One Bad Apple Can Spoil The Bunch

Great culture, great leadership abounds in your workspace, there is just one problem, you have noticed that not everyone aligns with one person from the leadership team. Soon, you dig in and realize that while they get results, it is not necessarily the best method to use, but hey, they get results, right.

One thing often overlooked is the impact a person can have on an entire team, especially if they are in a leadership position. The old saying, "one bad apple can spoil the bunch" has an even deeper truth in business. Toxic leadership, even if it is just one person dictates how the rest of the team performs. It doesn't matter that everyone else around is great, what matters is the one person that drives down moral and positions themselves as the alpha or better than the rest.

This person deflates what the other leaders have built up, it's like a constant struggle to maintain. Having whitewashed all of the great things the other leaders have established or communicated to the team you notice that discord is being sown when this person enters the workspace, but hey, they get results, right.

You have to understand that while results are great, it does not address many of the other issues that arise with one bad apple. Worst part about the whole thing, it is all underlying, not out in the open. People start ducking their heads avoiding the inevatable fire and slowly recluse into their own.

To understand the effects of one toxic leader we need to look down the road, that's where you see how bad things can really get. Over a period of time the continuous toxicity starts acting like a cancer. It starts to get into the bones of the business and then eats away at what was once a great culture and attaching itself to those around them.

After it has firmly cemented itself in the business, you notice your performance has dropped, you can't keep or attract employees, your culture has failed. All because one toxic person was able to produce results.

This may seem a little dramatic but toxic leadership even if it is just one, is the root cause to most businesses problems. Performance issues, leadership. Retention issues, leadership. Culture issues, leadership.

Leadership drives every aspect of the business and overlooking what may seem minimal in the face of numbers is a bomb waiting to go off. The explosion itself is bad enough, but the aftershock is the thing that brings down the walls.

If toxic leadership has this effect of short term gains with long term disaster, how do you think a people first leadership style works? It does the exact opposite, short term gains with long term success.

While companies want the now success, the short sightedness dismisses the idea that investing into the growth of their people for the long term produces enhanced results. This impatience is the main reason companies choose to allow toxic leaders a position in the workspace.

Being able to recognize a toxic team member is key to sustaining great culture. By letting go of the toxic person, you will notice that every team member will start to thrive. From performance to attitude, your team begins to flower, to produce results you thought were not possible. Like a flower, to watch it bloom takes time, takes patience, and takes a little nurturing.