Sometimes dysfunction at work isn’t obvious. Sometimes we just feel the dysfunction. We know in our gut that things are not right but we can’t exactly put our finger on it. It’s not our boss, at least not most of the time. Our coworkers definitely aren’t perfect, but that doesn’t make them dysfunctional. It’s not them. And our job is fine. In fact, if this other “thing” could be removed, we might actually really love what we do. Sometimes dysfunction is the result of the actions and behaviors that are performed at the top. Sometimes senior management is dysfunctional.

This month, I’m going to take on this challenge – dysfunction within the ranks of senior management. I wish I could say that this dysfunction is less common than ever. Unfortunately, my experience is that the opposite is true. Today, senior management dysfunction is more common than ever.

Are you curious if you are suffering from this all-too-common affliction? Here are some good back-of-the-envelope signs that senior management at your organization is dysfunctional (check off as many that apply to you and if you are senior management, take note if believe any of these apply to you):

  • You feel a general level of anxiety at work and you can’t quite place your finger on “why?”
  • Long periods of time lapse before you see or hear anything from senior management.
  • When senior management does communicate, it is either in business jargon or it seems out of touch with what’s really going on with the business .
  • You don’t know what the strategy for the organization is and neither does anyone else that you ask.
  • Senior management doesn’t seem interested in listening to other’s opinions.
  • Senior management micromanages their direct reports and doesn’t seem to trust anyone in the organization to deliver.
  • What senior management says are the values of the organization are very different from how they behave, operate and reward.
  • Mood swings from senior management are legendary. Senior management may need medication.

How’d you do? Half the battle is acknowledging there is a problem and identifying what it is. If you are a senior leader and some of the above are all-too-familiar, hold tight. Prescriptions are on the way for curing what ails you. If you find yourself working under a dysfunctional senior manager(s), there’s hope for you too. Regardless, we are going to do our very best to cure this dysfunction in 3 weeks or less. Ambitious? Why not…

Got a unique senior management dysfunction that you want me to tackle this month?

Simply shoot it to me via e-mail, comment below, text me, tweet me, leave me a voice mail, send up smoke signals, yell loudly, etc… One way or the other, get it to me and I’ll throw it in the mix!