Tackling Toxicity as a Leader

Successful leaders dedicate a significant amount of time, resources, and thought to creating a unique work culture that aligns with the company’s goals and vision. Maintaining this work culture requires consistent effort, frequent evaluation, and reinforcement. Yet, it is becoming more and more of a priority. Books have been written on the subject (Joy, Inc.)1, major consultancies have coined their own terms to describe how important it is to include a healthy culture in the list of top priorities (‘Organizational Health’ McKinsey)2. Especially in the knowledge economy, where our employees’ skills and expertise are our greatest assets, we cannot afford to loose employees because the work environment has become toxic.

Fortunately, there are many things that can be done. Some quick fixes may be helpful in the short term, but it pays to invest in long-term solutions to avoid the re-occurrence of toxicity and to create a lasting change in the work culture.

Choose EQ Over IQ

If you have been observing that your top performers and managers are dissatisfied with their teams or are perpetually in conflict with each other, creating tension at work, it is essential to re-evaluate your hiring practices. Check that culture fit is assessed during the hiring process and make changes to the process to recruit qualified candidates with higher EQ. Employees with this quality deal with negative emotions - including conflict - in a healthier manner. They are cognizant of their own and their team’s emotions, and are equipped with essential people skills to address them in a mature manner. They display empathy in situations of uncertainty, offer reassurance in times of external turbulence, and heighten the team spirit through understanding.

Interventions Based on Communication

Enlist all senior managers and leadership to increase open and transparent communication with their teams. Toxicity breeds on the basis of misinformation, rumors and gossip. Clear, open and humane dialogue with the employees will not only clear their doubts, it will also help build a rapport with them. Conversations that acknowledge and address the psychological and emotional aspect of an uncertain time, let employees know that the company understands them. If done successfully, a positive side effect of these efforts is that employees will also adopt a similar tone while conversing with each other, thereby reducing the toxic atmosphere.

Introduce the Positive

As you deal with the negativity in an organization, it is equally important to introduce initiatives that bring positivity to the workforce. As office politics are also a leading cause for toxicity, focus on team building efforts and training the managers in leadership skills. This is one of those situations where being a leader matters more than being a manager. Ensure that your organization’s managers give the right people credit and recognition whenever it is due; rewarding the efforts of hard-working and talented employees doesn’t just boost their morale, it encourages others as well. As you introduce team building initiatives and interventions, employees will be motivated to work with each other towards team and organizational goals.

Facilitate Mutual Feedback

There is no escaping the effect of individual differences, stiff competition, and rivalries within a workplace. This is also a reason for toxicity in the workplace. To deal with this in a mature and professional way, introduce and encourage open communication and mutual feedback sessions between the managers and their teams. As the managers are the ones who work most closely with the employees and influence them the most, this may help the teams clear the air and resolve interpersonal issues. As a leader of the organization, keep your doors open for those who would like to approach you directly. Fear, hesitancy, and uncertainty only create more challenges; encourage constructive feedback to prevent them from spreading.  

Above all, this is the time when the leadership team of the organization has to step up and make their presence felt by leading by example. Practice what you preach to create change. Remember, reintroduce and reinforce the organization’s values to bring all stakeholders onto the same page and refocus on the vision of your company. Let the company vision and goals be your constant focus as they will help you design solutions to every problem.

This article first appeared on HR.com.