Toxic culture in the company

How toxic leadership poisons the working atmosphere

signs of toxic Corporate Culture – The rise of toxic leadership in Germany is a growing problem for workers. Toxic leadership can wreak havoc on the work environment, leading to a drop in morale and productivity. From micromanagement to bullying, there are many signs that a leader's behavior is having a negative impact on them Team affects. This article outlines nine signs of toxic leadership behavior so employers and employees can spot the problem before it spirals out of control.

The first sign of a toxic corporate culture – No error culture

Signs of a toxic corporate culture. Toxic companies are dangerous, dangerous for employees. Since there is a lot of politics in toxic companies, mistakes are used to systematically destroy the reputation of competitors. This behavior is mostly exemplified and tolerated by the company management and copied and imitated by the employees. Once initiated, this process can only be reversed through radical and consistent changes.

The advice of Coaching Institute: We all make mistakes. Introduce a culture of error in your company. Allow employees to try new things. Don't punish mistakes, but encourage your employees to make mistakes. This is the only way to create trust and “out of the box” thinking. If you and your company are willing to do this, you can also go one step further and choose the biggest mistake at regular intervals. This creates a relaxed atmosphere that allows employees to remain creative and motivated. The mistakes can also be analyzed value-free, so that not only the employee who made the mistake, but also everyone else can learn from it. Learn in good time how to react to signs of a toxic corporate culture.

The second sign – Commanding style of leadership

In toxic Companies are mostly dominated by the commanding management style. Managers do not invest energy and time in their employees. The resources, as seen by bad leaders, simply have to work. Bad leaders manifest their power through dominance and provocation. Trust and respect are completely absent. Employees only "function" in such a system and are not willing to go the "extra mile". There is simply no positive association with the company.

The advice of the Coaching Institute: Rather use the emotional leadership style. Try to listen to understand, not to respond. Work for your employees, not against them. Be a coach, mentor and sparring partner and support your employees individually. Your employees will thank you with a massive increase in effectiveness. In this way, you give employees the feeling of being able to develop without having to be afraid of unpleasant consequences.

The third sign of a negative corporate culture - own agenda

In a toxic company, employees and departments only have their own interests in mind. There is no thinking outside the box. The result is silo thinking. “Me first, then everyone else.” This makes effective collaboration impossible in a toxic company. An over-adjusted ego is one of the main reasons corporate culture becomes toxic.

The advice of the Coaching Institute: So far, no department or company has benefited from silo thinking. Focus on cooperation and work actively to improve collaboration. Departments that work together are 27% more innovative and 42% more effective. Take the signs of a toxic corporate culture very seriously.

The fourth sign of a negative corporate culture - Only results count

In a toxic company, employees mean nothing and numbers mean everything. Employee motivation and bounce rate are ignored as long as the numbers are correct, comparable to professional football. This phenomenon can be observed regularly in private equity companies. Talk to our about this Executive Coach.

The advice of the Coaching Institute: Employees are everything for a successful company! Take good care of your employees and then these very employees will take care of and identify with your company. Motivated employees are 63% more effective. -Imagine an army of motivated employees. Do EVERYTHING to make your employees happy and never forget "YOU WORK for your employees and not the other way around."

The fifth sign of a toxic corporate culture - Extroverts are better employees than introverts

In a toxic environment, whoever shouts the loudest usually wins. What do we mean? Introverted employees, mostly from the Development, are miserable in self-marketing. The extroverted employees, mostly from sales and marketing, take advantage of this fact to distinguish themselves. This creates an unspoken power struggle that negatively influences the behavior of both sides. Have you ever been over Business Coaching thinking?

The advice of the Coaching Institute: Be the voice of the weak. Give introverted employees a voice. Involve precisely these employees in the decision-making processes on a regular basis. Put extroverted employees in their places when trying to dominate other employees with their voice and presence. Hear the voices that aren't the loudest! This gives you the opportunity to collect more valuable information about your company - be it interpersonal or in terms of work processes etc. Signs of a toxic Corporate Culture are ignored by many employees.

