Personal Respect is a Major Attribute for a Leader

Management of any entity is very crucial, whether it is a small entity or a large entity. It requires a lot of personal competencies such as the ability to solve problems, make concise decisions, be reliable, and be committed to the key aspects of the entity (Stahl, Pless and Maak, 2013). Organizational leaders tend to enter into scandals which at times go viral, posing the risk of tarnishing their reputation, as well as the reputation of the entity they serve. For example, a CEO who was a former COO in another company has currently been accused of sexually harassing two of his ex-employees. The stories have spread so much to the public through the media and other online platforms. In the stories, it seems that the two victims do not know each other and their arguments are very unique but consistent. However, the CEO adamantly denies such stories. Therefore, this piece of work aims at providing recommendations to the company board of directors that will be used to assess this CEO. An assessment interview will be conducted with the guide of these recommendations on the CEO to determine his personal capabilities. The recommendations will be based on empirical research evidence, showing various findings on the key personal competencies that this CEO should possess. This piece of work will present the findings sections which will provide recommendations on the basis of empirical evidence and a conclusion section which will summarize the recommendations and provide recommendations for further research regarding this scenario.

From the case of the CEO in his previous position in the previous workplace, it is possible that the alleged stories are true. The fact that the complainants are two is an evidence to support the truth of these stories. Additionally, the fact that the two complainants do not know each other and that they are arguing of a story pertaining a common topic, that is, sexual harassment gives more evidence of the truth behind these stories. Though the CEO does not accept these stories, it is obvious that a person would not accept a case that is showing his negative and unethical behavior that has become known to the public. Looking at these facts, it is suggestive that this CEO lacks personal respect. Personal respect is a major attribute that every leader should possess since he or she will need to interact with a variety of people in the workplace. However, by refusing the alleged stories, he has shown a quality of reputation protection. It was wise of him not to accept the stories because, assuming that he had accepted that he harassed the ex-employees, his reputation among the current employees and the public would be destroyed and mistrust developed. Additionally, the company that he currently works for would be viewed negatively, destroying its reputation too. This would decline the performance of the company entirely. However, more assessments need to be done through an interview in order to evaluate some of his personal competencies in connection with the alleged stories. 

Ability to Build Trust is Important in Crisis Management

Findings

Konig, Graf-Vlachy, Bundy and Little (2018) argue that the U.S. has been having cases of sexual harassment on the newspapers an in the television. This has posed a crisis to the concerned companies. Another form of a crisis has been outlined where the Johnson and Johnson Company was faced with an issue of deaths of the public due to its production of cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules. Konig et al. argue that the main problem, in this case, is not the deaths of the consumers of these capsules but how the leadership of the company is displayed in the whole process of the crisis. The Johnson and Johnson company still remained the top company despite the crisis that it faced. This is argued to be as a result of the ability of the leadership to build trust both to the employees and to the public (Pearson and Clair, 2014).

Recommendations

From this study, the CEO in our scenario should display the ability to build trust. This can be done through consistent communication which is clear and honest. This pertains to the responses that are given to the people who ask questions concerning the alleged case. However, great wisdom should be displayed in the responses given. Additionally, the CEO should establish safety and security to the employees to ensure that they feel comfortable in the workplace. This involves engaging them consistently and maintaining good conduct and relations. This is because the issue of sexual harassment can increase worker turnover hence affecting the performance of the entire company.

Findings

Konig et al. (2018) give an example of Denny’s where the management portrayed racial discrimination on its customers. The customers felt betrayed by the management and several lawsuits headed to the judicial system. However, the leaders were able to consult from different minority businesses, civil rights groups, its legal team, as well as management trainers, in order to have a good opinion on how to deal with the crisis. Chen and Chung (2016) suggest that a leader should portray the ability and capacity to make quick decisions and enquire from experts when quick decisions would affect the company negatively. 

Recommendations

In our scenario, the CEO should portray the ability to make a quick and concise decision on how to deal with the crisis. When he is not confident with his opinions and decisions, he should consult several experts in order to get significant ideas which would help protect the company.

Ability and Capacity to Make Quick Decisions is Necessary

Findings

A study that was conducted by Fischbacher-Smith and Fischbacher-Smith (2016) indicates that competent organizational leaders have knowledge and awareness on some of the challenges that may occur in the organization and how to respond to them. Seiffert-Brockmann, Einwiller and Stranzl (2018) suggest that leaders should always be ready to face some of the challenges that come their way in the organization. Comer and Cooper (2011) also add that when dealing with people, various stories may arise, whether they are true or false. However, a leader should understand that these issues are at times a normal aspect and that they have to be dealt with in the best way possible in order to prevent them from affecting the organization negatively.

Recommendations

The CEO in this case of sexual harassment should have the understanding that some cases do occur, whether they are expected or not. This helps in reducing the tension that a leader may face when such stories emerge. He should also be able to identify the various areas of vulnerability that emerge due to the current stories. By identifying the vulnerable areas, he should be able to counter or prevent the vulnerabilities from affecting the company negatively.  

