Bullying is Not Leadership--And It Should Go Without Saying

By Lorri Matthewson

Founder/Lead Consultant

Matthewson & Co.

In local government, especially in small communities, leadership is supposed to mean steadiness, respect, and service. It should go without saying that bullying has no place in council chambers, yet here I am, still needing to say it out loud.

We do so many training webinars, and it always comes up....my council won't...and I try to tell them, but when I do, they get mad. Sometimes they threaten to fire me. Sometimes, they do. And this isn't subtle bullying...this is in-your-face retaliation directed towards some administrators for simply attempting to do their jobs.

In small populations, everyone knows everyone. When a councilor belittles staff, mocks colleagues, uses their position to intimidate, or uses aggression to "win", it affects the whole municipality. People see it, they talk about it, and they lose trust in their entire council. Once the trust goes, that lack of trust can follow election after election.

There are too many out there that thing being aggressive, yelling at council tables, threatening staff with being fired, calling administrators incompetent, and following staff around to make sure they are doing their jobs is not only abusive, but it would never be tolerated in any other workforce.

Bullying is the shortcut people use when they don't have the skills or the willingness to lead collaboratively. If one needs to make someone feel small to make oneself feel effective, one is no leader. A single councilor behaving badly can destabilize an entire administration.

Worse though? Is watching it happen and saying nothing. Every councilor has a responsibility to hold up their end. Leadership means stepping in.

It is the bare minimum to treat people with respect, follow the rules, respect the staff, work as a team, and behave like competent adults.

Residents expect their council to model the behavior they want to see in their community. When our municipal leaders act like bullies, they are giving permission to everyone else to behave likewise. The municipal council job is too important.