Management: the consequences of indifference (and benevolence)

Managerial indifference: a silent starting point

Indifference is a particular state: a feeling experienced by a person who does not feel concerned by what affects others, and who does not pay real interest or attention to the other. Its primary characteristic is not to say itself. We are generally unaware that we are indifferent, and we are not aware that the situation of the other person does not really matter to us.

In a company, this indifference takes discreet forms: a manager who no longer takes the time to read weak signals, a leader who validates without listening, a team that ends up censoring itself because it has not been heard. The work continues, the results are in, but the link is weakening. This is precisely the moment when the managerial posture changes.

Acknowledging the Other: The Demonstration of Otherness

This point of indifference is not inevitable. It can be overturned by what Jean-Louis Lascoux, founder of professional mediation and relational engineering, calls the demonstration of otherness. It is a question of recognizing the other as other, in all his or her breadth, in order to build what makes up life in society — and, at the level of an organization, life at work. Lascoux’s work on mediation as an alternative method of conflict resolution documents this demanding posture: going out of oneself to truly consider the other.

Why do trained leaders let relationships deteriorate?

A question comes up regularly: why do managers who are well versed in management techniques and conflict management in companies still let relationships deteriorate? The answer lies less in a skills deficit than in a drift in posture.

The one who holds the power leans over the other and takes him into consideration. The person considered in this way tends to be benevolent in return. But the asymmetry remains: between the one who considers and the one who is considered, the relationship is not symmetrical. It is in this asymmetry that the whole quality of benevolent management is at stake.

Lessons learned from public works on managerial practices

The issue is not anecdotal. The work of the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs on managerial practices reminds us that the quality of management is a major determinant of occupational health, commitment and collective performance. Conversely, approaches that focus on authority or control alone produce long-lasting deleterious effects.

From benevolence to tolerance: the shift

When the person taking into consideration does not show respect in his benevolence, we enter the surveillance phase. This phase corresponds to a controlled follow-up, which translates, in managerial practice, into close supervision sometimes confused with solicitude.

When benevolence and surveillance fail to maintain the quality of the bond, we fall into a world of tolerance. The leader, trained all his life to know what is good for others, no longer recognizes when he is wrong. He thinks he has the absolute truth. It is from this point that a process of disregard, contempt, and then moralization begins.

This process leads to the discrediting of others. The repression is increasing without the leader being aware of it. According to Jean-Louis Lascoux, we then enter into what he calls the hook of indifference : we do not know how to do otherwise, and the vicious circle becomes difficult to break.

Benevolent management: a posture, not a slogan

Benevolent management is not just about cordiality or formal listening rituals. It is based on a requirement for coherence between what is said, what is decided and what is experienced by the teams. Three markers distinguish authentic managerial benevolence from façade benevolence.

1. Individualized recognition

To recognize is not to congratulate in a plenary meeting. It is knowing how to name precisely what a particular employee has contributed, how he or she has contributed it, and why it matters. This fine recognition is in line with the logic of annual interviews when they are conducted seriously: our advice for succeeding in an annual appraisal interview as a manager offers a concrete version of it.

2. Acceptance of disagreement

A benevolent manager accepts that his employee is right against him. This posture implies renouncing the fiction of the omniscient leader. It also requires a clear communication framework: communication for successful team management is the first operational tool of benevolent management.

3. Rhythm regulation

Benevolence is not only emotional: it is organizational. Imposing impossible cadences, multiplying contradictory injunctions or ignoring accumulated fatigue are a form of operational indifference. Slow management proposes precisely to re-examine the relationship to time and urgency.

Benevolence and performance: a false dilemma

Opposing benevolence and high standards is a common mistake. Benevolent management is not complacent management: it sets high objectives, demands accountability, sanctions when necessary. The difference lies in the way these decisions are made, explained and supported.

This articulation between high standards and consideration is found in values-based management, which sets common principles as a basis for arbitration, and in management by trust, which is its relational counterpart.

Putting benevolent management into practice on a daily basis

Getting out of the hook of indifference cannot be decreed. This is built by practices that are sustained over time.

• Diagnose your own posture. How much real time have I spent this month listening to each of my employees outside of operational matters?
• Distinguish between listening and surveillance. Listening aims to understand; The purpose of monitoring is to verify. Confusing the two closes the word.
• Publicly accepting that you were wrong. A rare gesture, a structuring gesture: it unlocks the word of the team and cracks the posture of absolute truth.
• Regulate loads and rhythms. A team that is chronically overloaded no longer hears the words of benevolence.
• Train middle management. The challenges of middle management between management and employees make this level the critical relay of any managerial culture.
• Work on fundamental qualities. The 10 essential qualities of a good manager draw a useful reference framework for evaluating one’s own practice.

Benevolent management in a context of transformation

Periods of transformation — restructuring, mergers, digital transitions, model changes — put managerial benevolence to the test. Urgency pushes towards directiveness, uncertainty pushes towards control, the pressure of results pushes towards opacity. It is precisely in these moments that the benevolent posture takes on its full meaning.

The interim manager plays a decisive role here: outside of pre-existing relationships, mandated to lead a change, he or she can meet a requirement without falling into indifference because he or she maintains a quality of listening and transparency on course. This practice is in line with the principles of change management and methods for overcoming resistance to change in companies.

FAQ — Benevolent management and indifference

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