As we become seasoned in business, it's important to reflect back and realize that though we may know so much, there is always still so much to learn. This week I ended a consulting project early with a company that was managed by someone who was clearly mentally ill.
Originally brought on a staff member (to save money versus my normal consulting fee), it was only 3 weeks before I was looking for a lifeboat. From the start, everything the CEO stated was either a lie or a half-truth. For example, I was told that the company was boarding 50 new customers per month. In reality, they were boarding one or two.
Aside from the CEO's tendency to be a pathological liar, he was also extremely narcissistic. As Tiell (2016) points out in her text, "If the supervisor is the narcissist, employees will have to weigh the concerns over voicing displeasure with the narcissists actions and inaction which will likely lead to dissatisfaction in their job."
This was exactly the case with this organization. Once a bustling office of 50 employees, the company had shriveled to 5 staff members in just under two years. And the ones who remained were constantly walking on egg shells, afraid of incurring the wrath of (and instant termination by) of the CEO. So no one ever spoke up. Everyone just fell in line, commenting on the Emporer's fine new clothes...
Much as Tiell (2016) describes a narcissist, this man made wildly inappropriate comments disguised as "jokes". For instance, in our first staff meeting, he openly made racially insensitive comments about an asian employee, opting to call her "Pokemon". When the group gave a somewhat audible gasp, he went into a story about how he'd been sued for sexual harrassment, beaten the case and "crushed" the accuser by making her pay his legal fees.
As I learned in my capstone course, execution begins with the culture, and the culture is set by the CEO. This could not have been more true. This organization was snakebitten with failure. In the first few days, I could not understand how the organization had failed to accomplish even the smallest of goals. But after about a week it became clear. The CEO was a black hole. He demanded that every policy, every product, every sales plan, etc. be sent to him for approval. Yet, he'd never respond. When asked, he would proclaim "I never read email. Print it out and bring it to me". And we would. And we'd still get no reply whatsoever.
It all came to a head this week. The CEO was expressing anger at the fact that I had not created a revenue producing independent agent channel within the 45 days in which I'd been on board. He stated that I hadn't even created a plan, yet I had sent him two that he never acknowledged. He then stated that he wanted "leaders" who would come in and do everthing because he "shouldn't have to think about things". It was honestly one of the craziest conversations I'd ever experienced in a boardroom. Just an indivdual completely detached from reality. And the sad truth is, my industry is full of guys like this.
Originally brought on a staff member (to save money versus my normal consulting fee), it was only 3 weeks before I was looking for a lifeboat. From the start, everything the CEO stated was either a lie or a half-truth. For example, I was told that the company was boarding 50 new customers per month. In reality, they were boarding one or two.
Aside from the CEO's tendency to be a pathological liar, he was also extremely narcissistic. As Tiell (2016) points out in her text, "If the supervisor is the narcissist, employees will have to weigh the concerns over voicing displeasure with the narcissists actions and inaction which will likely lead to dissatisfaction in their job."
This was exactly the case with this organization. Once a bustling office of 50 employees, the company had shriveled to 5 staff members in just under two years. And the ones who remained were constantly walking on egg shells, afraid of incurring the wrath of (and instant termination by) of the CEO. So no one ever spoke up. Everyone just fell in line, commenting on the Emporer's fine new clothes...
Much as Tiell (2016) describes a narcissist, this man made wildly inappropriate comments disguised as "jokes". For instance, in our first staff meeting, he openly made racially insensitive comments about an asian employee, opting to call her "Pokemon". When the group gave a somewhat audible gasp, he went into a story about how he'd been sued for sexual harrassment, beaten the case and "crushed" the accuser by making her pay his legal fees.
As I learned in my capstone course, execution begins with the culture, and the culture is set by the CEO. This could not have been more true. This organization was snakebitten with failure. In the first few days, I could not understand how the organization had failed to accomplish even the smallest of goals. But after about a week it became clear. The CEO was a black hole. He demanded that every policy, every product, every sales plan, etc. be sent to him for approval. Yet, he'd never respond. When asked, he would proclaim "I never read email. Print it out and bring it to me". And we would. And we'd still get no reply whatsoever.
It all came to a head this week. The CEO was expressing anger at the fact that I had not created a revenue producing independent agent channel within the 45 days in which I'd been on board. He stated that I hadn't even created a plan, yet I had sent him two that he never acknowledged. He then stated that he wanted "leaders" who would come in and do everthing because he "shouldn't have to think about things". It was honestly one of the craziest conversations I'd ever experienced in a boardroom. Just an indivdual completely detached from reality. And the sad truth is, my industry is full of guys like this.