Avoid Tempting but Ineffective Techniques
In addition to techniques you should use, there are also techniques you shouldn’t use. While it’s normal to want to use these techniques, and they may be useful for defusing a situation in the moment, they’re likely to undermine efforts to effectively address the behavior over time and may make the situation worse.
Retaliate
Research shows that those impacted by counterproductive leadership sometimes lash out and retaliate against the leader exhibiting the behaviors. Unfortunately, this approach frequently backfires and makes the situation worse. Retaliation can be either covert or overt, and both types are ineffective for dealing with counterproductive leadership behavior.
Flatter
Counterproductive leadership can occur because a leader feels insecure. As a result, you may be tempted to appeal to the leader’s ego to avoid triggering the behaviors. Flattery can take many forms including not challenging the individual’s authority, not outshining the leader by downplaying your accomplishments, and praising the individual indiscriminately. Flattering and avoiding triggers may seem helpful, but doing so won’t fix the situation in the long term. False flattery can also backfire as it could sound insincere and anger the leader more and alienate your peers. Also, note that there is a fine line between flattery and being respectful and tactful.
Physically Avoid
If the behaviors are more severe and/or you have tried to address the behaviors with little success, you may need to find ways to minimize the time you spend with the leader. While you may be legally required to remain in the vicinity of the leader to carry out certain duties, you shouldn’t stay any longer than obligated. If feasible in your situation, consider taking a few days of leave or asking to be moved to a different unit, recognizing that this may be difficult if the leader exhibiting counterproductive leadership behaviors is your immediate superior. This is a “last ditch” technique and may not be feasible or successful in many situations.
Do Nothing
Research shows that doing nothing is actually an ineffective technique to deal with counterproductive leadership. Not taking action doesn’t protect you in the way you might expect. If you do nothing, you may still become a target of the behavior, the behaviors may continue or worsen, you may violate your personal values and the Army value of Courage by not speaking up, and you may create resentment and resistance among subordinates as well as decrease morale, which negatively impacts readiness and performance and outcomes. Doing something to address the situation—even if it is having lunch with peers to talk about the situation—is beneficial to your health and well-being and the organization as a whole.