When people talk about bullying, they tend to see it from the point of view of the individual.

Bullying for individuals is appalling.  It wrecks lives and careers.  It tends to get dealt with by HR with varying levels of success.  Sometimes someone is disciplined, sometimes there is a tribunal hearing, sometimes some unwelcome publicity, but in general the bullied individual leaves and life in the organisation goes on much as before.  If it gets to the Executive Committee or the Board they will almost always close ranks against the bullied individual, often after “a thorough investigation”.  The individual leaves and all is peaceful again.  That may sound cynical, but it is sadly true in the majority of bullying cases. 

If that is what always happens then why is it a problem?  Why is bullying an issue that Boards should take very seriously?  Because it can lead to business destruction and business underperformance. 

If you have been following the Grenfell Tower Enquiry you will have seen example after example of people who were either threatening or openly dismissive of others creating a culture where people were afraid to speak out.  Construction News reported a Kingspan manager as saying: “Wintech (a consultant) can go f**k themselves and, if they are not careful, we’ll sue the a'#rse of [sic] them.”  What clearly existed was a culture where bullying was allowed to flourish.  It suppressed truths that were well known.  It was not confined to one business but to a whole supply chain. 

Grenfell is an extreme example of where ignoring a toxic culture can go.  I witnessed, at close hand, the culture of Worldcom, where Bernie Ebbers and others of his management team bullied their way to corporate ruin.  The company ran on fear, of mental and physical reprisal, of job loss, of demotion. A lot of the team (me among them), jumped ship, a few stayed until the bitter end. Eventually it collapsed largely due to the courage of a few whistle-blowers.  The destruction of lives and livelihoods was terrible.   The Worldcom Board had failed in its duty of oversight.

Those are the extreme examples of where a bullying culture hides criminal activity.  More often it just creates underperformance.  Some interesting facts about bullying and why it undermines performance:

• It is estimated that 18 million working days per year are lost through the effects of workplace bullying
• Employees who are bullied spend over 50% of their time at work defending themselves and feeling demotivated
• Inconvenient truths are hidden for fear of reprisals. I’ve had members of senior executive teams say about their CEO “we know he’s asking for the impossible, but no one dares to tell him, and he’s already committed to the analysts”
• Fear stifles creativity because people are afraid to fail. 

Where there is a culture of bullying people and teams under-perform. No organisation can afford this, and organisations need to learn to deal with it.  That means two things:

1. Discovering and recognising that bullying exists
2. Taking action

Both are essential, neither is easy.

1. Discovering and recognising that bullying exists
   1. Taking complaints and whistle-blowers very, very seriously. They may be the only thing standing between you and a public enquiry that could destroy your company. The complaints process needs to be transparent and confidential and as part of that process there needs to be independent scrutiny.That means that the complaints process needs to include at least one NED who has training in the dangers to the organisation caused by bullying.
   2. Following up on any indication that bullying may be happening, symptoms such as lack of challenge, high staff turnover, lack of innovation.
   3. Clear communication to the organisation that bullying will not be tolerated.
   4. Training for all board members, managers and supervisors in the dangers to the organisation caused by bullying.
2. Taking action
   1. The bullying policy will live or die depending on how the first cases are dealt with.The process has to be rigorous and fair and followed through to the end.  Firing a bullying supervisor but then giving the bullying CEO “a good talking to” will only undermine it.  It can be hard to take on bullies, especially if they are senior.  “We really can’t get rid of the CFO at this point in the year” – a Board decision after the CFO had physically assaulted an external consultant.  There is pressure to find excuses rather than to fix the problem: “I’ve had a word with Mary, and she says she will change”; “I know he can be difficult to work with, but he gets things done”; “I make no apology for standing by Priti Patel”
   2. Protect the complainers and the whistle-blowers.Sometimes they are people with grudges and their own agendas but do not ignore or punish them – these are often people with courage and persistence.  The team that exposed the Worldcom fraud worked at night in secret.  It took them a long time to find all the evidence.

Dealing with Bullying is a long process, but it may save your company.