No leader wants their organization to be toxic.

But almost like cracks in a dam that can go undetected for a very long time, such behaviors can seep into your team or organization in spite of your best efforts.

In the wake of the “Great Resignation” where talent became more precious than ever, stakes have been raised for organizations to retain their best employees.

Toxic cultures, however, can repel top performers and erode trust within teams, resulting in a downward spiral of disengagement and dysfunction.

So how can you be on top of your culture and tap into what isn’t easily visible on the surface?

Let’s dive into these 5 signs and you can then decide if some of these are prevalent in your organization.

1.Operational Tunnel Vision

Is your organization too focused on the numbers but not enough on strategy?

A lot of meetings that are devoted to data and details, but not necessarily on making big moves in the market and customer value?

A skewed focus towards operations and numbers often sidetracks innovation and solution design.

2.Inward Preoccupation

Go to a field seller and a sales manager and open their calendars.

How much time are they spending with customers?

For field sellers, if it is less than 80% or for front-line managers, if it is less than 60%, then possibly you have a culture where it’s more internal and incestual rather than external or experiential.

3.Mirrored Leadership

The third piece here is if your leaders are surrounded by mirrors.

Let me elaborate.

Does your leadership team have diversity of thought and perspective?

Are there a lot of ‘yes’ men? Or also individuals who challenge the status quo?

You have to be wary of teams that are just mirroring the leader in charge from a behavioral and cultural perspective.

Productive conflict is a key indicator of innovative progress.

4.Compliance Issues.

The fourth element, and this is quite obvious,

Are you seeing even a slight disregard or compromise for compliance standards?

5.Psychological safety.

Are we hearing what is truly happening or just what we want to hear?

Do people have the courage to speak out and challenge leaders?

Is there a culture where everybody feels heard, where outside-in feedback is delivered and every partner in the ecosystem has a voice?

The underlying question is – is there enough psychological safety?

To conclude,

Benchmark your sales organization on these 5 parameters.

If you have three or more, which are positive, then it’s time to take swift action.

As the leaders at the top, it is our key responsibility to create a strong culture of connection, collaboration and client results.

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