It can be hard to know how to navigate a really tough environment as a leader. This is how one woman did it really well.

 

On today’s episode, host Jeff Mask sits down with Karen Pierce, CEO of KMP Consultants, to talk about best practices in leadership and how to deal with tough, even toxic, work environments. Karen and Jeff met at an event where Karen told him, “we speak a very similar language.” It’s true. They do. The bottom line? They both believe deeply that leadership is all about putting people first. It’s not as much about skills and getting things done. It’s about developing people, inspiring them, motivating them. 

 

Karen heard someone say once: “You can’t be a leader if nobody’s following you. And if nobody’s following you, you’re just out on a nice walk.” 

 

Listen in for some great examples of leading well when things aren’t going so great. 

 

What Karen Does Now and How She Got Here

 

Karen helps leaders in organizations navigate change by developing an environment where people can thrive and have fun, feel valued, like they have a place, like they’re a part of the organization, not just someone who gets assigned a task.

 

Work doesn’t have to be a four-letter word, she says. It should be rewarding and affirming. We spend at least a third of our waking hours there. Rather than endure it to the weekend, we should feel like we’re contributing to something better than ourselves. As we look at this Great Resignation, employees are voting with their feet. If we don’t create an environment where they can thrive, they’re heading somewhere else. 

 

Karen’s journey started when she was a young female aerospace engineer who faced a significant amount of resistance in spite of her ability. Women just weren’t respected in the field, in general, and being good at what she did turned out to be more negative than positive. She could work really hard and do a great job and still not be part of the team. 

 

People felt threatened by her. Her work was sabotaged. When she got promotions, people talked about who she slept with to get there. Her life was even threatened. She came to a decision point. Pursue this or quit and find something else. “I have a purpose here,” she decided. “I can try to make a difference.” Maybe she could change people’s minds and make things better for the women who came after her. 

 

Dealing with Toxic Work Environments

 

Over the course of her career, Karen has handled toxic work environments with grace. At one point, Karen’s boss sent a problem employee to her. This employee was frustrated with his job, was feeling very threatened, and had almost hit his manager. He was dealing with mental health issues that people didn’t know about at the time, putting Karen in a difficult situation. He threatened her life at one point, but no one believed her. It wasn’t until they were in court (he sued her) and had an outburst, that her lawyer realized her life was in danger. 

 

Leading through mental health challenges is so tough, and is part of a leader’s reality more now than it’s ever been. Passing employees from one leader to the next isn’t the best idea. Help them be extraordinary first in their current role, before passing them on. If it’s happened more than twice, don’t be seduced as a leader, thinking you can be a hero. There’s a pattern there. 

 

Not being believed is a frustrating, even terrifying, thing. It took a lot of guts for Karen to raise red flags, because she was young and female. She didn’t want to be a failure. She asked good questions and kept good records, and eventually the truth came to light. 

 

Fast forward in her career to when she got a leadership position that several people she was leading wanted. They were in an open office environment with about 40 people.