"Labelling, though it provides ease of conversing about something, it muddies up meaning."
This is certainly the case for "toxicity". It's really easy to label someone or a workplace as toxic and not have to think constructively about them anymore. It's easy say a leader is creating a toxic work environment when someone objects (maybe strongly) to something they're doing.
This muddiness has been on my mind a while so I reached out to Dr. Kevin Sansberry. He is a behavioural scientist, host of the Toxic Leadership Podcast, executive coach and deeply thoughtful and articulate human. Especially when it comes to organization leadership and toxic workplaces. We don't get muddy thinking from him.
There were many insights in this conversation about toxic workplaces and far more:
🕺🏻 Label behaviour not people. And be careful about the labels themselves. They may be a means to minimize a whole person.
😖 Performance management is not toxicity although someone who is being performance managed may feel deeply uncomfortable and unwelcome.
⤵️ Toxicity is destructive to relationships and connection and thus business outcomes.
☣️ Toxicity can spread reducing psychological safety and all the related positive outcomes.
🏃♂️➡️ Someone who is prone to action may come across as toxic if they're in a slow culture.
🔥 Don't gaslight yourself into thinking you're the problem. AND don't avoid considering your role. It’s a fine balance.
This conversation was wonderful. As I said at the beginning and the end, I felt lighter for it.
And if you're wondering what HR's role in managing toxicity is, that will be coming in towards the end of October.