1.Top down micromanagement.

Hire people, then tell them what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Nothing is more oppressive than having someone breathe down your neck every hour of the workday. The assumption is that the leader is smarter than you are, evidence suggests that micromanagers don’t have a lot to do and engage in this type of behavior to justify their position.

2. All are equal.

It is extremely frustrating to see someone that cant carry the load in a position of leadership or considered equal to those who pull their weight. This typically happens when leadership puts an underperformer in a district level position because they cant make it anywhere else. Central office becomes adult daycare.

3. Lack of resources to carry out the mission

       Not equipping your team with the resources they need to accomplish the task a is a sure way to kill morale and create a culture where the troops will do the bare minimum. This is a creativity and improvement killer

4. Crushing dissent

Great leaders understand that they don’t have all the answers and creating an organization where everyone can contribute without fear of reprisal is what leads to ideas and problem solving. If every one of your meetings is met with all in the room acting as “bobble heads”, you have probably created a culture where your people are afraid to be creative and contribute. When was the last time someone disagreed with you? Hmmmm…

5. Not “checking in”

If people don’t feel valued and appreciated, good luck with trying to improve your organization. When people feel as if no one cares about them or takes interest in their work, this can lead to a toxic work environment.  So much cultural progress can be made so quickly by leaders taking a genuine interest in employees, their personal growth, and their career development. One on one “check in’s” are a great way of getting to know your team. This is the perfect mechanism for telling them how much you appreciate them

6. It’s who you know……

A sure way to kill morale and increase the toxicity in the organization is by promoting those for who they know, instead of what they know. when the troops begin to feel that no matter how hard they work, they cant get ahead because they don’t know the right people. This leads to “what’s the point?” type of sentiment. This in turn leads to back stabbing and employees not giving it their all. There should be clearly written protocol and process for advancement

7. Where are we going? What’s the plan today?

Toxicity comes from a lack of direction or moving into too many different directions. Not knowing leads to mistrust, confusion, frustration and a lack of cohesion. You cant move the boar in the right direction if everyone is rowing in different directions. Everyone needs to know the what, why, how, when and where plan for moving the organization forward