01 Sep How To Not Be A Toxic Boss
No-one becomes a leader intending to turn into a toxic boss.
Well, OK, a small amount of people may do. Let’s disregard them!
The point I am making is that no leader in their right mind wants to be labelled the “worst boss ever”.
Many times, a toxic boss is only the result of either lack of training – and to be frank, in my career, I have rarely seen a company efficient at training their new managers or the most seasoned ones – or lack of self-awareness.
The impact of a toxic boss on the team and organization is very significant: Lack of motivation, stress, high attrition, lack of accountability. Not to mention the impact this can have on the organization’s clients and external stakeholders.
If you’re lacking training, this can be fixed rather quickly, and it will require that you have a serious discussion with your own boss and/or the HR department to ask for that training.
If you’re lacking self-awareness, it’s trickier – maybe reading this will make you aware though – but not insurmountable.
There are a few things you can do to avoid getting the “worst boss ever” label:
1. Get feedback from your team and your stakeholders. This is the single most efficient action you can take to give you information you can act upon. Of course, if you’re erring on the toxic side, it may be that people on the team do not trust you. In that case, enroll HR to help get that feedback, e.g. through a 360 feedback. If you have a good level of trust, you can start with easy questions like “What do I need to start doing?”, “What do I need to stop doing?” and “What do I need to do more of/less of?”
2. Develop your empathy and emotional intelligence. Be curious, genuinely interested in the people on your team. Ask them questions to learn about them and to support them in their work and their growth. Doing this, you will develop an ability to feel how decisions, words, and behavior impact the members of the team. And when you show empathy, get curious about people, this contributes to generate trust and create a safe space for people.
3. Consider getting a coach to support you in this transformation. Leadership is hard, and it is extremely difficult to get out of being labelled a toxic boss. Doing 1 and 2 above may sound easy, but it’s tough, especially when you start from the toxic boss position. A coach can help you develop your self-awareness, and will create a safe space for you to be courageous, reflect and commit to actions that will support you in getting to 1 and 2 above.
What else would you consider to do to avoid being labelled the “worst boss ever”?
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