Fighting sexual harassment with the power of words

With more and more stories about sexual harassment making news cycles, it’s important that HR and communication professionals train leaders to develop the necessary skills to address uncomfortable or abusive situations.

Too many leaders haven’t had the benefit of this kind of coaching, and, unfortunately, an untrained response can drastically worsen the situation. The recent Activision Blizzard scandal is a perfect example.

So what should HR and comms pros do when faced with a crisis such as this?

The best approach is to halt harassment before it begins. One way to do this is by equipping employees with variations of their own truth-filled power phrases so they’ll never be caught off guard. Guessing what you should do or say in an awkward situation, or not knowing how to respond when being harassed, can unintentionally make the situation worse.

For example, a lack of response from you after a subordinate makes an inappropriate comment doesn’t make the damage go away. Ignoring this behavior can perpetuate a culture of harassment because silence signals that the behavior is acceptable.