Identifying and Curing a Toxic Culture at Work
I talk to a lot of business owners, I listen to their stories, some share their woes on my Handpicked Podcast. Some will say I have a problem with ‘a’ team member - and it seems to be affecting others. I'm talking about a toxic culture at work. - though most when I ask them don’t call it that. They say “that seems a bit extreme- it's not that bad”. However, ultimately they don’t really know what they don’t know.
A toxic culture is a silent, creeping ‘energy’. It erodes trust, it suffocates innovation, it kills productivity, and it quietly drives your best and brightest people out the door. It is the unseen handbrake on your growth, the anchor of negativity that holds your business back from its true potential. And as a leader, it is the single greatest threat to your legacy.
Even in relatively small businesses I have seen its devastating effects, and I have learned, with absolute and unshakeable conviction, that culture is not a "soft" HR issue. It is the core operating system of your entire business. And if your operating system is corrupted by a toxic virus, it doesn't matter how brilliant your strategy is or how great your product is. The system will eventually crash.
But what does a toxic culture actually look like? How do you diagnose it? And, most importantly, how do you, as a leader, find the courage to confront it and begin the difficult, essential work of healing?
Today, I want to give you my definitive, from-the-trenches guide to this critical leadership challenge. We will hold up a mirror to identify the real symptoms of toxicity, we will explore the practical, actionable steps you can take to detoxify your workplace, and we will map out a path to building the kind of healthy, high-performance culture that becomes your ultimate competitive advantage.
The Diagnosis - The Subtle (and Not-So-Subtle) Symptoms of a Toxic Culture
A toxic culture rarely announces itself with a flashing neon sign. It is a slow, creeping illness, and its early symptoms can be subtle. As a leader, you must be a vigilant diagnostician, constantly attuned to the health of your organisation. Here are the key warning signs I have learned to look for.
1. The Sound of Silence (Fear-Based Communication):
This is often the first and most dangerous symptom. In a healthy culture, there is a vibrant buzz of conversation, of debate, of laughter, and of respectful disagreement. In a toxic culture, there is silence.
- Silence in meetings: You, the leader, ask a question, and you are met with a sea of blank stares. No one is willing to challenge your idea or offer a different perspective. This is not agreement; it is fear.
- Silence after meetings (The "Meeting After the Meeting"): The real, honest conversations happen in hushed whispers in the hallway or on a private Slack channel after the meeting is over. This is a sign that people do not feel psychologically safe to speak their truth in a public forum.
- Silence on mistakes: A mistake is made, and instead of a swift and open acknowledgement, there is a culture of hiding it, of blaming others, of hoping no one will notice until it's too late.
2. The Rise of the "Gossip Grapevine" (Low-Trust Communication):
When formal, transparent communication breaks down, the informal, toxic grapevine takes over.
- Rumours and speculation become the primary source of information.
- Passive-aggression replaces direct, candid feedback.
- Silos and factions begin to form, creating an "us versus them" mentality between departments or teams.
Trust is the oxygen of a healthy culture. When it is absent, the air becomes thick with suspicion and politics.
3. The "Hero" and the "Martyr" (An Unhealthy Relationship with Work):
A toxic culture often glorifies unhealthy work habits.
- The "Hero": The one person who is always staying late, who is the only one who knows how a critical system works, and who the business seemingly cannot function without. This is not a hero; it is a single point of failure and a sign of a broken system.
- The "Martyr": The team member who constantly talks about how busy and stressed they are, how they never take a holiday. This creates a culture where burnout is worn as a badge of honour.
4. The Revolving Door (High Staff Turnover):
This is the ultimate lagging indicator. Your best people—the A-players who have the most options—are always the first to leave a toxic environment. They have a low tolerance for dysfunction. If you are consistently losing your top performers, do not blame them. You must have the courage to look in the mirror and ask, "What is it about our culture that is driving these brilliant people away?"
The Antidote - A Leader's Playbook for ‘Detoxing’
If you have recognised some of these symptoms in your own business, do not despair. A culture can be healed. But it is a difficult and courageous process, and it must be led, visibly and relentlessly, from the very top. The fish, as they say, rots from the head. But it can also be healed from the head.
This is not a job you can delegate to HR. This is your job as the leader.
