It’s a horrifying subject. The bullying cowards that commit it do more damage than they realize. In a family environment, it is not only the immediate and obvious victim who suffers. The perpetrator, either knowingly or uncaringly, also inflicts psychological damage to every individual in the home. The abuse doesn’t have to be physical. Verbal abuse can be equally debasing and humiliating. While the person who bears the direct brunt of the attacks is the obvious casualty, the entire family, immediate and extended, will be impacted. And the trauma is not confined to the family. Friendships can be broken while the victims try to cope. Schoolwork and the workplace will also suffer as the family becomes increasingly dysfunctional. Too often, the bully is oblivious to the chaos he/she is causing.
In many ways, the actions and consequences of abusive behavior are similar in local government settings. Abusive behavior at the corporate level is disturbingly commonplace in too many local governments and some elected officials are responsible and should be held accountable for creating an atmosphere of intimidation and fear that prevents their staff from being productive and progressive. Too many Commissions/Councils are peopled by little “ceo’s” (cowardly elected officials) behaving badly. They don’t treat their fellow Commissioners with respect and they dish out even worse abuse on the Manager, Department Directors and lower tier staff members who must suffer the indignities in silence.
In the home environment, one spouse may speak up to defend a child or to misdirect the attack. Sadly, that noble gesture seldom happens in local government. When abuse in a home becomes apparent to outsiders, nobody wants to get involved or to confront the bully partly in fear of making the situation worse. In local government, it’s pretty much the same thing. Throughout Broward County, the bully-boys/girls are well known but their colleagues look the other way and try to pretend that nothing wrong is happening. The silent majority become enablers. In some cities, the abuse is part of the accepted culture. In the County and School Board it is legendary. Routinely, their meetings are an embarrassment for anyone watching or in attendance. Unfortunately, the clueless abuser thinks that he/she has exercised the leadership that is expected by the electorate. In reality, they don’t have any concept of true leadership. They don’t realize how truly important their behavior is to the bottom line success in all relationships, whether personal, business, or government. The relationship between the Commission, Manager, and staff should be that of a family or team with a common vision, not aimless adversaries with different agendas.
All elected officials need to better appreciate that every action has a consequence. The success or failure of a Manager is in great measure a responsibility of the City Commission. Publicly berating the Manager is an act of cowardice. Publicly criticizing a Director is more cowardly and further undermines the Manager. Trashing a staff report sends a terrifying message throughout the organization. Fear doesn’t simply stifle productivity, it demoralizes and paralyzes an organization just as it does a family unit. All the people of Broward County would benefit if all Commissions adopted and adhered to a code of civility instead of a allowing this destructive pattern of corporate spouse abuse that is crippling too many of our local governments.
Slainte!