John Cathy, the owner of the Chic-Fil-A chain recently made a comment that same-sex marriage was bad. The universe was aghast. The citizens of the world quickly worked themselves into a righteous lather and took to the streets. How could someone say such a thing? Mayors declared that this sort of thinking wasn't in line with their city's values and Chic-Fil-A should be banned from their cities. In the end, Chic-Fil-A made a big pile of money as supporters mobbed their restaurants and then we all moved on to some other terrible personal affront.

The same-sex marriage dust up demonstrates a much more serious gremlin that has taken up residence in most of today's organizations. That gremlin is correctness. In an effort to be tolerant of all views, we are tolerant of none. The workplace has become a minefield. Say or do anything that offends anyone and, boom.

There are people in every organization that are just waiting for the slightest offense, even to the point of seeking it out. They have a dictionary that, in the name of diversity, clearly defines almost every word or phrase as an intended insult to some group. I use a story in some of my speeches that involves my interaction with a young woman in a customer - supplier scenario. An audience member came up to me one day and informed me that I was insensitive as I mentioned the person who had provided bad service was a young woman. Setting aside the fact that her age and gender are important to the point of the story, I asked her if she would have found the story less offensive had I identified the person as a young man. She said, "Yes, that would be better."

Really?

Leaders must get control of this gremlin or it will eat up the organization from the inside. That's a tough assignment these days as it seems even the law is working against you; but, there are actions a leader can take that will help calm the waters.

First, and what should be most obvious, is truly equal treatment. That doesn't mean doing the same thing to, for, and with every person. It means treating each person as a valuable individual, making sure they have the opportunity to develop and grow.

Second, insist on a culture of acceptance. Disagreement with an opinion is not a license to attack the person holding that opinion. This is a tricky concept for leaders. It's impossible to keep personal opinion out of the workplace and an effort to do so will only aggravate the situation. Effective leaders develop and enforce a policy that everyone is entitled to an opinion and attacking opinion is wrong. That doesn't preclude healthy debate, just attacks.

To make this work, there must be a very definite line between opinions on issues and opinions of individuals. For instance, debate about marketing to a specific ethnic group is appropriate, but comments about that ethnic group are not.

Third, be willing to take action. This correctness trend has often made for very toxic organizations. Leaders must be willing to stand up for everyone, not just the most vocal, accomplished complainers. That means stopping personal attacks no matter the subject or the attacker. It may mean stopping a friend or supporting someone holding a position you don't agree with. So be it.

Finally, know your organization's values and insist that everyone live by them, at least in the workplace. For instance, if your organization values fairness, that means fairness for everyone, not just the ones you agree with.

The free flow of ideas is critical to growth of an organization. Effective leaders will prevent a culture that promotes fear of other's reaction to thoughts and ideas. When everyone is afraid of offending everyone else, that free flow is stifled and the organization will stagnate.

You should develop a set of criteria in order to evaluate potential leadership candidates. Here are some things I look for.

Integrity. If your potential leaders don't have integrity, they won't be very good leaders. In fact, if you're not comfortable with their integrity, I'd ask why they work there in the first place.

Enthusiasm. Not everyone wakes up in the morning and hits the floor running, excited about what they'll do on the job, but you're looking for people who have a fairly positive attitude which they display in the workplace. Picking someone for a leadership position that has a generally negative attitude about the job or the company is a recipe for disaster.

Communication. Not every potential leadership candidate will be an excellent communicator; they'll learn that as they go. What you're really looking for is someone with an ability, and willingness, to express their thoughts. I'm not suggesting you're looking for people who are just contrary, but you do want people who obviously think and evaluate and are willing to express thoughtful opinions.

Positive reputation. Someone who is liked and respected by most people they know. This is not a popularity contest. You want people who are generally on favorable terms with their co-workers. If everybody likes them there may be a problem, but more importantly, if everyone dislikes them, there definitely is a problem, which will just get bigger in a new leadership role.