, a relationship that ends badly may result in harassment or retaliation. I have mediated or investigated several claims involving just such situations.

A Trail of Exits:  Easterbrook is just the most recent CEO to be fired under these circumstances. Last year, Intel’s chief executive, Brian Krzanich, resigned after the company discovered that he’d had a relationship with an employee – a violation of Intel’s “nonfraternization policy” — which applies to all managers.

While #MeToo has had the greatest impact on such exits, other companies have had similar issues over the years. In 2012, for example, Best Buy’s chief executive, Brian Dunn, resigned after engaging in what the company described as “an extremely close personal relationship with a female employee.”

Similarly, in 2005, Boeing’s chief executive, Harry Stonecipher, was forced to resign after he had a relationship with an employee. In many organizations, policies that apply to mid-level managers may be less severe, allowing such relationships if they are reported.

What Should You Do?

Avoiding the PR Nightmare:  If you want to avoid the bad press, financial fallout and productivity loss from these kinds of events, make sure that you pay attention to common sense prevention measures.

Train Hard:  In most organizations, harassment training is mandatory. Many executives, however, manage to escape, resulting in poor leadership modeling, as well as a lack of understanding by these leaders. While they may think they know everything about the issue so that they have no need to attend, in my experience, that is not the case.

Emphasize the Power Differential:  In both your trainings as well as policy considerations, make sure that you emphasize power. What a leader perceives to be a harmless pass may be interpreted very differently by an employee. The person who is lower down on the food chain may not believe that they can say no. The exec assumes consent where there may be none. In addition, consent may change over time. A relationship that started out as consensual may devolve into harassment or retaliation down the line. Managers who engage in relationships with subordinates put themselves in vulnerable positions.

For more information on these issues go to:
Why #MeToo Won’t Die and What to Do
Do You Know How Leaders Should Lead Through Biden, the #MeToo Movement and all the Rest of the Noise?
Lean Back? Are Most Male Managers Now Afraid to Mentor Women?
What Does #MeToo Mean For You as a Leader

What Do You Think?

Have you had experience with these kinds of situations? Call or write us at: 303-216-1020 or Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com

 Want to Make Sure Your Feedback is Heard? Here’s How

Criticism That Stings:  We’ve all been there: received feedback that hurt or mystified. The other person may opine that they are trying to be helpful, constructive or direct, but we are left feeling deflated, angry or unsure of what they want.

What the Research Reveals:  As leaders, we may think we are being clear but psychological research shows the opposite: we are often too indirect and abstract. Most feedback is too general to be helpful.

 Common Mistakes:  In coaching leaders and conducting investigations, I find that vague feedback simply doesn’t land. A leader may say that an associate “doesn’t respect the group”, “communicates poorly” or “has a bad attitude”, but what do these terms mean?

My son, for example, is a talented musician and singer. (We’ve always insisted that he have a day job as well, just in case this whole rich and famous thing doesn’t work out.) In his most recent group, he was the front man, in a band they call Punk. (For the record, it doesn’t seem like punk to me; not like the Ramones were punk, more like screamo, but I digress.) He performs his Mick Jagger routine with style and verve, dancing and prancing like a seasoned rock star, while his Mom hides in the back to avoid embarrassing him. Trust me, the kid has attitude.

But, it’s probably not the attitude that you want rocking out in your workplace. So, if we’re trying to correct someone’s attitude, we have to be much more specific about what a good attitude looks like, as well as providing examples of a bad one.

What Should You Do?

Use Effective Feedback:  As research conducted at Harvard Business School and elsewhere has shown (Harvard Business Review, November-December 2019, Cracking the Code of Sustained Collaboration, feedback is most effective if it is direct, specific and applicable.

When you want someone to listen and be able to change:
1) be straightforward in how you address a person, don’t equivocate; 2) identify the particular behavior that worked (or didn’t); and 3) describe the impact of the behavior on you and others.

Avoid the Abstract and General:  Feedback is more effective if we are concrete and provide vivid images of goals. As yourself: “what am I trying to accomplish?” If the recipient can’t understand why the conversation is happening, they are unlikely to absorb the message and change their behavior. Craft your message to be clear, specific and include a purpose.

For example, don’t say: “Be more respectful of your teammates.” Say instead: “If you want help on an assignment, ask your group member if they have time to talk, whether they have the bandwidth to accomplish the project, and let them know why it’s important to the team’s goals.”

For more ideas on effective feedback, go to:

How to Give Your Team Feedback That Works
This Year, Resolve to Use Feedforward NOT Feedback
What Are the Two Things You Need to Make 360 Feedback Successful?

What Do You Think?
What makes feedback effective? Call or write us at: 303-216-1020 or Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com