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If you are scared, this may be an indication that your company needs to take a closer look at what's happening.

Al Franken is resigning from allegations of sexual misconduct and another man that was looked to as a leader is on the list. Mr Franken's misconduct seemingly have been acts committed before he started a career in politics.  But that doesn't make them less disturbing. I think the problem that people are having isn't that they think he shouldn't be held accountable.  They think he should and so should everyone else.  And while we sort through this actions and the punishments, I think it's important to find the root cause.  Because we can get rid of these people that are being inappropriate but if we don't build a culture of integrity with in companies, industries and the world,we will continue to have these issues.  There have been revelations over the years that amounted to some press and conversations but if you want to change the problem - if you want to protect your business -if you want to be a strong company- you have to think about the environment and make sure that you are creating new ways to deal with issues.  And having your HR department make new boundaries is not enough.  It is about building leaders that understand the concepts of diversity, mentoring and gender issues at the level that makes them think through problems and find solutions.  That is what a strong company should be looking to create.  Leaders with depth, the ability to learn, the ability to admit fault and the ability to see what it must be like positions below them. 

If your company is scared, then you probably need to be looking at your culture.  Because fear could be an indicator that you don't think you are doing something correctly.  And if that is true, you need to find experts, outside specialists that are neutral.  People that don't know the issues in your company or the personalities of your people.  They can come in with a fresh perspective and help make you stronger. 

Think of your company like a gym.  We all know how to use it, but to really get everything out of it, we need a personal trainer to see if our form is right, if we are really choosing the hard exercises that will make a difference.  Are we truly being honest?  That will push us further than we would go alone.   A sexual harassment specialist can come in and see things from a different perspective and ask the hard questions. They jobs aren't tied to any outcome. So they can push you to do the things that are difficult but necessary to reach your goals.

What ever you do, you can't ignore it and hope that it will go away.  It will not.  In fact, it may end up on the front of the Wall Street Journal.

www.weeehelp.com
workplace ethics, etiquette and education.

LeAnne


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