Having been employed by large and small companies, I have found that each offers different advantages and disadvantages. Large companies generally offer excellent benefits and have clear employee conduct policies in place to avoid costly lawsuits. Small businesses offer more collaboration and intimacy between employer and employee. However, these can be problematic if leaders do not recognize the risk they face by violating federal laws or engaging in behaviors that contribute to a hostile work environment. Leadership can also create a more ethical and open work environment by adopting a transformational leadership style. Example of Inappropriate Leadership Behavior I once worked for a small manufacturing company that employed an unusually diverse mix of genders and minorities for a Midwest company. Just before I was hired, a contract with a management consulting firm had just ended to resolve internal conflicts between departments. The president of the company, who I'll call Carol, had taken over when her father retired. She had an undergraduate degree in human resources and had a lifetime of exposure to business management. Carol cared about the well-being of employees, even though her management skills were sometimes questionable. Carol was under forty, married with young children, attractive and athletic, and she dressed casually, neither hiding nor displaying her sexuality. Occasionally, Carol would walk across the floor and stop in the engineering office to chat with my male supervisor. Informal discussion, usually about family and domestic issues, took place above open desks, including the closest employees – all educated, married men. However, on a few occasions Carol included topics invoking mental images of herself naked. ...... middle of paper ......ior was unprofessional and unethical as well as a potential liability, I'm sure she would have changed it. I considered confronting her about it, but I didn't want to avoid being seen as overly sensitive and lacking the same humor as my male peers. The company's documentation included a sexual harassment policy, but the manager failed to link her own behavior. Additionally, adopting a transformational leadership style could have been effective for this company, with a focus on ethical leadership and employee feedback. Finally, email etiquette and professionalism should have been trained and adopted, while policy enforcement would have ensured this. Unfortunately, this writing does not include any positive experiences working for this company. Perhaps there would have been more if I could have shared my perspective after discovering some of the benefits of effective leadership..