Sexual Harassment and #MeToo Movement

In the wake of #MeToo, many organizations are revisiting long-overdue policies dealing with workplace behavior.

Maybe it’s time to recognize how limited our corporate value statements are in guiding the behaviors that define the cultures we want in order to be successful.

I am reading more and more about the legal definitions of sexual harassment.  I know first hand the tendency for leaders to default to this position. It’s a reasonable line of inquiry when assessing and managing risk. Legal definitions are being discussed in executive suites and board rooms across this country.  However, there are complexities and ambiguities embedded in the various definitions. This creates a slippery slope of hope for changing behavior. For that matter, is the legal threshold really the bar we want to set as a standard within our family businesses?  It hardly seems aspirational!

“Come work for us where our culture is defined in terms of legally acceptable behaviors”…hardly a clarion call for a healthy workplace or a legacy worth pursuing.  How would we measure the success of these policies anyway? Evaluate trends in lawsuits filed? I know this is a bit tongue in cheek, but these are the questions in search of answers in today’s world.

Corporate Culture and Behavior

Don Schmincke, an anthropologist and business consultant, once shared with my Vistage Group the relationship between Beliefs, Values, Behaviors, and Culture. It was his belief that Values and Value Statements were our attempt to capture what it is we believe in.  Laudable in terms of messaging but not very useful in driving a culture intentionally. Defining those values however in terms of behaviors, verb statements that described actions, how something like Integrity looks in action, now that is very useful.  He finished making his point by reminding us that culture after all is the aggregation of how we behave.

If we define the behaviors we identify as being aligned with our company’s success or conversely those likely to topple it, we can coach to those standards.  In this way, we can manage the risk associated with tolerating behaviors that have the potential to ruin lives and our family businesses. Doing this intentionally positions us for creating a competitive advantage that really is sustainable.

Can we be sued for not preventing harassment in the workplace?  Does defining our culture in terms of explicit behaviors show good faith in addressing the topic? Read about how these questions, yet to be answered, are being tested right now. If it came to it, however, I know I’d rather be standing on the deck of the latter than the former where the risk of sinking would be materially greater.

If you too would prefer to take intentional steps towards creating your company’s culture, fill out our free consultation form. The consultants of PathFinder Group have provided company culture consulting for over three decades in the greater Tampa Bay area and Florida. See if we can help you too.