Workplace Articles By BCC
One of the most difficult challenges in managing sexual harassment issues is to hold top leadership accountable to an organization's anti-harassment policy. The credibility of the policy can be easily undermined when subordinates--managers, employees, faculty or students--become aware that it has been violated by the very people who are held to the highest standard of conduct. Individual counseling and coaching can provide effective and appropriate corrective action when it has been substantiated or is likely that such a violation has occurred.
The Issue is Power
Sexual harassment is fundamentally about power. Individuals who engage in sexually harassing behavior more often than not are in positions of greater power or authority than the recipients of their conduct. The power imbalance can be reflective of numerous factors including length of service, perceived or actual value to the organization, physical size, strength of personality, and being a member of the gender which is disproportionately represented. The most obvious power difference, and the one accounting for the greatest incidence of sexual harassment, is determined by position in the organizational structure. For all of these considerations and more, a man is most likely to be the offender. This article is focused on this most common configuration, while acknowledging the reality that any person, regardless of gender, can be the perpetrator or the recipient of the harassment.
That men more so than women tend to hold these positions is not necessarily a reflection of the person himself, but often a combination of his individual character reinforced by societal, institutional and organizational norms. Historically, sexism and gender bias have contributed to maintaining a higher percentage of men in leadership positions. In addition, the socialization process of men and women in our culture has contributed to widening the gap in perceptions regarding what constitutes sexual harassment, how often it takes place, to whom it is most likely to occur, and the standards of what is considered to be offensive, unwelcome or inappropriate in a workplace or academic institution.
In addition to the more external forces, there are common traits that higher-level offenders often share. Many of these men are high achievers, making significant contributions to the success of their organizations, rendering them popular in terms of their work product, if not their offensive behavior. Because of their organizational value, these men often have large egos and are experienced, by themselves as well as others, as exceptional. Unfortunately, this exceptional status, while often accurate relative to their performance, can translate to exemption from the same standards of conduct to which others must comply. Because of their power and the fear that it frequently generates, they are often not held as accountable for their actions. Power is often accrued over time and, at the point at which the "senior offender" has violated the anti-harassment policy, he is most likely quite removed from the experience of occupying the less powerful position if, indeed, in the course of his career he has ever had or can remember such an experience. It is precisely this power that is both the source of the violation, the greatest obstacle to behavioral change, and the primary focus of the counseling and coaching intervention.
Defining Parameters
The level of discipline for violating the organization's policy should correspond to both one's position of leadership and authority as well as the severity of the offense. The failure to hold him accountable can create greater liability, as more recent court cases have dramatically demonstrated. In addition, it can send a message throughout the organization that the issue of sexual harassment is not taken seriously, or that the policy is selectively enforced. It is at this point that the counseling and coaching intervention can be most effective.
The challenging decision to implement such corrective action is often closely followed by the dilemma of determining who is best suited to do so. Beyond the requirement that the counselor/coach be qualified in skill and experience, the relationship of this individual to the offending party must be considered quite carefully. The fear of potential reprisal or negative career impact effectively eliminates an internal resource person in most circumstances and, for this reason, many organizations look to an external counselor/coach.
The scope of the process will vary according to the particularities of each situation. Most often the counseling/coaching session can occur in the course of one day or less. In some circumstances multiple sessions, or a series of shorter meetings, might be more appropriate. The counselor/coach must be provided with sufficient background information, including the alleged behaviors, concrete findings of investigations, corrective action taken to date, as well as the organization's anti-harassment policy. Additionally, it is advised this person be informed that should litigation ensue as a result of the infraction, he or she might be subpoenaed to testify as a percipient witness.
The session should be scheduled to be both timely, in terms of its proximity to the violation, and be conducted in a location and manner that maximizes privacy and confidentiality. The process should minimally address the following:
- Basic terms and concepts related to sexual harassment,
- Examples of conduct which could constitute sexual harassment, policy violations, and illegal behavior,
- Guidelines for determining the appropriateness of conduct in the workplace or academic institution,
- Common perception differences and their impact,
- Legal implications and potential liability,
- The role of leadership relative to sexual harassment,
- Discussion of the specific alleged behaviors and investigation findings, and
- The development of a concrete individual plan for implementing behavioral change.
Ample opportunity should be provided for the individual to raise questions and concerns and ensure that the counselor/coach can assess the effectiveness of the process. It is recommended that written documentation be provided verifying when the session/s occurred, an outline of areas addressed, brief impressions of the relative success of the effort as well as recommendations, if any, for additional action.
Effective Interventions
One of the major goals in enforcing leadership accountability is to assist the individual in taking greater responsibility for his actions by deepening his understanding of the experience of the person, usually a woman, who has been the recipient of his behavior--in other words, to have him stand in the other's shoes. Much as there is a dialectical relationship between the external and internal forces that have brought him to this juncture, the tools of education and self-reflection can provide the necessary intervention to help him reach this goal.
The educational component by its very nature can depersonalize and destigmatize the process, helping to remove the potential obstacles of self-blame and guilt which often hinder self-reflection. It should address two key elements, promoting a clearer grasp of (1) what constitutes sexually harassing behavior, and (2) the socialization process which leads to how these behaviors are so often perceived differently by men and women in our culture. For many of these men, the reality that they have offended comes as a shock. By understanding from a more intellectual or analytical perspective the risk of using one's own standard for evaluating the appropriateness of behavior, the individual can become more open to self-examination and taking more responsibility for his own conduct.
This process can be made more difficult because of common emotional barriers including anger, betrayal and a sense of victimization by the very process itself. These feelings, while often understandable, can provide a useful starting point in helping the individual deepen his understanding of both the source of his behavior and, more importantly, its impact.
The anger and betrayal are often focused on the failure of the recipient of the harassment to directly confront the offensive behavior rather than using an alternate complaint procedure. As a result, he feels victimized, frequently the "sacrificial lamb," especially when other similarly situated leaders have not been held accountable for comparable offenses. The counseling/coaching process, particularly when it is a mandatory corrective action, can provide the direct experience of being in the position of less power, an emotionally instructive experience that is parallel to that of the recipient of his offensive behavior.
Longer-term behavioral change may require more in-depth self-exploration that the organization may not be in a position to provide. However, the counseling/coaching intervention in the aftermath of a sexual harassment situation can be a critical component of an effective resolution strategy.
Copyright 2006