My background is in IT. I was a software engineer for more than two decades, and then moved into leading various techie teams for over a decade.
I loved being around people who were creative and innovative. People who loved to share and toss around ideas with others, without fear of ridicule or humiliation. People who loved to learn, play and mix different perspectives together, the output of which would hopefully exceed expectations, that they had fun creating and building.
The people I didn’t love being around were the ones who brought the toxic vapors into the room. The ones who cut people off in the middle of sharing their ideas, who humiliated or belittled others to big themselves up, who were blinded by constraints and reasons why not, who tried to control through fear, who were negative, defeatist, who had tunnel vision, or feared dissent.
What do you think having toxic people like that in the room does to creativity and innovation?
Nothing good.
You can apply these questions to any industry, because whatever that is, you have a product(s) or service(s) that you need to sell as you strive to stay competitive in an increasingly demanding, rapidly changing and volatile world.
If your organisation tolerates toxic behaviours that stifle creativity, then consider what your future might hold in an unforgiving market.
Because what you tolerate is what you’ll get.
The leaders you need to build a culture that will help the people within your organisation to thrive are leaders who are open-minded, secure in what they do and don’t know, who are curious, think expansively, and speak freely with respectful honesty, who are happy to play, experiment and explore, are enthusiastic and positive, generous in their celebration of others’ successes, who love to learn, who will support, mentor or coach others to learn, who feel safe, who embrace the talent and experience of those around them, who listen, ask questions, and genuinely care about those they are on the journey with.
Given so many people leave their jobs due to toxic environments and managers, it suggests that these same people would be totally on board with helping to build a toxin free culture if they truly believed that was an option.
Toxic behaviours usually come from a place of not feeling safe. Fight or flight kicks in, resulting in defensive, aggressive or stonewalling behaviours.
So leaders, it’s on you to lead from the front and create environments where people feel safe to be their most creative. That they belong, they matter, and their lives outside of work matter. That rest and renewal is important. And that they have the power at all levels to hold people accountable for toxic behaviours.
A socially healthy environment enables people to flourish and thrive. And your business too.
