Is bad culture just bad people or something else?

Welcome to Leading with Empathy, a newsletter focused on understanding why people do what they do and how we can build this understanding to change the world...

Is Bad Culture Contagious?

On the 1st of December 2001, more than 20,000 people went to work for one of the most successful and well-regarded companies on the planet. Just 24 hours later, this corporate juggernaut was filing for bankruptcy. The ensuing investigations and analysis determined that this former darling of Wall Street was hiding many, many dark secrets. Named "America's Most Innovative Company" by Fortune for six consecutive years, from 1996 and on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” list just a year before the collapse, it was a fall from grace that shook the world.

The blame for this $74 billion collapse fell largely on the executives of the company, but what about the other 20,000 people? Were they all clueless as to the massively destructive machine they were a part of? Were they all innocent pawns being misled themselves? Maybe instead they were all bad apples. Maybe Enron had managed to hire a large number of immoral narcissists who were focused on greed and wealth no matter the impact. Was it a combination of mainly good people being tricked into doing the bidding of a bunch of evil actors who were pulling the strings?

While it is impossible to know the answer, asking this question is critical. So often we look back on the wrong-doings of the past and are quick to blame it on individuals' ignorance or malicious nature. This gives us comfort in that because we are not ignorant or malicious, we wouldn’t be a party to such terrible things. The real concern should be slightly different questions: What if the people who were a part of this blight on history were just like me? Would I do the same thing as they did in their place? How would I act if these things happened at my workplace? Despite any resounding sense of confidence and conviction, you might have that you would do the right thing, decades of research suggest this might not be the case.?

To read the rest of this article, check out the blog here: https://empathicconsulting.com/blog/f/is-bad-culture-contagious

Why Good People Do Bad Things...

Want to dive deeper? Check out this white paper. There are plenty of examples here to consider... Download, share and let's all become more empathic leaders.

Start the Year with Empathy

This time of year is a PERFECT time to build more connection with your people. They may have been spending time with people they love, or time alone. They might have had the best holidays ever or suffered the worst tragedy imaginable. There are so many things that shift in us every day, we are never the same person.

Spending time apart means we don't come back to work to see the same people, we need to reconnect. We need to rediscover each other. This is where our workshops, virtual sessions and empathy cards can really help.

If you want to explore more about our virtual sessions, jump in here: https://empathicconsulting.com/virtual-boost-session.

If you want to a free pack of empathy cards, just send me an email with your details and we will send you a pack today: [email protected]

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Thanks for checking in, love you being part of the newsletter. Lead with empathy my friends and be kind, even to those who fall.

Regards

Daniel