You don’t have a toxic workplace because your organization doesn’t care about its people. And most leaders don’t wake up in the morning thinking, You know what would really improve productivity around here? A little bullying and intimidation.
The problem is that toxic behavior rarely arrives with a flashing neon sign announcing, YOUR CULTURE IS NOW TOXIC.
It grows quietly.
- A high performer gets results, so everyone looks the other way when they leave a trail of miserable co-workers behind them.
- A manager sees concerning behavior but isn’t quite sure what to say, so they say… nothing.
- An employee reports a problem, but nothing seems to change. Eventually, people get the message and stop reporting.
- Leaders say respect matters, but performance reviews measure what people accomplish and conveniently forget about how they accomplished it.
And then one day, those “isolated incidents” aren’t so isolated anymore.
They’re your culture. And they’re expensive.
Toxic workplace behavior can contribute to turnover, absenteeism, lost productivity, conflict, employee relations complaints, investigations, legal exposure, weakened collaboration, and loss of trust in leadership.
Turns out, letting people behave badly is not a particularly strong business strategy. That’s why, in honor of National Civility Month, we created:
✨ 10 Leadership Actions to Create a Culture of Civility Ebook ✨
It’s a practical guide designed to help leaders strengthen accountability, reduce the risk of toxic behavior, and build a healthier workplace culture.
Because creating a civil workplace requires a little more than telling employees to “be professional,” adding RESPECT to the company values poster, and hoping everyone figures out what that means.
Leaders have to look at the organizational systems, individual behaviors, and leadership behaviors that shape the employee experience.
Inside, you’ll learn how to:
- Make the business case for culture change.
- Assess your culture and identify potential risks.
- Use company data to locate where problems may be developing.
- Define the behaviors your culture expects.
- Build a data-driven culture roadmap.
- Align policies with expected behavior.
- Hold everyone accountable, including leaders and high-value performers.
- Train managers to intervene early.
- Strengthen reporting and response systems.
- Reinforce, measure, and adjust your culture efforts over time.
Ultimately, toxic behavior grows in the gap between what leaders say and what organizations allow. And employees are very, very good at spotting that gap.
Civility + Accountability + Action
Think of this guide as a starting point for moving civility from something your organization talks about to something people actually experience.
Because a civil culture isn’t a workplace where everyone agrees, no one gets irritated, and difficult conversations magically disappear. That workplace does not exist.
A civil workplace is one where people can do hard things respectfully. People can disagree without humiliation, give feedback without intimidation, raise concerns without retaliation, maintain high standards without creating fear, and pursue performance without sacrificing trust.
And that kind of culture doesn’t happen because someone in HR sends an email reminding everyone to be respectful. It is built through leadership decisions, manager capability, employee behavior, and organizational systems that reinforce what the organization says it values.
If you’d like help applying these strategies inside your organization, let’s talk. Our team specializes in turning around toxic workplace cultures and strengthening the leadership behaviors, organizational systems, and accountability practices that drive real, sustainable change.
Schedule a Discovery Call with Our Team
Happy National Civility Month!
PS: Strengthen your civility initiatives through registering for our upcoming Workplace Intelligence Series and Office Hours. Hope to see you there!
