Learned Helplessness in Organizations – A Leadership Challenge

A rapidly increasing cause of stress, let’s take a look at how learned helplessness is affecting organizational culture and employee performance…

A group of behavioral scientists tried an experiment with a bowl of water sealed with a lid. They let rats swim in it. The natural instinct of these animals was to try and escape. Hence, they started panicking when they realized that there was no way out and soon learned that their attempts to escape were to no avail. 

Then, these scientists put those same rats in a bowl of water without a lid and watched what happened. The animals did not even make an attempt to save their lives. They had erroneously learned that there was no point. Therefore they were now victims of ‘learned helplessness’. 

This is a very real concept for us as humans. When a person is hired for their potential, they come in with the intention of contributing, adding value, making a difference, leaving a legacy, and being seen as worthy. It’s a core human need. 

Then life happens. 

And so, slowly and steadily, they begin to function like the rats who believe that they are trapped in a bowl with a lid. For instance, these thoughts become very common:

“There is no point…”

“That will never work..”

“Why bother…”

“It’s best to keep my mouth shut…”

“Go with the tide. Don’t ruffle any feathers….”

This attitude spreads like wildfire within an organization. People start feeling helpless, complain often, and pass on negative sentiments. And so, this makes other groups helpless, creating a network of helpless teams that blame each other and cannot break the negative cycle on their own.

They start to believe that they are truly at the mercy of external circumstances and that there is little they can do to impact the outcomes of their actions. They become convinced that they are the victims. And that, the odds are stacked against them. 

What a dangerous space to be in. Most often leaders fail to spot this, till it becomes the culture. 

As a leader, here are some symptoms of learned helplessness you can look out for within your organization:

• Motivation levels are low. Do only as much to save your job.
• Low expectations of success – what’s the point?
• Less persistence – that will not work. 
• Not asking for help. For example, it may be seen as incompetence or weakness.
• Ascribing a lack of success to external factors
• Ascribing success to factors beyond their control, such as luck

Learned helplessness is a big organizational challenge. Firstly, one has to identify it and accept that changes need to be made. From there on, one can take steps to motivate, problem-solve, empower and create a gradual shift in the organizational culture as a whole. In conclusion, as a leader, you can have great influence over bringing about these changes. How are you planning to bring about a shift from learned helplessness in your company?

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