CHAPTER 8

CORPORATE CULTURE AND DIFFICULT PEOPLE

Britannus (shocked). “Caesar: this is not proper.”
Theodotus (outraged). “How!”
Caesar (recovering his self-possession). “Pardon him, Theodotus: he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature.”

—George Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra, Act II (1900)

Why doesn't the organization take more of a lead in dealing with difficult people in its midst? Surely the costs of inappropriate behavior should compel the organization to action—and yet it's seldom the case that the organization acts except in the most egregious of situations.

Sometimes it's because the organization itself is part of the problem.

You may have noticed that a lot of people describe their office environment as if it's a war zone. We take flak; someone gets shot down; the boss is out for blood; someone's getting the ax—it's a pretty violent place. And, of course, some people work in offices that are all too reminiscent of a war zone. (We hope you're not one of them.)

There's the official corporate culture and the real culture. The official culture is usually embodied in a vision or mission statement: “We value honesty, diversity, and hard work.” If in fact people are praised and rewarded for honesty, diversity, and hard work, then the match between the official culture and the real culture is close.

But sometimes there's a mismatch. If honesty is punished, diversity is nonexistent, and nepotism is rampant, then the official culture isn't real. You often still need to give lip service to the official version, but the real culture is reflected in the behavior you actually witness day in and day out.

Look at the very top of the organization. Does verbal abuse start there and go down through the ranks? If so, it's hardly surprising to see the same behavior reflected in middle managers.

The basic assumption in this book is that your organization does not want (or is at least neutral about) the difficult behavior that's causing a problem for you. If you are part of an organization whose culture rewards difficult behavior, your attempts to modify the behavior by using the strategies in this book will be less effective and may not work at all.

If that's the case, your options are limited. Depending on your organizational rank and power, you may be able to force a change in the corporate culture. If the difficult behavior violates laws against harassment and discrimination, you may be able to force change even if you're in a lower-ranking position. Be extremely careful with the threat of legal pressure. Even if you succeed in forcing the organizational change, you may suffer negative career consequences. It's all too common for other people—not you—to reap the benefit for such a sacrifice.

If you can't change the culture, or the cost of forcing change is unacceptable, the two remaining choices are: (1) learn to live with it and (2) get out. If your decision is to leave, prepare your exit carefully. If you're going to stay, make sure the consequences to your mental health and happiness are within an acceptable range.

One word of caution: If you've generally had good working relationships and this one is poisonous, it's likely to be primarily the other person's fault. If, on the other hand, you encounter the same difficult behavior over and over again, you need to look carefully at your own contribution to the problem. Refer back to Chapter 1 to help provide some insight.

The following questionnaire will help you assess the degree to which your organization's culture exacerbates the problem as well as how you may be able to change the culture.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE WORKSHEET

Take as much time as you need to fill out this worksheet completely. You'll probably need extra sheets of paper to complete it. It's a good idea to complete it at home or in a private and secure setting.

1. Is the difficult behavior rare or unique to a single individual, or is this a common behavior in the organization?

2. Do senior managers (including the CEO) exhibit the same difficult behavior?

3. If you have discussed your problem with managers or human resources, do they tell you that it's your problem and you need to deal with it, or do they take the complaint seriously and attempt to help?

4. Is the overall organizational stress level high? (Stressed people are more likely to exhibit difficult behavior.)

5. Are other people experiencing the same difficult-behavior problem? What similarities exist among these people (race/ethnicity, class, or gender; temperament type; organizational position; political or moral values and opinions)?

6. What have other people done in trying to deal with the difficult-behavior problem? Has it worked in the past? Are there differences between the people who have successfully coped and those who continue to suffer?

7. To what extent do you have power to influence cultural change in your organization? Whom can you approach or recruit to help? What are the consequences for success or failure in attempting this change?

8. Whose approval and support are necessary to make the cultural change happen? To what extent are they inclined to be supportive? Why haven't they acted already?

9. What action steps would you need to take to promote the cultural change? What are the risks to you and your career in doing so?

10. Is it worth trying to bring about cultural change? If not, what is your fallback plan?