Navigating Social Dysfunction
When my oldest daughter was young, I just knew I had this dad thing figured out. I had an idea of how things should be and how my child should act. I was floored at the disruption it caused when my daughter didn’t see things my way. Even though she was just a child, and boundaries were necessary, I should not have been shocked to learn she was created to have her own voice. However, when our personalities would clash it created a level of dysfunction in our home that affected everyone. Being her dad I had this expectation that she would just listen to me and accept what I was saying no matter the level of coercion I had to deploy. I learned very quickly as a young father that this was simply not a healthy way to operate. If I continued to respond with absolute and not allow her to have her own voice, then I was only going to create an angry resentful child.
For me personally I believe we are experiencing a global dysfunction rooted in a clashing of personalities unable to tolerate and accept other’s experiences and what they believe. We simply cannot hear each other’s voice. It is like we have all become the young father saying, “listen to me and accept the things I say, no matter how I need to coerce you”. We look to news outlets and social media to reinforce our beliefs just to silence others. Large corporations and leaders face the dilemma of speaking or remaining silent on social issues knowing there will be a negative response regardless. This leaves every leader asking themselves how to navigate social dysfunction.
I realize writing this article that it would be one of the more difficult to navigate. This is one of those topics I feel we have a tendency to prey upon and then click the “unfollow” button if we don’t agree with every sentence or feel there is some subliminal messaging not aligning with our belief. I assure you my intent is not to give ammunition to anyone. My hope is simply to provoke thought in how we treat people as leaders. It is perfectly ok not to agree with my approach or any other person’s approach on any topic. The point is each perspective is unique which creates a diverse way of looking at a situation. It’s not meant to be right, wrong, or absolute. It is just a different perspective and unique to that person or group of people regardless of if we agree with it. This applies to every person and current day event that is generating so much social dysfunction due to the divided perspectives. Everyone is programed with a unique way of seeing things which gives them their individual voice.
“Diversity” is one of the new corporate buzz words that can cause division in itself depending on who is translating it. The truth about diversity is that you will find it even in your own home. Diversity really just means being different. Sure, you could break it down into ethnic or gender groups, or sexual preference but the core of diversity means being different or having differences. If we hyper focus on one group over another in our effort to seek diversity, then in my opinion we miss out on the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of having a diverse workforce. Diversity should never be intended to highlight one group of people over another.
Therefore, as a leader intentionality and consideration are very important. Recognizing that not everyone has the same appearance, value, or belief system should be the very first priority. Building strong relationships with the diverse group of people around us allows them to see us as an authentic person and it allows us to appreciate everyone’s personal differences. As a father, none of my children agree on every current day topic. I can certainly tell you there are areas that I personally disagree with some of my children’s perspectives. However, as a leader I have chosen to embrace all of their perspectives and give them their own voice. This allows them to be heard and feel appreciated and it gives me a chance to learn.
In my opinion, as a leader, when navigating tough major social issues, the time is better spent focusing on ways to unite the employee population and not trying to make a social or political statement. Unfortunately, people have become angry about many things they read or have seen online or in the media. I can guarantee even reading this article that no two people will read and interpret it the same. There is a very good chance it will cause frustration in someone.
Therefore, instead of causing major disruptions in the workplace we should recognize the current social issue and understand every employee may have a different way of interpreting how the events are unfolding. It may even be helpful to have a policy that specifically supports your employees to voice their opinions on their own personal social media spaces outside of work indicating the opinions are their own and not a reflection of your company. Then you can focus your communication efforts to include how the company supports everyone’s voice and how responding with intolerance inside the workplace towards other’s will not be tolerated.
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I also believe it is important to be transparent about major issues and not ignore them. We should announce our goals to unite and embrace everyone’s perspective regardless of what seems to be the popular theme at the time or most embraced by the media. We should be consistent in our approach no matter how the social issue seems to favor one group of people over another. We should be authentic and understanding with all employees, so they see our genuineness behind our intentions. Simple plain talk gives us more of a human look than generating an “official statement” with a bunch of corporate or legal terminology that communicates we are nothing more than a robot and the employees are not real people.
It is important to understand not every employee or outsider looking in will agree with our approach of trying to give an equal voice to all. By giving everyone an equal voice, it does however simplify the response to the neigh sayers. Having a firm commitment to all employee’s unique perspective means being committed to diversity. It is also important to understand that it is unrealistic to address every social issue as they seem to pop up daily. Therefore, we must decide what issues are significant enough to be deemed major social issues that could impact the working environment and should not be ignored.
Then we must formulate a plan on how we should navigate the issue. Below I have outlined a simple approach on how to navigate social dysfunction as it arises. As always, feel free to critique and add value where you would like. I encourage you to have your own unique perspective. This is why I have written this article. We should all be able to discuss and provide feedback without creating an environment of absolute acceptance or shutting down others.
As I mentioned previously, it is inevitable that we will encounter people demanding we take a stand on social issues as person in leadership. Unfortunately, the problem with climbing that hill is that we may be looking down on a number of folks who don’t agree with our position. We have just communicated to them that their differences don’t matter, and they don’t belong. This may be the number one danger for companies in today’s modern era. Companies more and more are deciding to take a stand on social issues and as a result they are losing historically faithful people. As a leader it should never be our job to silence others given our position. Our job should simply be to love and to guide others.
Do you feel comfortable sharing any areas that have made you successful in navigating social dysfunction?