In watching the Christine Holgate situation unfold, there are so many opinions of what is right and wrong, but a fundamental principle of who we are as people is completely being overlooked – how we treat people in leadership positions and how we as leaders should be treating others.
If any of us within the corporate world were to walk into a crowded room and start firing off dismissals, every leader I know, myself included, is going to start questioning your level of emotional intelligence and the height of your ego! Let alone your ability to diplomatically manage tough circumstances, noting that every one of us is sincerely doing our best.
So what was set to be gained by such a commotion?
Did we show the people we were right in our arrogance of proving the other person was wrong? Was there anything good to come from the vulgar way in which we treated someone who has done so much good for this country? Will your complete disregard of someone’s emotional capacity lead the next generation of women to continue down the straight and convenient road of what has always been done, out of fear that they too could be exposed to such ridicule?
The truth is, right or wrong, even if you are completely justified in your decision to stand someone down, there is a way in which we are obliged to do these things. And highlighting your self-importance in a crowded room, with the chance to completely crush another person is repulsive behaviour!
As leaders, as business owners, as senior managers, we all have an unwritten code that accompanies the territory. And if you haven’t picked that up by now, you should probably learn it! Because diminishing a grown and successful woman’s integrity with a touch of ‘let me show her’ to justify your self-importance, merely highlights that you have some serious issues to address!
We’ve all been met with the small man or woman syndrome, the concept that you’re going to crush another person to feel ‘superior’, but as social causes rise and people become more aware, there is less patience to tolerate this kind of behaviour.
I thought the construction business as a whole was hard enough, but the way our political leaders speak to one another leads me to believe it’s our political system at large that needs to have a good hard look at itself and its standards of ethics!
We need to address the ruthless behaviours we have seen of our predecessors, and force leaders who have chosen this path to start learning how to respectfully communicate! Because delivering any type of disregard to someone’s integrity so publicly only points the finger back on you.
So why don’t you ask yourself:
- Do I feel better about it?
- Am I so out of touch with my emotions that I don’t care?
- Did I show the world I am tough?
- Do I have any emotional intelligence at all?
- And most importantly, do I realise the impact my actions will later have on this individual?
Unfortunately, you can be incredibly good at your job, and be a completely appalling leader. Businesses need to be assessing these two imperative factors when promoting people into these roles, and perhaps Australia needs to as well.
The fact of the matter is, we are not just addressing whether Christine is wrong or right, but we are addressing whether the leaders we once admired in our political arena are fit for leadership at all, especially after how they mistreat another human being.
Tamika Smith
Founder – Top 100 Group
