Turning Around a Toxic Team
A toxic team doesn’t just ruin morale—it poisons performance.
And the damage spreads fast.
If you’re a new manager or a leader who inherited a broken culture, you’re not alone. Many managers are handed teams with deep dysfunction and expected to fix it—fast.
Here’s the good news:
Toxicity is reversible.
But it takes clarity, consistency, and courage.
What does a toxic team look like?
Gossip and blame are the norm
Meetings are silent or full of snark
People hoard information
Low trust, high turnover, and disengagement
What most managers overlook:
They focus on surface-level problems—missed deadlines, poor communication—without addressing the root issue: a lack of trust and shared purpose.
To turn things around, you must reset the culture:
1. Call it out.
Don’t dance around dysfunction. Name what’s happening and explain what won’t be tolerated going forward.
2. Set new norms.
Culture change starts with behavior. Define what “good” looks like—how we give feedback, how we treat each other, how we show up.
3. Show up consistently.
Your team watches everything. Stay calm under pressure. Enforce boundaries. Recognize progress. Don’t play favorites.
4. Create safety.
Psychological safety is the oxygen of healthy teams. Invite questions. Admit when you’re wrong. Encourage dissent without punishment.
5. Remove the blockers.
Some toxicity can’t be coached. If someone repeatedly undermines trust, they have to go. Keeping them tells everyone else that toxic behavior is acceptable.
Remember: You can’t rebuild culture in a day—but you can shift it in a week.
The turnaround starts with you.