Findings

This “deaf ear” syndrome is termed as the inability of a leader to respond to issues that emerge concerning their reputation or the reputation of the company they serve (Peirce, Smolinski and Rosen, 2014). A study that was conducted by Muller (2015) shows that companies which faced a crisis that spread significantly among the public and whose leaders remained silent, not responding to the issues ruined the reputation of the company.

Recommendations

In our case, therefore, the CEO should not remain silent on the issue. He should respond to it but in a responsible way. Silence may mean that the spreading stories are true and this may affect the reputation and performance of the company. 

Findings

Mulvaney (2016) indicates during a crisis, leaders may develop tension and stress. A case of a company experiencing complaints of sexual harassment from its employees is highlighted where the leader developed emotions towards the press and the members of the public who spread the stories widely (Heath, 2017). The development of negative emotions leads to negative responses and interrupts the competence to maintain smooth leadership in the company.

Recommendations

The CEO should be a good and competent leader who is able to work without negative emotions. Despite the pressure from different groups, the CEO should ensure that the daily duties and responsibilities are accomplished successfully.

Awareness of Challenges and Vulnerabilities is Essential

Findings

A competent leader sets goals which are challenging but achievable. A scenario is given where a company manager was involved in a car accident where he killed two kids. Stam, van Knippenberg, Wisse and Nederveen Pieterse (2018) say that the arguments of the public were that the manager was drunk and that he is a drug addict. However, the manager was able to analyze the situation and set goals which need to be achieved in order to deal with the situation promptly. The manager was persistent and determined to improve his personal performance. 

Recommendations

Relating this to our scenario, the CEO should be able to be persistent with improving his personal performance in the company. This would be setting goals on how to ensure that his reputation is protected, as well as how his overall performance in the company would be effected.

Conclusion

This report indicates that the CEO should have the capability to build trust on the employees and the public. This is displayed in his overall behavior and interactions with the employees I order to make them feel safe and secure. Ability to make quick and wise decisions is a quality that is important in this case. Diverse ways of making decisions and solving the problem should be portrayed such as consulting managerial experts. Insight in the form of the ability to identify vulnerable areas which may be affected by the current case should be a quality possessed by the CEO. Additionally, the CEO should be responsive on matters pertaining to the case, such as to the press, the employees, the bard, as well as the public. Having a “deaf ear” syndrome would affect his reputation as well as the reputation of the company negatively. He should also have the ability to work under pressure, responding to people who are concerned in a responsible manner and at the same time ensuring that his responsibilities are accomplished. Despite the crisis at hand, the CEO should portray personal motivation by setting achievable goals and planning how to achieve them. However, I would recommend further studies to be conducted in order to investigate the personal conduct of the CEO as well as his relations with the employees. This will help in predicting such a case happening again in the future. 

References

Chen, H. M., & Chung, H. M. (2016). How to measure personal brand of a business CEO. Journal of Human Resource and Sustainability Studies, 4(4), 305-324.

Comer, D. R., & Cooper, E. A. (2011). Gender relations and sexual harassment in the workplace: Michael Crichton’s Disclosure as a teaching tool. Journal of Management Education, 22(2), 227-241.

Fischbacher-Smith, D., & Fischbacher-Smith, M. (2016). Crisis management as a critical perspective. Journal of Management Development, 35(7), 930-940. 

Heath, R. (2017). Working under pressure: crisis management, pressure groups and the media. Safety science, 30(1-2), 209-221.

Konig, A., Graf-Vlachy, L., Bundy, J., & Little, L. M. (2018). A blessing and a curse: How CEOs’ trait empathy affects their management of organizational crises. Academy of Management Review.

Muller, R. (2015). Corporate crisis management. Long Range Planning, 18(5), 38-48.

Mulvaney, P. (2016). Innovation to Manage Crisis: A Study of Leadership Competencies Important for Both Crisis Management and Innovation.

Pearson, C. M., & Clair, J. A. (2014). Reframing crisis management. Academy of management review, 23(1), 59-76.

Peirce, E., Smolinski, C. A., & Rosen, B. (2014). Why sexual harassment complaints fall on deaf ears. Academy of Management Perspectives, 12(3), 41-54.

Seiffert-Brockmann, J., Einwiller, S., & Stranzl, J. (2018). Character assassination of CEOs in crises–Questioning CEOs’ character and values in corporate crises. European Journal of Communication, 33(4), 413-429.

Stahl, G. K., Pless, N. M., & Maak, T. H. O. M. A. S. (2013). Responsible global leadership. Global leadership: Research, practice, and development, 240-259.

Stam, D., van Knippenberg, D., Wisse, B., & Nederveen Pieterse, A. (2018). Motivation in words: Promotion-and prevention-oriented leader communication in times of crisis. Journal of Management, 44(7), 2859-2887.