"Woulda, coulda, shoulda"

"Woulda, coulda, shoulda" is not an acceptable answer. What does the Rep. Mark Foley situation tells us about what to do when leadership hears about a potential sexual harassment situation: take immediate action. (04:58 minute podcast)

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When an employee comes to us with an issue of possible sexual harassment it is easy to not do anything because we are uncomfortable with the topic, we don't want to have to confront the "perpetrator," we don't want to "make waves" and a whole host of other reasons.

The problem is that if we don't do anything as soon as we hear about the situation we take the risk of it becoming a bigger problem later. And it will be difficult to explain how we knew about an issue 6, 8, 10 months ago and didn't take any corrective action.

What to do then?

Know your sexual harassment policy. Review your company's policy and know who to contact within your organization to report the issue.
• Don't wait. The first call you make after you hear about the issue is to that appropriate person. Don't put it off until tomorrow, or after the next meeting, or "later." Do it now.
• Engage in a Courageous Conversation Be sure that you and your managers have the skills necessary to engage in this tremendously awkward conversation so as to not make the problem worse by mishandling the very first conversation.

Talk to you soon, Tim.