Do you have any further questions? We from you Coaching Institute Frankfurt have focused on the topic of “toxic corporate culture and Personal development“ specialized.

The sixth sign of a negative corporate culture - There is no trust

In a toxic company, there is no place for trust between managers and employees. Hybrid working models would never work here either. Through manipulation, control, silo thinking, politics, defamation or demotivation, even the last spark of trust has disappeared. Employees just work and have to constantly look around because their job is at risk - and that feels like every day. In such an environment, the employee automatically switches to "survival mode" not "trust mode". The mental and physical, chemical effects can be devastating not only for the employees but also for the company itself.

The advice of the Coaching Institute: You can't buy trust, you have to earn it bit by bit. It's every good guy's job Executiveto make trust building his top priority. The emotional leadership style is the best way to gradually rebuild lost trust. It is also important that you dare not only to perceive conflicts, but also to explicitly take care of them. Consistency in your actions will give you the confidence that can create a positive upward spiral.

The seventh sign – Bad HR

The HR departments in a toxic environment function differently than in a normal company. Here is the personnel management usually the first problem. "The fish always embroiders from the head first." The toxic attitude of the personnel management usually results in only toxic employees being hired. To put it in a picture: "The clear water becomes increasingly cloudy until you can no longer see anything". The toxic newcomers ensure that the good employees lose confidence in the ability of the HR department and, in the long term, also begin to complain about an unprecedented victim role or leave the company. Signs of a toxic corporate culture are not always immediately apparent. Good business coaching helps at this point. Talk to us actively.

The advice of the Coaching Institute: Trust and respect must be part of the corporate DNA. Ensuring this is the task of the HR department. The personnel management must clearly define which employees and managers best represent the values ​​of the company. Toxic characters must already be sorted out in the application process. Also read our article on the topic voice training.

The eighth sign of a negative corporate culture - escalation culture

In a toxic company, everything gets escalated, straight to the highest levels. No one is willing to take responsibility and possibly burn their fingers. Escalations are not for problem solving, but for job security.

The advice of the Coaching Institute: Here it is always important to send the employee back to the cause. Things can only be escalated if there is no way they can be resolved bilaterally. Employees who can de-escalate issues very efficiently must be rewarded and highlighted as role models. It must be clear: "Yes, the manager is always there for you in the event of escalations, but try to solve it yourself first - show me your problem-solving skills!" Director in which they act decisively and confidently! This also gives the management levels more time and energy to take care of strategic company management.

The Ninth Sign of a Toxic Corporate Culture – The Fear Culture

In a toxic environment, employees are constantly afraid. Fear of gossip. Fear of making mistakes, fear of experimenting, fear of embarrassment, fear of failure or fear of failure. This culture is poison for every company. In such an environment, no employee can develop freely. No flowers are blooming, everything is gray and dreary. Nothing motivates employees to do more than they have to do for their money. The remuneration is seen as compensation for pain and suffering and not as motivation. When it comes to responsibility, it is passed on. After all, in this culture of fear, the “culprit” has to be found and the corresponding consequences have to be expected.

The advice of the Coaching Institute: Understand what exactly scares your employees and eliminate it as soon as possible. If it is a toxic leader, the individual must go for the good of the community. If it's the board that doesn't live up to the company's values, then a heavyweight like a board member or CEO has to go. By taking away the fear of employees, you build trust Motivation and ensure employees do what they were hired to do. If you have any further questions, please speak up uns

The tenth sign of a negative corporate culture – blindness on the part of the manager

A leader is characterized by the ability to lead people and get the best out of them. In a toxic company, bad leaders are tolerated. HR, whose job it is to take care of it, looks the other way. The manager receives false signals from their colleagues and is deaf to them self reflection and feedback. The employees are desperate but afraid to band together for a revolution. One by one they leave the department and the best employees start to keep quiet and resign inwardly.

The advice of the coaching institute: When you have such a leader, you join as a strong group as employees. Go TOGETHER to the works council and discuss the case. The boss can't fire everyone, but unless you act as a group, they're an easy target. Individual employees are then singled out and systematically psychologically destroyed. As a group, that can't happen to you. As a group you are not vulnerable.

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