Drama is like Toxic Mold

Drama is like Toxic Mold

By Mark Preston

This year my mother-in-law needed to move from one independent living apartment to another. During the move we found toxic mold behind the washing machine and growing throughout the walls. She had been coughing and sick much of the year and the mold was affecting the entire apartment. A special cleaning crew had to come in and clean everything that could be salvaged before we moved her. All of her clothes had to be dry cleaned. They then had to cut out the mold infested parts of the apartment walls that could not be salvaged. The good news was that the apartment could be saved after a lot of work, elimination, and sterilization.

Compare toxic mold that destroys, to “Drama” that if allowed, this drama can come into a business, grow, and destroy a company that had a clear mission, clear vision, and clear values. This drama includes rumors, jealousy, bullying, prejudice, wasted time gossiping, and leaders that take their eyes off of the true company values. I contend that if your culture is not portraying the values that drove your original success, then you may have toxic drama growing within your business’s walls.

Don't let toxic drama in your company. It can and will kill the spirit of your emerging leaders. Many senior leaders have forgotten the spirit of winning that drove them to their positions. They do not see it as their responsibility to eliminate the drama in their company. Elimination of drama is usually hard work and requires discipline over time to avoid complacency. Great leaders develop their team daily by mentoring them, challenging them, and holding them accountable. As General Hurtling said to me, in a leadership conference at West Point, “If you are pointing at someone, you have 3 fingers pointing back at you. The first finger question - did you put them in the correct environment to do their job? The second finger question – did you give them the right tools and training to do their job? The third finger question- did you communicate effectively for them to do their job? It is our responsibility as leaders to not let toxic drama affect our emerging leaders by creating a toxic environment. Leadership is an action verb that involves setting their team up for success. They cannot be leaders if they destroy the spirit of their team by allowing toxic drama into the four walls of the business.

Drama, just like mold affects the health, spirit, and vision of leaders, and could be deadly. There are so many senseless mass shootings in workplaces. Do you think that there may have been toxic drama that manifested itself over time? Toxic Drama is not something that a leader can hide or ignore. It will grow, spread, and destroy.

You may be a leader that has lost your spirit of winning from this toxic drama. What can you do?

• Get away from the environment. Example – Spend a weekend in the mountains or at the beach, alone, and without your cell phone. Let peace and quiet speak to you. Ask these questions and write down the answers:

1. Where have I come from on my journey to be a leader?
2. Who Influenced and set the example for me to become a leader?
3. ?Where is my team today?
4. ?Am I, and my team living the mission and values set forth by the business?
5. Is there toxic drama that needs to be sterilized and/or eliminated in the business?
6. Is my team growing in value or mired down in drama?
7. Where do I envision the future of the business to be? (Culturally and Financially)
8. What are the gaps and opportunities that need to be addressed to move from the current situation to the ideal future vision?

After asking these questions to yourself and writing down your answers, be honest with yourself and think about how you can get back your own winning spirit in order to do the hard work of cleaning and eliminating the toxic drama that is multiplying daily.

• Reach out for Help. You are not the only one that is experiencing toxic drama. There are counselors and business leaders that specialize in helping leaders clean out toxic drama. Be humble enough to get help. Specialists clean mold out of houses and specialists can also help you clean toxic drama out of your business.
• Continue to have quiet times for reflection and vision. We all need to come up for air and escape toxic environments in order to take a deep clean breath.

1. Check if you are driving your Mission, Vision, and Values.
2. Check to see if you are holding people accountable.
3. Check to see if you are not pointing your fingers back at yourself.

Toxic drama, just like toxic mold, likes darkness (negativity) and can spread quickly to destroy healthy environments. Fight this with light (positivity), accountability, and discipline. Focus on the emerging leaders of your company and continue to eliminate toxic drama.

How can I help you?

I hope you enjoyed the article. Please comment and share, I would like to hear your thoughts. Have a great week! Please reach out if you need help developing leadership and engagement at your company.

I specialize in:

·??????Monthly Leadership Coaching

·??????Rattlesnake Hunt Engagement

·??????Strategic Planning Workshops

·??????Value Stream Mapping Workshops

·??????Lean Certification

·??????Lean Assessment and Lean Journey Development

?

Have a great week!

Mark

?

Mark Preston

[email protected]