 While the complaints of sexual harassment and sexual assault against Harvey Weinstein — the famous Hollywood film producer and power broker — may be extreme, the scandal provides valuable lessons for leaders. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html?_r=0
According to the allegations, the organization settled at least eight different claims against the media mogul, stretching back decades. In addition, scores of other women have now come forward with similar complaints. Allegedly, many other executives knew about the settlements, as well as Weinstein’s pattern of inappropriate behavior. Because HR was viewed as weak, many of the mostly young women waited years to complain and only recently came forward.
“The lesson here: you can’t just look the other way.”
Although Weinstein has now resigned, the company has suffered immeasurable losses in future legal fees and settlements, productivity and public relations. Leaders who want to avoid a similar fate should pay attention to this story.
What Should You Do?
Leaders should follow two important rules with regard to sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace:
- Don’t ignore rumors. In my experience, in a situation such as Weinstein’s, “everyone knew but no one did anything.” I’ve heard this assertion in many different situations. When I ask why no one investigated, the frequent response is that they couldn’t investigate a rumor. If, however, they heard a rumor that someone was bringing a loaded gun to work, I suspect the response would differ. The lesson here: you can’t just look the other way.
- Create a complaint friendly environment. In this case, women didn’t come forward because they didn’t think they would be believed and they didn’t think that HR would do anything. Leaders frequently tell me that they have enough complaints and certainly don’t want to encourage more, but trust me, it’s much better that you deal with the situation internally instead of having the first notice be what you read or hear in the press. You want to know what’s going on with your people.
 Did You Know
All of our sessions and consulting on harassment, discrimination and diversity issues help leaders understand their obligation to be responsible for their own environment, investigate rumors and encourage complaints.
Call or write us at: 303-216-1020 or Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com
Learn more about our training offerings and check out our team members at:
Be sure to read Lynne’s book on Sexual Harassment. 
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October 16, 2017
