Do you think leaders must be emotionally intelligent? What about being aware of their impact on others? About how their words and delivery may be interpreted? And, what is our responsibility to expose poor leadership?<\/p>\n
Can you imagine a leader in corporate America calling any person a \u201cbimbo\u201d or an \u201cidiot\u201d? How would the staff feel? What would peers think? Would it promote a team atmosphere? How would it play with any partner, vendor partner, or customer? How would the stockholders feel? What could possibly be in a person\u2019s mind to degrade another person? \u00a0What and why would a person continue to subject people to slanderous rants and raves and then be congratulated because they speak their mind?<\/p>\n
If that is viewed as leadership, and strong leadership at that, we don\u2019t want any part of it. We doubt that there is a company on this planet that would tolerate name calling, or allow this kind of behavior to be proudly tweeted around the globe. If it\u2019s acceptable for one person to act that way, doesn\u2019t it give permission for others to act the same way? Regardless of your title, wealth, and known successes, this behavior is unacceptable. Period.<\/p>\n
Our thoughts are that a leadership \u201cmust\u201d is to give respect and dignity to everyone. Not because they\u2019ve earned it but because they are people. If someone hurts your feelings is there a better way to handle the situation other than throwing around negative terms like \u201cbimbo\u201d and \u201cidiot\u201d? Is this the type of behavior we want to see in our children, our peers, and in society?<\/p>\n
Can you imagine what our environment would be like if our bosses called us (or others), dumb, not smart, or slow? How would we feel? We\u2019ve already seen various people downplay this behavior yet they likely would not tolerate it from a co- worker, a friend, or a family member.<\/p>\n
All the work that has been done with leadership development can be thrown out the window if we are to view this kind of behavior as acceptable. We think it needs to be talked about. If we don\u2019t, that implies consent\/acceptance and that simply is not the case. We need to hold ourselves and others accountable, and speak up, or we are no better than the person who makes disrespectful statements.<\/p>\n
We must give feedback in a healthy, honoring, and respectful manner, and it is up to each of us to treat every person on the planet with the dignity and respect they deserve. We strongly support being true to oneself and being authentic, but\u00a0we must also be emotionally intelligent.<\/p>\n
A great place to start is with our words, and our actions.<\/p>\n
PeopleTek\u2019s Strategic partner, E-Coach, specializes in online coaching tools.<\/p>\n