Boo! It’s the time of year when we think about ghosts and goblins, spiders and bats.  

A few years ago I attended a concert around Halloween with my family. It was meant to be scary — ominous music, eerie decorations, and actors who jumped out and startled people. 

While I did get a jolt from all of that and it was great fun, that night I was more frightened by the workplace issues that I had encountered over the previous week. Yes, there are workplace issues that scare me even more than a random fake bat unexpectedly flying out of nowhere.

That fall I was able to work with my clients to solve the scary issues I’d encountered, and I enjoyed helping them improve their workplaces. Different workplaces have different issues, but every organization has concerns that need to be addressed.   

Do you have any of the following issues going on at your workplace? 

• A CEO or senior leader with an anger management problem who bullies and intimidates employees

• An employee who steals product or supplies from the company and acts like it’s the norm 

• Staff members who routinely miss meetings, aren’t prepared, or do not add value to the company or the bottom line

• Colleagues who make suggestive or inappropriate comments, creating an uncomfortable work environment

• Deadlines that are so aggressive that it’s impossible to meet them

• Employees who don’t receive coaching, training, or anything to improve, yet remain in the organization for 5,10, or even 20 years without really contributing

• A board that is apathetic about the internal workings of the organization and acts as though the culture of the organization isn’t their problem

• Peers who are so stressed and tightly wound and their reactions so intense, that you are scared to confer with them

• Customers, patients, or vendors who make comments that are disparaging or abusive to your colleagues

Workplace issues don’t just impact the bottom line; they create stress and anxiety for workers that affect every aspect of the organization. What workplace issues scare you?

Peter Drucker said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” If you are aware of any of the above, and you aren’t scared out of your Halloween costume, you should be! At Concordia Consulting we have solutions and we will collaborate with your organization to appropriately implement them.