Step 1: Start with the Mirror (The Leader's Accountability)
You must have the brutal honesty to acknowledge your own role in creating or tolerating the current culture.
- What behaviours have you been modelling?
- What toxic behaviours from a "high-performer" have you been ignoring because they hit their numbers?
- Have you been clear and consistent in your communication?
This process of self-reflection is the essential and often painful first step. You must own your part in the problem before you can lead the solution.
Step 2: Redefine and Relentlessly Communicate Your Values
A toxic culture is often a culture where the values are either undefined or are just a meaningless plaque on the wall. You must redefine your values not as aspirational words, but as a clear, non-negotiable behavioural contract.
- Define them in behavioural terms: "Integrity" is vague. "We do what we say we're going to do" is a clear, observable behaviour.
- Communicate them relentlessly: You must talk about your values in every team meeting, in every new hire orientation, in every performance review. They must become the shared language of your organisation.
- Hire and Fire by Them: The most powerful way to prove you are serious about your values is to hire people who align with them and to have the courage to let go of people who, despite their performance, consistently violate them. This sends an unequivocal message to the entire company.
Step 3: Create Psychological Safety (The Foundation of Trust)
Your team will not be open, honest, or innovative if they do not feel safe. Psychological safety is a culture where people feel safe to be vulnerable. As a leader, you must intentionally create this.
- Model Vulnerability: Be the first to admit when you've made a mistake or when you don't know the answer. This gives your team permission to be human.
- Decriminalize Failure: Reframe failure not as an endpoint, but as a data point. Celebrate the learnings from smart, well-intentioned experiments that don't work out.
- Master the Art of the Question: Lead with curiosity. Ask open-ended questions like, "What's your perspective on this?" or "What might we be missing?" This signals that you value your team's thinking, not just their compliance.
Step 4: Build a System of Genuine Recognition (The Engine of Positive Culture)
This is the practical, daily work of turning your culture around. A toxic culture often starves people of genuine appreciation. You must build a robust system for recognition.
- Make it Frequent and Timely: Move beyond the "Employee of the Month" and build in daily and weekly rituals of appreciation. A "shout-out" at the start of a team meeting or a dedicated "Kudos" channel in Slack can be incredibly powerful.
- Make it Specific and Value-Aligned: Train your leaders to give specific feedback that connects an individual's behaviour back to a company value. This is how you reinforce the culture you want to build.
- Make it Democratic and Peer-to-Peer: Empower your entire team to recognize each other. This breaks down silos and combats the perception of favoritism.
- Make it Memorable: This is the philosophy upon which I built RedBalloon. Instead of a generic cash bonus, which is a transaction, reward your people with employee recognition gifts that are experiences. An experience creates a story and a lasting memory. It shows you are invested in your people's lives, not just their output.
The Hardest Work - Confronting and Removing Toxicity
This is the moment that will truly test your courage as a leader. You can have the best values, the best systems, and the best intentions in the world, but if you tolerate a toxic individual on your team, all of your work will be for nothing.
A single toxic team member—even a high-performing one—can poison an entire culture. They are the bullies, the gossip-mongers, the political players, the ones who consistently violate your values.
You must have the courage to act. After you have given them clear, direct feedback and an opportunity to change, if the behaviour persists, you must let them go. This is one of the hardest but most important things a leader ever has to do. When you remove a toxic individual, it is like lancing a boil. The immediate relief and the positive shift in the team's energy is often palpable and profound. It is the ultimate proof to your team that you are truly committed to building a healthy culture.
Culture is the Company You Keep
In the end, a company's culture is nothing more and nothing less than the sum of the behaviours of its people, starting with its leader. It is the company you choose to keep, and the standards you are willing to enforce.
Building a great culture is not a soft skill; it is the hardest, most relentless, and most important work a leader will ever do. It is a daily practice of clarity, of courage, and of compassion. It requires you to be a great communicator, a great coach, and, as I explore in my article on influencing others at work, a great leader of people.
The benefits of this hard work are immense. A healthy, positive, and high-trust culture is not just a happier place to work; it is a high-performance engine. It is the fertile ground in which innovation, collaboration, and sustainable success can truly flourish. It is your ultimate, uncopyable, competitive advantage.
