Scott Watson argues that organizations wait for bullying incidents to happen before acting, like driving without a seatbelt. He outlines five reasons to train managers now: protect employees early, avoid legal and reputational damage, give managers skills to address bad behavior, set clear cultural standards, and show people matter through action.
Chapters
Let me ask you something. Would you think it's prudent to get into your car, drive 70 miles an hour on the motorway without first putting on your seatbelt, and then only after you've crashed into another vehicle say to yourself, "Yeah, probably would have been a good idea to buckle up before I set off on the journey." It's ridiculous, isn't it? That's exactly what far too many businesses and business leaders are doing when they delay bullying and harassment awareness training for their leaders and managers. They wait. They wait until there's a complaint, or until someone breaks down, or absenteeism increases, or until there's a claim or a legal letter, or your company starts trending on social media for all of the wrong reasons, and only then do they take action. Let's be honest, that's not proactive leadership, that's management damage control, and it's not healthy. This isn't just about policy. And standards. It's not about ticking a box for compliance to show you've done something. This is about people, their wellbeing, their mental health, their performance in your organisation, your organisation's reputation, and your legal and moral duty of care as well. When bullying or harassment goes unrecognised, unchecked, or unchallenged, you don't just lose trust, you lose talent, you lose credibility, you lose control perhaps. So if you are a business leader who genuinely values your people, here are 5 reasons you might want to be eagerly looking at this kind of training program. One, you protect your people, your employees, before any damage is done. You can nip things in the bud early if damage is being done. Waiting for someone to come forward is too late. Proactive training makes your managers capable of preventing harm, not just reacting to it after the event. Two, you protect your business from legal, financial, and reputational damage, or indeed wreckage. Claims, tribunals, settlements, and stories that go public don't just cost money, they cost trust, and that is priceless. 3. You create leaders and managers who manage like adults, not avoiders. Most managers don't address poor behaviour because they don't know how to do it. They don't know where to start, they don't know what to say, and they don't know what the repercussions might be. This kind of training fixes that, and it fixes it fast. 4. You set the standard, an unambiguous, clarified standard. It's not just a target. People don't rise to goals, they rise to standards. If you allow disrespect, you're training your culture to be silent. 5. You prove with action that people really are your priority. It's easy to say people are our greatest asset. Real leaders invest in that asset, not just when it's broken, but to keep it safe, strong, and keep it thriving and moving forward. So here's the choice: be the leader who prepares, who protects, who prevents, or be the one who explains why you didn't. Your business and your people deserve better than "let's hope nothing goes wrong." So buckle up, put the seatbelt on before you set off, take the lead, book the training to avoid the crash. Because in leadership, doing nothing is still a decision, and it's not always the best decision.
