Lifting the Lid

Staff behaving badly

Is there room for bad behaviour in successful organisations?

I’m not asking if there should be a position for Charlie Sheen as head of Leadership and OD for Boots, though I’m sure he’d be keen if he was allowed access to the pharmacy cabinets.

What I mean is, can controversial people gain a reputation so strong that when they inevitably get sacked, they become strangely attractive to other organisations who are looking for someone to dramatically shake up their business?

We’ve seen disgraced football pundits Andy Gray and Richard Keys booted out by Sky, then immediately get job offers from other TV and radio stations.

Then there’s John Galliano, currently facing dismissal by Christian Dior, for allegedly ranting anti-Semitic views. Something tells me he’ll keep making party frocks for someone, though perhaps only in colours that suit blond hair and blue eyes.

And of course, Russell Brand, Jonathan Ross and a host of others have all turned bad behaviour into a plus-point on their CV.

But does it only work for celebrities?

Or do self-styled trouble-makers who pride themselves on being controversial and tough in the workplace carry a certain allure?

I know of one senior manager who had an interesting technique for dealing with people in his team who weren’t performing. He’d send them to the head of department’s office, and tell them to stand with their forehead touching the door for an hour. If the boss opened the door, they had to explain why they were there. If not, they had a lucky escape. I don’t think many people crossed him after that.

Admittedly it was a while ago, and in these days of glass-walled offices, it’d never work. More importantly, he’d never get away with it now, and rightly so.

But if I’d heard that he wanted a job at my organisation, I must admit I’d be intrigued. I’d almost definitely not hire him, but I’d be interested in asking him why he thought that was appropriate behaviour.

And maybe that’s what we can take away from this. Without celebrity, you can’t use bad behaviour as a selling point. Nobody wants a ticking time bomb in their organisation.

But on the flip-side, these renegades are nothing if not risk-takers, and that’s something I do believe in. I definitely don’t advocate breaking the law, and of course the actions of everyone I’ve mentioned here cannot be condoned. After all, we’re talking about sexism, racism, and degrading staff. That’s never acceptable

But I do think we need to take risks in order to innovate, so there must be a balance somewhere. Do you know of leaders who push things to the limits? Does your organisation have a wild child who walks a very fine line?

Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget, you can keep it anonymous if you like.