Even though the midterm elections are months away, I've already maxed-out on the amount of negative political ads my mind can tolerate without completely imploding.
The brutal game of political campaigning has always involved an element of truth-twisting, scandal-mongering, and mudslinging. However, politics of late has become so ugly that most ads on TV should be preceded by a parental warning and shown only on late night cable.
The overwhelming majority of these ads are determined to destroy the credibility of the candidates running for public office. Campaigners spend untold fortunes and use all means possible to make their opponents look more like creeps and convicts than willing, trust-worthy servants. And all parties are equally culpable.
It's sad that we've allowed our election campaigning to become so heavily polluted with 30-second, tightly spun character assassinations and it's naive to think that this ubiquitous negativity doesn't affect our own attitudes and perceptions about, well just about everything. What's even more alarming is how this ever-deteriorating campaign process is value-imprinting our next generation of voters—and anyone who aspires to positions of public service or any position of leadership.
OUR HYPOCRISY IS SHOWING
At home, school, and church, we teach and preach lessons of civility, honesty, decency, and tolerance. We say to our children, “If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all.” Then every two years, they are subjected to elections where the outcomes are determined by which candidates exposed the worst in their opponents. It's the epitome of hypocrisy.
When I was young, my mom used to tell me that if I dreamed big, lived clean, and worked hard, I could grow up to be President of the United States. Try to convince kids today that being elected President is something they should dream about. They know all too well that those who dare run for office—any office—instantly place a giant target on their backs. And the higher the office, the bigger the target.
Even when candidates manage to survive the storm and get elected, they set themselves up as punch lines for comedians and punching bags of talk show hosts. What kid in today's world wants to dream big, live clean, and work hard for that?
YOUR ORGANIZATION IS AT RISK
</br>If you don't see how all of this can ultimately poison the culture in your organization, think again.
The only way to grow your business is to grow your people and harvest their talents and capture their passion and ideas. To stay competitive, you have to continually develop young leaders who are willing to think big, act bold, make sacrifices, risk failure, and make difficult and perhaps unpopular decisions. However, if those in your new crop of talent fear that they, or their ideas, might get shot down and they'll lose face or be ridiculed, you'll never realize the true potential of the resources in your ranks.
DON'T ALLOW YOUR NEW HIRES TO BECOME TRUMP-LIKE APPRENTICES
The ultimate winner on Donald Trump's popular reality show The Apprentice is not the best and the brightest, but rather the individual who is the nastiest, willing to use any means necessary to survive the heat in the boardroom and cause other contestants to hear Trump bark, "your fired!" While this makes for an interesting reality show, any resemblance to it will destroy an organization's culture and impede the development of its talent.
Studies prove that people function at a much higher level when they work in an environment that is free from gossip and infighting.
Whether you employ ten or ten thousand, it's imperative that you strive to make your culture one that values innovative thinking, celebrates character, and rewards risks. That requires leaders at every level to consistently acknowledge, recognize, and reward individuals who are positive and encouraging and who go out of their way to help their coworkers.
ON POINT - The best way to counter the negativity that abounds throughout this--and every campaign season -- is to continually shine the brightest spotlight on those people who are modeling the character, the values, and the leadership your organization espouses. And if you're not doing this with the same intentionality, fervor, and frequency that is on display by today's mean-spirited political campaigners, it's going to extract a toll on your workforce, and your culture.
