How do you know when your culture is toxic?

You know that feeling – the one where you are dreading going back to work on Monday, and the dread starts to creep in a little earlier each weekend, until Sunday is mostly consumed by dread… that feeling. The majority of us have felt that feeling at least once if not more at some point in our career. That feeling can indicate a toxic culture, and it can be debilitating. What about these things – do any of these 15 indicators listed below resonate with you? If so, you most likely are working in a toxic culture.

• People operate from a place of fear
• High turnover
• Poor communication
• People feel unappreciated
• Negative feedback is the only type of feedback given
• Bullying exists and is encouraged by leadership
• Leaders blame others when things go wrong
• Feedback is not solicited, and sometimes frowned upon
• Your boss micromanages you
• There is an overall lack of trust
• No one speaks up when someone has a bad idea (reluctance to debate or challenge)
• Anxiety is high – everyone seems on edge
• Limited transparency into organizational decision-making

Toxic cultures don’t just happen, they manifest over periods of time. Leaders who do not engage in toxic behaviors but idly stand by as employees do so are actively contributing to the problem. Talking about changing a culture is easy, but making it happen can be challenging. When a company says all the right things but doesn’t act on them, employees will pick up on this and become disengaged. As a result, confusion and resentment may occur, perpetuating the toxic environment.

And then there’s that exact moment when you realize that YOU are working in a toxic culture. “OMG – I am so glad that I figured out what has been ruining my weekends, and my life in general.. ” or something to that effect. So now what? The great news is that almost all toxic cultures can be transformed into healthy cultures.

There are three general principles that need to be followed to transform a toxic culture into a thriving culture, which I refer to as the Big Three:

1. LISTEN
2. COMMUNICATE
3. ACKNOWLEDGE

LISTEN. Hear what your teams are actually saying. Grab a cup of coffee and make the rounds. Do this daily. Listen to their complaints and to their ideas. Validate their thoughts and work together to implement solutions.

COMMUNICATE. And not just communicate, but communicate in a concise, clear, consistent  manner that encourages transparency. This part is super important: effective communication is not one-way.

ACKNOWLEDGE. This falls under my “love your people” mantra. Find ways to show appreciation. Recognize contributions. Share wins and successes. Care what is happening in each of their lives, and not just at work. Do it.    

If you have identified that you (A) work in a toxic culture, and (B) need to fix your culture (now!), call us to talk in more detail. The first step in fixing anything, including a toxic culture is acknowledging that there is a problem.  While the Big Three (Listen, Communicate, Acknowledge) is a start to successful cultural transformation, there is a great deal more that goes into the process. The good news is, we’ve done this before – we’ve got you! We work closely with senior leadership to develop a course of action that will work for your business – a process that is not invasive to your everyday business.  Call us today, and let us help you transform your culture into something where people can thrive!