Page 97 - How America's Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times

84B RE-ENGAGE

continue to have a negative impact on the very people they are charged
to lead and engage.

Negative Comments
A few examples of how coercive leaders are viewed by those they pur-
portedly lead:

: “Morale is so low, and there is no trust in management in this
system for fear of reprisal.”
: “The new chief executive manages by condescension, humiliation,
and disrespect of employees for what I perceive to be no good reason.
This has made people too risk averse and too focused on immaterial
details for fear of (unnecessary) criticism. You could work on a project
and do 39 of 40 things right, but the one thing that may not have met
his standards of thoroughness will get all of the attention, and you’ll
come out of a meeting feeling less enthusiastic than you should.”
: “Those who dare to raise an objection or a new way of looking at
things are immediately labeled as negative and basically kept from
ever progressing in the company. Our director has made his pre-
judiced and misogynistic views known to his employees. He once
dope-slapped an employee in front of the entire department and
cafeteria and suffered no consequences. At ANY other company he
would have been fired.”
: “I’m disappointed in the decision of the EVP to hire such a harsh,
nonsocial human being as the current senior IT officer. Everyone in
the department has been walking on eggshells for eight months.”

Evidence of “Servant Leadership”
Several survey respondents went out of their way to express their ap-
preciation for leaders who lead not by coercing, but by serving em-
ployees’ needs:

: “This organization has a beaten path of proven success with a true
servant leadership attitude exemplified from right at the top.”