[March 12, 2015] Yes, leaders do encourage bad attitudes in people and it’s a sad commentary that senior leaders are particularly guilty of doing so. The encouragement is not about people with strong personalities but about the fact that a bad attitude will get rewarded.
How can it be that those with bad attitudes are rewarded when it’s a positive attitude that supposedly allows people to do better in life and at work? We are told that those with an outgoing, good attitude helps one to be a better team player and helps to motivate and encourage others. It also smoothes the way to bring people together.
But leaders encourage bad attitudes and do so in several ways:
- An honest effort is not made by leaders to confront and change the bad attitudes – little or no corrective action is taken; mentoring or educating so as to make a change.
- Groups of people are rewarded for team accomplishments – results are a high priority and are often considered more important that a person’s attitude or behavior thus allowing a bad attitude to escape notice by higher ups.
- The “bottom line” outweighs an individual’s personal style, ethics, or professionalism – the focus on results overshadows longer-term mission accomplishment over short-term gain.
- People with “connections” don’t receive the same level of scrutiny – thus, the old saying that “it’s who you know, not what you know” is no surprise.
Senior leaders often overlook bad attitudes of those lower down the chain because they rely on results more than personality. They look for the bottom line because that is how they’re rewarded and as long as a person’s bad attitude doesn’t affect the organization’s overall mission, they are apt to overlook it. It’s no surprise then that bad attitudes tend to flourish when leaders fail to act appropriately.
A bad attitude, one that is persistent, is the result of a person with a serious problem. I’ve seen it stem mostly from unsatisfying life circumstances (perceived or real) where it is reinforced. Often this manifests itself in a privileged mind-set and narcissism; just to name a few. The problem however is that others see that the person with a bad attitude is being rewarded and that means leadership is not being exercised appropriately.
Leaders are obligated to immediately and directly confront the problem. Overlooking it can mean a loss of job satisfaction, involvement, and commitment by everyone. The long-term damage can be significant.
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