Photo Courtesy: Jasmine Morrison Photography
WOODBRIDGE, Va. - As new national research shows workplace bullying and incivility in the United States are climbing to some of their highest recorded levels, and costing employers billions of dollars each day, leadership strategist Dr. Danny L. Dickerson is drawing wider attention to Leadership Without Harm™, a framework he created to help organizations reach strong results without damaging the people who work for them.
The problem he is addressing is large and measurable. According to the Workplace Bullying Institute's 2024 national survey, about 32 percent of American workers, an estimated 52.2 million people, report being bullied directly at work. When people who witness bullying are added, roughly 74.8 million workers are affected. The same research found that most workplace bullying moves from the top down, with bosses making up the majority of those who bully.
The financial impact is also significant. Research from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) estimates that incivility, everyday behavior such as rudeness, gossip, dismissive tones, and disrespect, costs U.S. employers more than $2 billion every day in lost productivity and absenteeism. SHRM's Civility Index reported that these behaviors reached record highs during 2024.
Dr. Dickerson, founder and chief executive of FaithWorks Consulting and a U.S. Air Force veteran, says these numbers point to a belief that many organizations have accepted for too long: the idea that fear and intimidation are simply the price of getting results.
"Great leadership should never leave people emotionally, professionally, or spiritually damaged," Dr. Dickerson said. "My goal is to help leaders influence people without harming people."
A Different Approach to Results
The Leadership Without Harm™ framework challenges the common belief that toxic leadership is necessary for high performance. Instead, it teaches leaders how to combine accountability with compassion, which Dr. Dickerson describes as "accountability without humiliation, correction without intimidation, and excellence without fear." His approach treats respect not only as a value to talk about, but as a leadership practice that can be taught, measured, and improved.
Dr. Dickerson's work is also notable for its research scope. He is among the few specialists who study destructive leadership behavior in both traditional workplaces and faith-based organizations. He is the author of Leadership & Civility: Overcoming Bullying in the Workplace and Church, which examines how harmful behavior can hide behind authority and organizational culture in many types of institutions, including corporations, government agencies, nonprofits, and schools.
Why Culture Matters for Performance
Through FaithWorks Consulting, Dr. Dickerson works with clients across the country in areas such as executive coaching, workplace civility, organizational accountability, leadership development, and psychological safety, the sense of security that allows employees to speak up, share ideas, and report problems without fear. Research from Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, along with Google's widely cited Project Aristotle study, has connected higher psychological safety to stronger innovation, engagement, and team performance.
Dr. Dickerson holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy with a specialization in bullying behavior, a Master of Science in Divinity and Leadership, and a Bachelor of Science in Management and Psychology. He says his central message is simple: healthy cultures are built on purpose, not by accident.
"Leadership is a privilege," he said. "Culture is created one conversation, one decision, and one leadership behavior at a time."
About Dr. Danny L. Dickerson
Dr. Danny L. Dickerson is a leadership strategist, executive coach, author, speaker, and U.S. Air Force veteran. He is the founder and chief executive of FaithWorks Consulting, a leadership and culture firm that helps corporations, government agencies, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, educational institutions, and individual leaders build healthier and more effective cultures. He is the creator of the Leadership Without Harm™ framework and the author of Leadership & Civility: Overcoming Bullying in the Workplace and Church.
Learn more at www.faithworksva.com, or connect with FaithWorks Consulting on Facebook (FaithWorks Consulting) and on LinkedIn (danny-dickerson).
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