Leaders my Leaders, welcome back!
There are five major issues that can hold an individual back personally and professionally. It is essential to determine what type of impairment is compromising the ability to function in a healthy way. Keep in mind that our purpose is not to judge, condemn, or diagnose anyone. Our goal is to figure out what is causing the trouble so we can create an effective strategy for overcoming it. While these following problems will vary by degree and individual, if you have one of these issues it is inevitable that it will bring problems into your life.
- Addiction. The individual may be addicted to a substance or activity. Or they may be involved in other people’s addictions. Or they may have grown up in a family that had an addict in it. Regardless of what the source of the addiction is (self, others, family of origin), any system with an active addict in it is going to be compromised. Those systems create a highly distorted worldview for everyone in them. Therefore, finding the right support for an addict is important. Rehab centers similar to The Holistic Sanctuary (https://www.theholisticsanctuary.com/) are put in place to take over the support role from the individual or family. With professional help, assigned roles, and rules designed to protect the addict from the natural consequences of their choices, don’t exist, and they can get the help they truly need. They can finally start down the tough road of breaking their addiction. There are many ways that you can break free from your addiction, one of them is to go to an inpatient clinic (like the one found at https://www.honeylake.clinic/), however, this isn’t for everyone, so you have to find the right thing for you.
- Mental health challenges. It is critically important to distinguish between situational stress that exists due to an external challenge in only one environment, versus problematic behavior that is generated by the individual and is pervasive across environments. We all face situational stress. Health problems, family issues, money troubles, or other type of difficulties can throw anyone temporarily off their game. It’s possible to have more than one life problem at once, and be in a highly stressed state, but again it is temporary. The trouble is coming from the stressors overwhelming the coping skills or other resources the person has to resolve them. The pressure is coming from the outside of the person, and they are doing their best to adapt to it. Mental health issues are internal. The pressure comes from inside the person. They tend to experience the same kinds of problems in all their environments, including work, family, and personal life. This does NOT mean they are bad people. We are simply trying to figure out what is causing the disruption in the work environment. If you are dealing with someone with a true mental illness, it may be that they aren’t able to respond well to attempts to work towards more acceptable behavior. They may be seriously lacking in insight, empathy, or the ability to adjust their behavior. There is a lot of good information online about how specific disorders affect people, if you are interested in learning more about signs and symptoms. These folks typically want to do a good job, but have organic issues that make it really tough for them.
- Criminal activity. We like to see the best in people, but it’s necessary for us to face the harsh reality that some people make choices in their lives to become involved in illegal activities. Some of these people will engage in illegal behavior while at work. Even if people are involved in criminal activity only outside of work, the effects of that can still greatly impact the environment. These people will have zero interest in changing their behavior because they are profiting from it too much. All the advanced communication skills in the world won’t help when dealing with this kind of issue. These people don’t honor the spirit or mission of the workplace, they corrode it. If they perceive someone as interfering with their activities, they can become dangerous or even turn violent.
Next week we’ll cover the final two issues that can destroy any leadership career, in any organization, at any point in time. Until then, be healthy beloved ones!