Have you ever started a new leadership role and inherited an unhappy team due to a toxic culture? Perhaps you discovered different ‘camps’ each with a suspicious, negative outlook. Maybe it was the norm for colleagues to talk about one another behind each other’s backs or to make fun of peers?
Or maybe the culture was complacent, with the staff believing that they were already good enough, despite the outcomes proving that they were not.
Perhaps the previous leadership regime implemented unreasonable expectations which resulted in an exhausted, embittered, disempowered team?
I’ve inherited all of these cultures during my career, and there are some common approaches that I used which have turned those cultures around.
- Listen, listen, listen to your colleagues.
- Be kind, even when delivering challenging messages.
- Be transparent and honest about changes that you need to make and be clear about the reason for these.
- Consistently do the right thing, even if it’s personally challenging.
- Call out any member of staff who is contributing to the toxic culture – don’t compromise on this.
- Be mindful of the team’s wellbeing. Expect your team to have a good work-life balance, and model this to them. Organise the calendar to avoid pinch points in workload.
🤔 What would you add to this list?
🤔 Have you experienced working in a toxic culture? What did you do?
Join in the conversation and share your thoughts. I'd love to hear from you.
Comentarios