Charn McAllister, Katie Alexander, Parker Ellen: Understanding ‘Workplace Deviance’ & How to Stop It

[14:25] “This research is not to vindicate the bad apples, it is in fact to tell leaders you have to look inward and decide... is it me or my employees?” As Marcel and his guests dive into the research, Charn explains the introspection required by good leaders to understand if their leadership might be causing workplace deviance and the necessary steps from that point instead of just passing blame.

[22:01] “Are you socially aware enough of what is happening at work? The relationship between you and your employees? The relationship between the employees themselves? …If you’re really politically skilled, and if you’re a really good leader, you should be able to see the matrix.” Parker Ellen discusses one of the foundations of political skill in a leader: social astuteness. This is all about taking a step back and seeing a different picture and how you may even be contributing to deviant behavior.

[33:35] “This is a time of transition in the workplace, if we can come at it from a collaborative place, we’ll have a lot of success.” Katie Alexander touches on the coach and team mindset that younger generations are longing for in the workplaces that can provide feedback when needed but also create growth. This idea promotes the importance of a caring, hands on, and dedicated leader that in many ways prevents workplace deviance.

[39:14] “Are they appearing like a ‘bad apple’ because I’m highlighting that aspect of them in the way that I lead?” Parker challenges the idea that there are either good or bad ‘apples’ and extends the thought that there are tendencies to either have both deviant and compliant actions in many people. Moreover, on how your own tendencies to not be the best leader can react with that.

[46:55] “Take a second to listen to your employees and recognize why something might be happening. Sometimes on small affronts, we can attribute major things... but it might not be anything... That doesn't mean we can’t correct the behavior, but it also means we’ll have the ability to give them grace as a leader because we spent that time upfront.” As all three guests share what love in action means to them, Charn shares a story from his time in the military, exemplifying the need to give grace and again take a step back and see the whole picture in order to lead with love.

Links to the episode:

—Marcel's website: https://www.marcelschwantes.com/charn...
—Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
—iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-lo...
—Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6nXi...

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The Love in Action Podcast is part of a global movement that inspires leaders to reimagine the conditions necessary for creating human-centered and humane workplaces where people and businesses flourish. The show is now heard in 160 countries and is ranked in the top 2% of all podcasts. Episodes are published every Thursday and can be heard on your favorite podcast platform. If you like what you hear, be sure to leave us a review on iTunes!

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