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A half dozen people approached me on a shift at the hospital to share the same story. Six people, separate encounters with me, similar details: They had heard that a doctor who previously worked at the hospital had applied to return. Back then, he had allegedly sexually harassed nurses and trainees and engaged in unprofessional relationships. He had left the organization years before I arrived. I spoke with a health-care system leader who was on the hiring committee. He knew about the allegations and explained the narrative away as “a tough personal time” for the guy, who deserved a second chance.
An enabler is a person who reinforces or indirectly supports the detrimental behavior of another person, failing to hold that person accountable. The institutional enabler can be any gender and is a person in the workplace who knowingly justifies the actions of individuals with track records of unprofessional behavior—such as verbal aggression, bullying or sexual harassment—enabling them to remain unchecked in their positions, or even gain promotion. The institutional enabler learns about allegations of unprofessional behavior and dismisses the need for proper investigation or disciplinary action.
When this leader minimized the old colleague’s actions, I gently pushed back. I asked if he worried about the psychological safety of trainees and nurses if the applicant returned. “What do you mean by psychological safety?” he asked.
As a senior academic emergency physician, I have participated in faculty meetings and promotion and hiring committees where we discussed awards, invitations and advancement for so-called toxic rock stars. These are people who, for example, land multimillion-dollar institutional grants, or who have friends who endow professorships, and yet have a track record of unprofessional behavior. These rock-star performers may persuade enablers to ignore or minimize their toxic behaviors or suggest quick “fixes” for them.
I have seen many enablers choose the bling of association with a high-performing person over protecting other individuals—including those from underrepresented groups and others with less agency. Such choices sacrifice the health and well-being of employees, cause real pain, and can have negative effects on work outcomes. Ultimately, the enabler places the organization at risk for harm to its members, low team morale, staff retention challenges, poorer-quality work and legal consequences. Institutional enablers exhibit repetitive behaviors—rarely absent-minded one-off blunders—in allowing the unprofessional conduct to continue.
When I explained psychological safety, he said that as a man, he could not know about these things unless I explained them to him. He admitted he had not thought through our organization’s fiduciary and legal responsibilities when situations like this are brought to our attention. For years, I had witnessed him explaining away the behavior of bad actors.
This supervisor and I were both mandatory reporters. It’s therefore hard to fathom why anyone would deliberately or willingly ignore unprofessional, possibly illegal behavior. Yet the temptation to explain away red flags and enable bad behaviors clearly remains, because I have seen people in leadership roles do so on numerous occasions, in a variety of ways and at several institutions. The decision is shortsighted and ultimately risky for employers, supervisors and leaders generally.
Putting out fires and dealing with bad players can be tiring and challenging. Many leaders avoid difficult conversations, hoping the situation disappears and that the perpetrator stops the malignant behavior on their own. Many times I have reported unprofessional behavior to a supervisor, only to be the recipient of a red-faced, juvenile temper tantrum. Later on, this verbal violence toward me is explained away as a “leadership style.”
Amid it all, we may forget that we have agency. It is not your job to change how institutional enablers think and behave. But you don’t have to let their actions dictate your own. Here are some actions you can take when working with an institutional enabler:
- Learn the places to which you can bring the concern. Every workplace is legally required to have structures that support and protect employees who face discrimination and harassment. The policies and processes of offices such as Title IX, the ombudsman, ethics and compliance, and human resources may be places to turn.
- Identify allies. You are not the sole person witnessing the behaviors, seeing the damage and feeling the injustice. Find others who wish to resist or otherwise speak to the marginalization the institutional enabler causes.
- Educate the enabler. Institutions do not uniformly honor whistleblowers. So the enabler may not, either. A direct conversation—perhaps with a third-party witness—ensures the enabler is aware of the narrative. It’s up to them to choose a subsequent course of action.
To be clear, doing nothing can be a valid action when you feel unsafe, as in the instance of a toxic workplace. Yet speaking up can create significant change. Educating supervisors on the consequences of enabling just may make a difference.
I was not privy to the committee conversation that resulted in the hospital system not hiring the rock star. The enabler still holds his position.
Looking the other way when unprofessional behavior occurs is not an act of kindness toward the enabler or the perpetrator. Ultimately, leaders who don’t tolerate unprofessional behavior or sexual harassment are positive role models for others in the organization. When you speak up, there is a chance you move the needle, and your courageous actions can compound to create greater institutional courage. Because everyone is responsible for safe workplace cultures.
