The three levels of toxic culture
Toxic culture is almost never a surprise. Somebody - usually more than one person - has seen the signs, reported or spoken about them to a person in authority and a decision has been made as to how to address the issues. However, in many cases the early warning signs of toxic culture are simply ignored.
This is level 0, where the culture is consistently combatant. At this level poor behaviour (from one or more individuals) has become the acceptable norm. Excuses are often made here; ‘that’s how they are’, ‘we work in a high pressure environment’ or else you hear statements such as ‘you just have to suck it up and get on with it’.
At this level, employees do what they can to get through it in the hope that things settle down. Often they do, however, if the behaviour is sustained for a long period of time, then the culture moves to the next level. It is still possible to avoid a toxic culture at this level by addressing the individuals who are undermining the safety of others.
Level one is where the culture becomes corrosive. At this level bullying, harassment, unethical behaviour or persistent self-interest is present. If bullying exists it’s not always visible to others. Often it is perpetrated through one-to-one communications causing untold suffering to those on the receiving end. In the cases of unethical behaviour deliberate effort is undertaken to conceal illegal activity.
The culture has turned toxic at this point. To recover quickly (9-12 months minimum) then individuals need to be investigated, performance-managed or removed from their positions in order to safeguard the culture for others. Failure to do so will lead to the culture moving to the final level.
Level two is where the culture is harmful to those that work within it. The threat to humans or the reputation of the organisation is real. The media will have taken an interest in the culture and expose the leadership who have presided over it. Spokespeople are often wheeled out to say that ‘the organisation is taking the allegations seriously’ or else people ‘take a leave of absence to think about their actions’. However, the opportunity for meaningful action to safeguard the reputation of the organisation has now passed.
In the worst cases, employees have suicidal thoughts.
The only way to fully recover at this level is to remove the leadership team. This is a demonstration to employees of how seriously the board of directors takes the working conditions and they recognise that without decisive change results will be affected for years to come. In extreme instances the very existence of the organisation is threatened.
With the right leadership in place and the right activity to rebuild the culture an organisation can recover within 1-2 years, but only if positive action is maintained.
As I said at the start, toxic culture is never a surprise, and only through concerted effort to educate managers on how to continually build and evolve a culture and through leaders dealing decisively with the signs of toxicity, can organisations everywhere avoid it.
To find out more about how to spot and address the signs of toxic culture, grab a copy of Detox Your Culture here or wherever you buy your books.
