If this is your first time visiting, you can receive this blog by RSS Feed or email .

The sociological definition of a dysfunctional work environment would broadly state that as a consequence of a social practice or behavior pattern the stability of the group is undermined. It’s disturbing to me that the subject of dysfunctional work environments is one of the most popular business topics today. Most workplace psychologists agree that every company has some kind of dysfunction. There is no perfect workplace. That really shouldn’t come as a surprise to us since nothing is perfect in this world. Families, churches, schools, etc., none of them are perfect. People are messy.

While virtually every workplace has some level of dysfunction, there are levels and types of dysfunction that are tolerable and those that are not. There are books written about this and I have personally worked in sales environments where there were some really nasty things going on. The dysfunctional behavior I want to touch on in this post is that of management by intimidation. This one is particularly prevalent in sales management. The sales manager thinks, “If I put pressure on those lazy stupid sales people and show them who’s boss, I’ll increase their productivity.” The worst part about this “strategy” is that it works, but only in the short term. People will in fact work harder for a boss that is screaming at them, but only long enough to pacify him or her. While the sales manager is throwing his or her daily/weekly fits at selected individuals, these same individuals are planning their exit. The ignorant sales manager is also most likely naive about the outgoing salesperson’s plans to take their customers with them. One important note here. It has been my observation that management by intimidation is not gender biased. While I have certainly observed unbalanced individuals that were men, I’ve seen women that were equally as bad.

How can you tell if you are working for a sales manager that rules by intimidation? Here’s a quick checklist with some common symptoms:

Always fault finding
Various threats, most are veiled
Reckless and irresponsible behavior
Belligerence toward customers
Substance abuse
Temper tantrums
Needs subordinates to be completely submissive
People frequently comment about his/her irrational behavior
His or her boss also rules by intimidation (or a corporate environment of intimidation)

If you find yourself in one of these environments see if you can get moved to a different boss. This is a primary strategy although I have to caution you that if a company tolerates this kind of behavior from one manager, they’ll probably tolerate it from others. Your next strategy is to find a new company to work for. Please do not wait for the individual to see the errors of his or her ways and get better. That won’t happen. While everyone can have a bad day and say something that may hurt someone else’s feelings, a sales manager that continually rules by intimidation is someone you need to get away from before you internalize their toxic message.

Subrogation of Perjury. It’s a legal term that means you are attempting to get someone to lie for you. The courts don’t like perjury, but they really don’t like this subrogation of perjury thing. You shouldn’t either. Read on.

So what does this have to do with sales? Actually, plenty, and not in the way you probably think. You can sometimes observe subrogation of perjury in a dysfunctional sales environment. Let me give you an example. You’re about to meet with the VP of sales and your immediate manager coaches you to say certain things about your customers to make you (and more importantly, the manager) look better. They may coach you to misrepresent how large the opportunity is, how close to closing a deal is, how many decision makers you have a relationship with, etc. They are clearly asking you to lie. Do I need to tell you where this kind of thing ends? Simply stated, the “truth will out” and when it does it can be ugly.

Even more disturbing than just getting someone to lie is what this kind of behavior indicates about the workplace. A sales culture or environment that promotes this kind of thing is dysfunctional. This behavior is also seen in abusive workplaces centered on fear and intimidation. Working for a company that tolerates this will ultimately take your soul. Here’s why. People that are truly sales professionals will not tolerate this sort of working environment and will “vote with their feet” (i.e., quit). Those that will put up with a dysfunctional work environment will stay, and over time a salesforce is created that is weak and accommodating. Individual salespersons might even start to think that this is normal, but things will only get worse for them and their career if they elect to stay. There are many attributes of a sick sales environment, but this is a bellwether indicator.

If you are a sales manager and you’re asking your folks to misrepresent things, please cease-and-desist. My suggestion to you is to stop doing this immediately and if your company can’t handle it, you don’t want to work there anyway. If for no other reason, do it to improve the quality of your salesforce over time.

If you are a salesperson and being asked to change the facts is part of your company’s culture, find a new job.