It was like a wildfire that started with Harvey Weinstein. I remember reading the accounts from actresses recalling his horrid harassment, women who look to the rest of us, as powerful but who recalled their interactions with Weinstein as humiliating, debasing and frightening in terms of not only personal safety but ability to continue their craft after denying him.
The allegations swept through several more prominent male actors, an olympic coach, network anchors and executives and politicians. For a few weeks it felt like, who ISN’T harassing their subordinates and colleagues?!
It was the wave of a cultural shift in the workplace that was given a hashtag and plenty of social media attention. We may be better at pointing it out but are we any closer to fixing the problem? Is punishing one powerful abuser at a time really working to change attitudes? Probably not.
A cultural shift takes not only professional best behavior but private changes too. How do we extend the reach of positive workplace culture into the private lives of employees and managers? This is a controversial topic as the line between work and home becomes blurred by 24/7 emails and IMs. However, it is the responsibility of workplace managers to understand the three C’s of good hiring, “Competencies determine what a person can do. Commitment determines what they want to do, and Character determines what they will do” says leadership author Mary Crossan.
A cultural shift in the workplace cannot happen if we aren’t hiring people with these three C’s or helping employees achieve them
Cristina Mendonsa
Author