779: How to Address Bad Behavior, with Nilofer Merchant

In this episode of Coaching for Leaders, host Dave Stachowiak welcomes Nilofer Merchant, a top management thinker and author of 'Our Best Work,' to discuss how leaders can effectively address bad behavior in organizations without waiting for systemic change. Drawing on a powerful story about an employee named Alex whose idea was stolen by a colleague and dismissed by her boss, Merchant illustrates how unchecked behavior—like idea theft—erodes innovation, damages morale, and drives talent away. She reframes the issue not as a problem of 'bad apples' but as a failure of organizational norms, emphasizing that culture is shaped by repeated, unchallenged behaviors. The episode outlines five actionable steps to shift norms: clarifying what’s acceptable, designing for everyone’s needs, creating clear and escalating consequences, holding people accountable, and ensuring collective reinforcement of new standards. Merchant champions the 'meso layer'—the relational, interactional space between individual and culture—as the most powerful lever for change, showing how small, respectful interventions (like raising a hand or saying 'I don’t know if you mean to, but…') can shift group dynamics and prevent harm. The conversation underscores that leadership isn’t about authority but about courage, intentionality, and co-creation of better ways of working.