Pause: Rethinking Leadership to Cultivate Healthy Workplace Cultures

By Karen Mason

In today’s frenetic world, there is a tremendous focus on busyness and taking action. The consequence is poor quality relationships, impacting employee engagement and wellbeing. Work-related stress is reportedly reaching epidemic proportions, and something needs to change. 

Many leaders are unaware that they are holding on to tr

• Language: English
• Publisher: Librotas
• Release date: Sep 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9781916084636

Karen Mason

Karen Mason (PhD, University of Denver) is associate professor of counseling and psychology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a psychologist working in the mental health field since 1990. She previously managed the Office of Suicide Prevention for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and is a member of the American Psychological Association. She is the author of When the Pieces Don't Fit: Making Sense of Life's Puzzles.

Book preview

PART ONE:

Toxic Cultures

"If your actions inspire others to

dream more, learn more, do more

and become more, you are a leader."

John Quincy Adams

CHAPTER ONE:

What’s Wrong with

Our Organisations?

***

Here we go again. Steve was mocking Naz, a new team member, for a mistake he had found on some paperwork. Steve is our office manager, and he’s great at firing off multiple, detailed instructions, without taking a breath to ask if Naz understands what he requires .

Overwhelmed, Naz turned to look over to me, eyebrows raised, looking flushed and helpless. Steve missed the glance in his hurry to get back to his desk. Over time Steve’s behaviour has taken its toll on Naz. Naz, feeling unable to speak up, has really started to doubt his ability. It’s become a downward spiral; as his confidence has tumbled more mistakes are made.

It wasn’t just Naz who felt the brunt of Steve’s behaviour. I’ve also been told, many a time, how to go about completing tasks in minute detail, tasks I’m fully capable of thinking through for myself. They would add stretch and enjoyment to my role. The pleasure from work surely is to be trusted to tap into your own knowledge, experience and creativity?

I enjoy meeting with clients outside the office; here I am free to think on my feet and make decisions. This is what keeps me going. The days I’m office-bound I leave the workplace feeling stifled and my energy is low.

***

Knowing how to get the best from individuals is a challenge many leaders face. People are often promoted into positions of management because they are talented at what they do technically. The challenge comes because they are not necessarily talented at getting the best from others, or even have the desire to. These new managers are often set up to fail.

Left to their own devices, these managers receive minimal development and must learn on the job. They are expected to know how to tap into the potential of their team and be good leaders. Knowing no better, these leaders often end up modelling the traditional command and control, habitual behaviours of more senior leaders around them. Keen to pass on their expertise, they perpetuate an outdated style of leadership that no longer serves us well.

Without pausing to challenge these behaviours, what often occurs is the opposite of what is needed. Without recognising the need for personal development these leaders, rather than igniting the potential within their team members, unwittingly perpetuate a toxic workplace environment.

I hear many stories like the one above. It is typical of the kind of behaviour experienced in many organisations. It is not surprising therefore that low morale and lack of engagement are often cited as significant problems facing organisations. These issues ultimately contribute to low productivity and performance.

The prevalence of a command and control style of leadership is steeped in our history, proving to be such a successful approach when adopted by military leaders over many hundreds of years. This style of leadership helped to win battles and wars. As military leaders moved into businesses in the mid-1900s, they brought this proven style with them and it is now woven into the fabric of many traditional organisations. The trouble today, in our fast changing workplaces, is that this style of leadership constrains autonomy, thinking and creativity. It prevents individuals from bringing their whole selves to work and fulfilling their potential. Hierarchies infantilise, contributing to a parent–child style of relationships. This style of leadership rarely brings out the best in people. People want to be treated as adults, trusted to think for themselves, and have autonomy to act in the