General counsel often have to make tough choices that business leaders might not want to hear. In some cases, GCs who push back against management decisions could find themselves at risk of retaliation by bullying bosses. Following the publication of their recent report Agents of Change: The General Counsel’s Role in Creating Culture and Blueprints for Leadership, Eagle Club founder and CEO Lesley Wan and co-author Dr Catherine McGregor took part in a short Q&A about how to tackle bullying in the workplace.

How would you define workplace bullying?  

“It is a whole range of behaviours from proactive ones such as being aggressive or threatening on the extreme end to passive behaviours such as freezing out colleagues or not helping them. If a behaviour is consistent and makes someone feel uncomfortable and/or devalued it needs to be looked at from the lens of it being bullying.

“Our report uses the accepted concept of bullying as a jumping off point to look not just at the specific behaviours we usually categorise as ‘bullying’, but at how they exist on a continuum that spans everything from a generally toxic culture to simple poor communication practices to the sometimes-unforeseen consequences of a changing workforce demographic. Taking this broader view allows us to offer a better range of solutions that can be more widely and effectively applied.”

Why do you think it occurs?  

“From the individual who is behaving badly, because the stakeholder may not like what their target is or represents – whether that is their personal identity (being a woman, ethnic minority LGBTQ+, disabled) or their role (being the lawyer). It may be that the bully feels threatened – their target may be more competent than them. It may be that they are shoring up the bully’s poor performance. It can sometimes just be a personality clash or a difference in communication styles which leads to greater and greater misunderstanding. But from a strategic and structural level, it occurs because of bad leadership and a lack of effective leadership training or role modelling.”

Would you explain how bullying particularly affects women? 

“Our society is patriarchal; many industries and sectors, including law, remain dominated by men, particularly at the higher levels. It can be a symptom of a culture where certain styles of leadership or behaviours that define women as the other/in the minority or as a threat can be elevated over leadership styles that are more inclusive.

“To put it bluntly: women generally have less power in the workplace, and bullies like a weaker target. It is therefore unsurprising that women are disproportionately the targets of bullying. What is perhaps less obvious – though our interviews repeatedly found – is that women’s own socialisation often works against them in reacting to and reporting bullying, whether it is targeted at them or not. Our interviews also showed that women were in no way immune from becoming bullies – and when they were, their targets were generally other women.”

How does the perception of the legal function within an organisation contribute to members of the legal team potentially being bullied? 

“When the executive defines the legal department as a blocker or ‘the department of no’ it can lead to a range of behaviours that can either isolate in-house lawyers and freeze them out from key decisions and discussions or can escalate into bullying or even threats. This can sometimes be a result of not understanding the role of the in-house function and the value it can bring to an organisation, particularly as we see increased global regulation and a focus on ESG.”

How can a GC better integrate with the business, and how can the tensions inherent in the GC role that might lead to bullying be reduced?  

“The priority on getting a new GC role should be relationship building to essentially build up capital for when you might need it when there are difficult conversations to be had. Before taking on a role it is worth understanding how the role is currently viewed. If you are not reporting to the CEO or similar, that is often a red flag that the legal function is not being seen as a key strategic partner.

“It’s vital to have a conversation with your CEO about their expectations of your role and how that aligns with your expectations and the value your role can bring. This will be much more effective if you relate it back to the business’s priorities and its ROI.

“Relationship building and effective communication with key stakeholders such as the CEO, CFO and chair of the board is vital. I advise all GCs I coach to understand how these key stakeholders best like to be communicated to so that you do not create additional stumbling blocks via a mismatch in communication styles.”

What are the risks of not tackling workplace bullying?  

“Bullying and related toxic behaviours, if left unchecked, can be catastrophic for a company. In most high-profile corporate failures, there is a cultural failure often driven by an individual and/or group imposing its ideas on others and going against effective governance. The most obvious and immediate impact of such behaviour is on the staff affected and the personal impact of being the target of bullying. This often severely affects the individuals who are targeted, leading to mental and physical health issues, and a serious impact on their home lives and careers. But bullying has also been shown to lead to increased instances of depression in those who are witnesses to it rather than the direct target.

“This has obvious implications for the culture in organisations but also tangible cost consequences via increased attrition, increased use of mental health services, increased time off, retirement due to health issues or even individuals leaving the profession. There are often also legal and financial consequences. Several of our interviewees brought legal action against their former employer, while many more realised in hindsight they would have had an actionable case. Longer term, a reputation for a toxic environment can be a stumbling block to recruitment, which can be a severe hindrance in a market where talent is at a premium.”

Finally, what are three things a business can do to most effectively tackle it?  

• Start training people for leadership early and make people management skills part of the criteria for promotion.
• Create psychological safety for people to speak up including independent routes for whistleblowers and by showing that speaking up is effective by sharing results when possible.
• Address remuneration/reward structures that prioritise short-term personal gain over people skills and being part of an effective corporate culture.