Like people, leaders come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. Along the continuum of benevolent to malevolent, a small slice of leaders has developed a harsh and highly coercive style, bordering on cruelty.
Indeed, the Stockholm Syndrome has gripped millions of followers in the USA. Hitler exploited this weakness and brought the world to the brink. His followers, as William Shirer readily identified, could not distinguish between abuse and strong leadership so much so that they gave Hitler a big hand in killing Jews and beating up those who he could not mesmerize.
The USA is in a similar state today, gripped by a bully who has learnt well from the Mafia. The Stockholm Syndrome has paralyzed the ability of well meaning citizens to reason and think. They have been brainwashed to applaud and justify unjustifiable behavior.
The real question is - why are billionaires lining up to support a political party that has completely lost its way and no longer has a True North? Well, history has an answer. They hope to prop weak and corrupt leaders who they then hope to manipulate. To a great extent, current laws of corporate contribution are perfect vehicles to prop up weak men and women so that the tail can merrily wag the dog. Democracy is treading dangerous waters. The Stockholm Syndrome has a death grip on the United States.
Unfortunately I think this may be a sign of bad leadership higher up. If those empowered to take action don’t when issues are brought forward then they are responsible for creating the environment where such behaviour is tolerated. If action is not taken- that’s a problem! If people feel like they can’t bring issue forward - that’s a problem! If people subject to such behaviour either as direct reports or as cross team colleagues bring these issues forward and no action is taken, they then just need to survive. Completely agree the end result is Stockholm Syndrome. Inaction as much as action at the top sets the stage for tolerance or intolerance!!!
Keep bringing the issue up. Unfortunately squeaky wheel eventually gets heard and if it doesn’t then that is not the organization you may want to be a part of. Continuous inaction speaks volumes. Perhaps as a team approach HR. It’s a lot harder to ignore multiple voices.
I agree that bosses should be provided the tools and training to become actual leaders, but it is not the role of an underling to provide them.
Any manager’s principal duty is to make their people as successful as possible. Therefore, if a manager consistently falls short in that duty, they are de facto incompetent. Perhaps they can be better trained to do their job well, but it is no different than if they consistently bobbled the budget or missed their quarterly goals. Recognizing that reality is the antidote to Stockholm syndrome or learned helplessness or whatever else causes people to acquire to and tolerate bad bossing.
What a solid response! I appreciate the gravitas you expect of managers and the organization, for that matter. Especially the priority of managers: "..to make their people as successful as possible.." I have not heard that from others, but ironically that is the standard I hold myself to. You better believe, I expect that from the men and women being paid significantly more, who happen to get weekends off;).
Indeed, the Stockholm Syndrome has gripped millions of followers in the USA. Hitler exploited this weakness and brought the world to the brink. His followers, as William Shirer readily identified, could not distinguish between abuse and strong leadership so much so that they gave Hitler a big hand in killing Jews and beating up those who he could not mesmerize.
The USA is in a similar state today, gripped by a bully who has learnt well from the Mafia. The Stockholm Syndrome has paralyzed the ability of well meaning citizens to reason and think. They have been brainwashed to applaud and justify unjustifiable behavior.
The real question is - why are billionaires lining up to support a political party that has completely lost its way and no longer has a True North? Well, history has an answer. They hope to prop weak and corrupt leaders who they then hope to manipulate. To a great extent, current laws of corporate contribution are perfect vehicles to prop up weak men and women so that the tail can merrily wag the dog. Democracy is treading dangerous waters. The Stockholm Syndrome has a death grip on the United States.
Unfortunately I think this may be a sign of bad leadership higher up. If those empowered to take action don’t when issues are brought forward then they are responsible for creating the environment where such behaviour is tolerated. If action is not taken- that’s a problem! If people feel like they can’t bring issue forward - that’s a problem! If people subject to such behaviour either as direct reports or as cross team colleagues bring these issues forward and no action is taken, they then just need to survive. Completely agree the end result is Stockholm Syndrome. Inaction as much as action at the top sets the stage for tolerance or intolerance!!!
A very interesting topic of discussion today. How do suggest team members pivot? Aside from leaving the company (and having to start over).
Keep bringing the issue up. Unfortunately squeaky wheel eventually gets heard and if it doesn’t then that is not the organization you may want to be a part of. Continuous inaction speaks volumes. Perhaps as a team approach HR. It’s a lot harder to ignore multiple voices.
I agree that bosses should be provided the tools and training to become actual leaders, but it is not the role of an underling to provide them.
Any manager’s principal duty is to make their people as successful as possible. Therefore, if a manager consistently falls short in that duty, they are de facto incompetent. Perhaps they can be better trained to do their job well, but it is no different than if they consistently bobbled the budget or missed their quarterly goals. Recognizing that reality is the antidote to Stockholm syndrome or learned helplessness or whatever else causes people to acquire to and tolerate bad bossing.
Professor Salvucci,
What a solid response! I appreciate the gravitas you expect of managers and the organization, for that matter. Especially the priority of managers: "..to make their people as successful as possible.." I have not heard that from others, but ironically that is the standard I hold myself to. You better believe, I expect that from the men and women being paid significantly more, who happen to get weekends off;).
Thank you for your time.
-Joe