Corporate culture is more than a buzzword: It influences your employees’ performance level, and can be a key motivator for whether your strongest team members want to stay with the firm — or want to find a better working environment. This means that a vibrant culture can make a huge difference in how well your organization performs and grows.
It also means that corporate cultures that are lacking in key departments, or even starting to turn toxic, can prompt employees to become indifferent about the work they are doing, damage trust in leadership and increase the chances of infighting among teams.
So how can you make sure you aren't facing problems? Below, nine members of Forbes Coaches Council share some of the things they watch for when determining if a company's culture is toxic, and talk about the steps you need to take to fix the issues. Here’s what they recommend you look for:
1. Lack Of Engagement And High Attrition
Lack of engagement, often followed by high attrition, is a red flag. You have to consider why this is the case. The first step is to look at how inclusive the organization is. How inclusive are you? Is the organization an environment where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and do their best? Inclusive leadership is necessary. - Rosalie Chamberlain, Rosalie Chamberlain Consulting & Coaching
2. Tension Between Departments
Most companies have tension between departments that hinders their ability to be a fully optimized "sales culture" or "alliance-based" culture that enables the entire organization to effectively evangelize products and services. When a particular group can't support sales, for example, the entire organization loses efficiencies, opportunities and balance. - Brian Patrick Cork, briancorkCOACHING
3. Off-The-Charts Personal Drama
Toxicity is evident when personal drama is off the charts and everyone seems to be vying for a starring role, regardless of the harm it does to productivity or company goals. Your first step is to quickly assess and terminate the employees who are the biggest contributors to this situation, regardless of their track record. - Randee Lehrer, Energrowth Coaching LLC
4. Lack Of Trust And Authenticity
A negative culture results in people not being open and honest with each other. A benchmark method is to measure the frequency and outputs of meetings. Too many meetings and minimal resulting action items are warning signs. To begin fixing the issue, leaders can focus on improving and promoting vulnerability among employees. That will increase authenticity and promote positive levels of trust. - Tony Mickle, Big Box Coaching LLC
Read more in The Secret To Better Meetings
5. High Employee Turnover Numbers
High turnover numbers are a warning sign that the culture is toxic, but that’s typically just a symptom of deeper leadership issues, which need to be identified and dealt with before the culture can be transformed. The first step to fixing the problem is to conduct employee and executive interviews to assess the culture and to get a better understanding of where the real problem lies. - Annette Franz, CX Journey Inc.
6. Leaders Acting From Fearful Reactivity
One warning sign is leaders operating from a state of fearful reactivity, which shows up as controlling, defending or complying. The first step to shifting states is to see the collective leadership team behavior from the perspective of its members and those around it. That opens the door for generative conversations on where to go, how to get there and committing to do so. - Tom Hardison, Generative Leadership Group, LLC
7. Focus On Blame
If your company is focused on pointing fingers and searching for someone or something thing to blame, you are immersed in a toxic culture. The only way forward is to take ownership. Taking ownership requires your company culture accepts mistakes happen and uses them as opportunities for learning and growth. Mistakes can foster creativity, new possibilities and a vibrant company culture. - Lynda Reid, EdD, PCC, Kusala LLC
8. Lack Of Debate
One warning sign that a company culture is toxic is the absence of vigorous — yet professional — debate of competing ideas, strategies or tactics. Organizations and boards of directors that welcome diversity of thought and encourage healthy debate of diverse perspectives are measurably more profitable and vibrant than those that do not. Coaching leaders to recognize their role in this, is job one. - Michael D. Rochelle, MDR Strategies, LLC
9. Fear Of Mistakes
One warning sign of a toxic company culture is fear. Fear of making mistakes and fear of betrayal, as well as poor communication, are commonly experienced in toxic cultures. A first step is naming it and then gaining executive sponsorship/buy-in for making the necessary changes to create a healthy corporate culture. The foundation of a healthy corporate culture lies in building a foundation of trust. - Terry Hoffmann, Hoffmann Coaching
