I often see leaders—even good ones—let high performers get away with toxic behavior because they “get results.” I get the temptation. I really do. I like hitting numbers too.
But… you know what else these high performers get? Distrust, resentment, and disengagement (i.e., underperformance) from everyone around them. I see it all the time.
You’ve got one gal killing it in sales. She brings in 50% of the revenue. It takes six people on the team to match her annual sales. Her customers “love” her. But her paperwork is sloppy. She refuses to work with the accounting team to clean up her messes. And, no one on the team will cover for her when she’s out.
When she finally leaves, you uncover dozens of other mistakes and relationships she’s ruined that you will NEVER GET BACK. I’ve seen millions of dollars walk out the door because of “performers” no one could trust.
And that incredible top performer who isn’t toxic? They’ve already quit to take their talents somewhere else that isn’t toxic.
If an employee is willing to sacrifice their integrity, their team, and your company culture in front of you, there’s more going on behind the curtain.
It can be scary to lose that person not knowing how things will shape up when they leave. But, toxic behavior, left unchecked, will poison your entire organization.
Want more negativity? Tolerate it. Want less creativity? Allow bullies in meetings. Want your team to do the bare minimum? Allow one toxic high-performer to stay.
Don’t let them win.
At the end of the day, anyone with the power to hire and fire is a gatekeeper of company culture. Make sure that those hiring know they’re the curator and bouncer for the entire company. Every hire and fire is either protecting or eroding the organization’s standards.
If top leadership doesn’t mandate their direct reports to curate culture, it will fail.
If managers don’t own their role in shaping culture, it will fail.
And if employees don’t see culture being upheld by anyone and everyone above them in the food chain? It will fail.
So how do you succeed in designing and implementing your chosen company culture? We share 5 strategies below. ⬇️
Make Culture Your Competitive Advantage
Evolve The Com helps you develop your employees into your organization’s most valuable asset, capable of driving amplified innovation and growth.
How to Fix Your Workplace Culture
1. Stop Tolerating Toxicity
Don’t excuse bad behavior, even from top performers. One “high-performing jerk” can erode morale and productivity across the organization fast.
Shut down disruptive behavior and build in clear consequences for failing to meet standards. Include attitude in performance reviews. Use 360 results from managers and colleagues.
Try to adopt a “hire slow, fire fast” approach to recruiting. The temptation to get a warm body into an empty role is real. But if you’re driving the team’s performance, you’ve got to ensure that toxic employees don’t get a foothold. Leverage your team’s input, and if something feels “off” slow down.
2. Lead by Example
A neon “RESPECT” sign flashing on the office wall won’t change behavior. But a leader embodying respect, defining respect, and holding people accountable to be respectful, WILL.
So once you’ve hired those incredible candidates who you think will uphold your awesome culture? Make sure that you’re teeing them up for success.
If they’re going to be managing, define what behaviors are expected of them as leaders. Teach your team what active listening is and coach them in meetings on whether they’re doing it. Encourage dialogue and healthy conflict in meetings and create ways for people to do it without being toxic.
If you don’t know what behavior you’re looking for, you can’t coach it. And if you can’t live it and model it, then you can’t lead it.
3. Build Accountability
Once you’ve got your great culture defined, and the right people in place, things will go wrong. It’s inevitable. So build in processes and lines of defense to make sure that when it goes wrong it doesn’t go viral.
Do employees know who to go to if they see issues? Usually, it’s a manager. So what if their manager is the one exhibiting toxicity?
Create clear paths for communicating up and down the food chain to make sure that the squeaky wheels aren’t the only ones getting heard.
Create open systems where positive behaviors are rewarded and negative behaviors are addressed. Some use group chat software. You could also use a suggestion box.
We, at Evolve, love using group coaching sessions to assess team issues and identify areas of opportunity. It allows teams to practice good communication hygiene in front of each other. It ensures that negative behavior isn’t ignored or swept under the rug.
4. Support Ongoing Healthy Communication
Poor communication costs organizations a ton—from missed revenue opportunities to gaps in efficiency, operational challenges, and workplace conflict, not to mention the unspoken frustrations that build up and cause employees to disengage.
But creating a safe and constructive environment for honest feedback and open dialogue isn’t everyone’s area of expertise.
I recently worked with a team led by a fantastic, open manager. With recent turnover and a new boss’s boss in place, we’ve been doing regular health checks to keep the transition productive.
During my last visit, I asked the manager how things were going with a few tasks he’d been working on with the team. He smiled and said: “I think it’s going well.” I offered to survey his team. He agreed.
After talking for a few minutes with each person, I came back to him with clear, actionable feedback. He now knew what direction to take the team. He pivoted and the results were immediate.
He’s a great leader and he’s also busy. He may not have the time and bandwidth to do one-on-one’s every day. That’s when having someone else who is trained to ask questions and get more than just the pat answer is very helpful.
It is a privilege to do the work I do. I can’t thank my clients enough for trusting me with their people and processes. I’m grateful that I can ignite growth and transformation.
I’m also humbly aware that I—like a physical therapist after knee surgery—am not doing the work. YOU are doing the work. I coach you through it, I encourage you, I guide you, but it’s only those leaders and organizations who are motivated to “be the change” that change.