This damning assertion was validated with the shocking statistic in this survey that reveals that 94% of C-Suite executives in Canada don’t believe there is a sexual harassment problem in their organizations. While the survey only deals with Canada, based on my research the numbers would not differ much if a similar survey were conducted in the United States.
This statistic makes perfect sense, as illustrated by this Harvard Business Review article by Tasha Eurich, which reveals that self-awareness is a rare quality (10%-15%); and which strongly supports the argument -if people are not self aware, how can they possibly be aware of how others feel and what is going on around them?
I have long held the belief that the biggest barrier to creating psychologically safe workplaces is the attitude of organizational leaders, as I point out in my book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire, notably here in this excerpt, which shows research results and anecdotal evidence of why this is so.
Since I started, many people have questioned why I accentuate the negative. My response to this is - “in this arena, there is much to be negative about”. Until such time as C-Suite executives start understanding what the f**k is going on in their organizations, I will keep marching on being negative!
Photo credit: flickr.com