How to eliminate workplace toxicity

One of the world’s leading automotive brands, Volkswagen, did not exactly have a smooth ride to leadership. “Designed and built in Nazi Germany” was the mass perception among the public after World War II. In post-war America, the preference was for big “muscle cars” and the flagship Volkswagen car, fondly called the “Beetle” was no match.

The advertising campaign that followed was the stuff of legend, including the Think Small ad that became part of marketing textbooks for years to come. However, that legacy, built over decades of branding, marketing, and sales, came crashing down in 2015.

Apparently, to beat high emission control regulations worldwide, the company had installed software in their diesel vehicles that would make the vehicles appear to comply with the quality standards. However, they were way above the permissible limits.

It stunned the world. How could such a thing happen?

What was uncovered was a lack of ethical leadership that allowed a culture of dishonesty to take root, to the extent that top executives, who were fully aware of the software, went ahead and approved its implementation. Their only focus was short-term financial gains rather than long-term implications for the company or environmental concerns. Consequently, the company ended up paying billions of dollars in fines, legal expenses, and lost sales. Recent news reports suggested that the company is considering closing factories in Germany, its birthplace, for the first time in 87 years.

What this underscores is how even a painstakingly constructed brand identity, representing years of effort, backed by world-class technology, can still come to nothing in the blink of an eye—just due to lack of ethical leadership and corporate responsibility at the top.

This is yet another manifestation of toxic leadership, which includes a lack of transparency and honesty in internal and external dealings and has far-reaching consequences not only for the organization itself, but also the environment and humanity.

While many of us have been fortunate to have never encountered toxic leadership in our entire careers, that doesn't mean it is a negligible problem. Consider these statistics, for instance.

More than half of employees work for a toxic CEO, which is not exactly a prescription for great motivation or stellar performance. In fact, there is a clear downward trajectory leading from toxic leadership:

So, it is critical to identify toxic leadership and head off its negative consequences as early as possible.

What are the characteristics of toxic leadership?

Toxic leadership is defined as bullying or manipulative behaviors that force internal and external stakeholders into actions that can have negative consequences for them and the organizations they represent. Some of its “hallmarks” are listed below:

·????? Abusive behavior

This is not hard to recognize. Organizations where it is routine to yell at, speak rudely to, and verbally or even emotionally abuse other coworkers, especially juniors, is a clear sign of a toxic work culture. Such behavior, if unchecked, is indicative of a larger malaise involving senior leadership, either directly or tacitly, and is definitely not going to end well.

·????? Lack of transparency

When leaders are unaware of unethical practices, or condone them, or even try to cover up such behavior—that’s toxic. Sooner or later, the truth will out, and erode the reputation, the brand, and the market value of the organization.

·????? Lack of consistency

You can depend on toxic leaders to be undependable. When a coworker or leader says something but does the opposite, when the walk doesn’t match the talk, when you feel let down by a leader’s action—you can be sure you’re in a toxic situation. Leaders are people who the organization looks up to, and consistency is a key trait of genuine leadership.

·????? Prioritization of short-term goals

Also known as the “ends justifying the means,” this is another sure-shot indicator of toxic leadership. Such leaders do not care for the long-term consequences, such as the Volkswagen team. It is crucial to note that such actions never work out. Ultimately it is the organization and often its employees who take the hit.

·????? Unethical behavior

Ethics stems from the core values of the organization—a set of principles that all its leaders and employees live by, a set of values that are recognized as virtuous by society as a whole, and that drives the very mission of the organization. When a company does not have a set of values, or chooses to flout them blatantly or otherwise, it’s toxic and inevitably has negative consequences.

Myths about toxic leadership

The reason why toxic leadership is so prevalent is probably due to some myths surrounding it, which are accepted implicitly by leaders and employees alike. For instance, it is believed that toxic leadership works! In other words, by being harsh or abusive, toxic leaders achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness. However, that is never the case, in fact the opposite holds true. It is the empathic and emotionally intelligent leaders who almost always lead the way—the greatest examples being Sundar Pichai of Google and Satya Nadella of Microsoft, who are known for leading with empathy and understanding.

How to measure toxic leadership levels

Andrew Alexander Schmidt, Ph.D. from the University of Maryland developed five scales to measure toxic leadership with a high level of accuracy. They dealt with Abusive Supervision, Authoritarian Leadership, Narcissism, Self-Promotion, and Unpredictable Leadership.[3]

You can access his measurement system here: Toxic Leadership Scale

What’s the Zuci way?

At Zuci, we live by ten core values that not only decorate our walls but are a part of each and every action we undertake. As a result, everything from our organizational strategies to our dealings with customers and external vendors falls within a value system, which guides every step we take.

Furthermore, we have a unique and open forum, You Ask We Answer (YAWA) that we conduct religiously every month. It’s an open discussion where any employee can bring up any issue and get an answer, on the spot. No topic is out of bounds, and no employee is excluded. It’s a genuinely transparent session that gives everyone an opportunity to raise their concerns, speak their minds, and be heard.

Have you encountered toxic behavior at your workplace? Implementing a value system—and following it in practice—are key to eliminating this scourge of the corporate world and creating genuinely empathic and positive forces of growth and development, not just at an organizational level but for society as a whole.

Toxic leadership can take many forms—abusive, non-transparent, inconsistent, and unethical behaviors are a few of its manifestations. Every organization, for its own sake, should keep their eyes open to such symptoms and curb them at the earliest instance. Toxicity can never produce a positive result, and inevitably it is the organization that pays the price. Encourage employees to speak up whenever they encounter toxic behavior and you’ll be doing your company the greatest service of all.

Image source:

·?????? Photo by Resume Genius on Unsplash

References:

1.????????? As per a poll by Life Meets Work Consulting

2.????????? Based on a study by Motivational Speakers Agency

3.????????? According to Statistics Solutions