Agency

Addressing victim thinking can be done organizationally and, of course, at the individual level. Both challenges must start with education. Discussing topics such as what victim thinking looks like and where it comes from is critical. The goal is to get victims to be more like agents .

Agency is the opposite of victim thinking. The word pertains to being an ˜˜agent of change or a cause agent. When a chemical agent is added to a substance, it causes change. Whether at work or at home, when agency is added to a problem, people move.

In addition to education, organizations need three ingredients for improving their sense of agency:

1. They need role models, preferably among their leaders , who demonstrate the desired style of thinking and behavior.

2. They need to elevate the self-esteem of employees , so there is less insecurity in the organization.

3. They need to ˜˜talk it up, so that people make both playful and supportively critical references to victim thinking.

Elevating the self-esteem of employees is obviously a difficult mission. Many managers are a long way from understanding how badly they deflate their employees. Effectively supporting their people calls for an infusion of compassion and patience into their day-to-day style. One key is to stay focused on facts rather than being judgmental. When failure occurs, and there is an honest agent-like attitude toward it, leaders need to applaud effort rather than find blame. Leaders need their people to feel that half the job is having the right attitude.

Leaders must be careful not to say, ˜˜We have a culture of victim thinking because we have a bunch of victims on staff. Instead, they must say and own that they have failed to create the desired nonvictim culture. Then they must be agents and do what it takes to make the correction. Leaders are just as responsible for the victim-like behavior of their people as are the victims themselves . Both parties must attack the problem.