8 steps to turning around a toxic IT culture
Despite
greater
emphasis
on
empathy
and
inclusivity,
toxic
behavior
is
still
an
issue
for
many
IT
organizations.
Despite
greater
emphasis
on
empathy
and
inclusivity,
toxic
behavior
is
still
an
issue
for
many
IT
organizations.
And
when
toxicity
takes
root,
friendliness,
kindness,
and
basic
civility
quickly
fall
by
the
wayside,
replaced
by
selfishness,
harassment,
and
even
outright
emotional
and
physical
abuse.
Identifying
and
neutralizing
an
emerging
toxic
IT
culture
before
it
can
begin
damaging
team
members,
projects,
and
overall
organization
performance
is
every
CIO’s
responsibility.
The
following
eight
steps
will
help
you
prevent
or
root
out
cultural
toxicity,
keeping
your
department
strong,
united,
and
efficient.
1.
Open
a
confidential
pathway
Create
a
communication
channel
that
allows
IT
team
members
to
direct
their
concerns
to
the
CIO
anonymously
and
outside
of
the
normal
hierarchical
reporting
chain.
In
a
healthy
enterprise
environment,
each
manager
is
committed
to
the
success
of
everyone
within
their
organization.
“Concerns
from
all
employees
are
communicated
upward
through
the
reporting
structure
to
the
appropriate
level
for
resolution,”
says
Andy
Sealock,
a
senior
partner
at
digital
at
business
advisory
firm
West
Monroe.
“In
a
toxic
IT
culture,
you
can’t
always
count
on
that
happening,
since
the
management
reporting
chain
might
be
part
of
the
problem
and,
therefore,
cannot
be
part
of
the
solution.”
Direct
anonymous
communication
informs
the
CIO
that
a
problem
might
exist.
Sealock
also
advises
conducting
regularly
scheduled
anonymous
team
surveys,
designed
to
reveal
a
budding
toxic
culture.
The
survey
should
include
questions
directly
related
to
organizational
culture,
including
morale,
personal
recognition,
compensation,
promotion
decisions,
management
leadership
quality,
and
an
employees’
likelihood
to
remain
with
the
organization.
Sealock
believes
that
such
a
survey
is
“a
great
way
to
identify
culture
issues
and
to
track
the
effectiveness
of
remediation
efforts
to
improve
culture.”
2.
Provide
effective
leadership
and
emphasize
team
goals
An
IT
leader
can’t
simply
create
a
positive
culture
with
the
wave
of
a
hand.
Culture
is
a
function
of
leadership
execution.
“Leading
by
example
is
the
way
to
start
a
turnaround,”
says
Fredrik
Hagstroem,
CTO
of
Emergn,
a
digital
business
services
firm.
A
clear
vision
guides
team
direction.
It’s
like
a
compass
that
reliably
points
everyone
in
the
correct
direction.
Even
when
things
are
complex
or
changing,
having
a
goal
helps
everyone
become
aligned,
Hagstroem
says.
“Good
leadership
that
drives
collaboration
and
trust
will
be
evident
in
frequent
use
of
collective
and
inclusive
pronouns,
such
as
‘we,’
‘us,’
and
‘ours’
—
meaning
everyone
in
the
company.”
Strong
leadership
ensures
that
vision,
strategy,
and
goals
aren’t
just
clearly
understood,
but
attractive
and
motivating.
“Leaders
must
demonstrate
that
collaboration
and
contributions
to
common
goals
are
more
important
than
individual
performance,”
Hagstroem
says.
He
advises
changing
professional
relationships
from
urging
team
members
to
reach
personal
objectives
and
responsibilities
to
achieving
team
goals.
“Evaluating
individuals’
performance
in
terms
of
impact
to
team
goals
is
also
an
important
pivot
point,”
he
adds.
Most
important
of
all
is
removing
the
fear
of
failure,
Hagstroem
says.
“Each
IT
professional
should
have
the
ability
to
share
their
forward-thinking
ideas
with
little
risk
of
being
made
to
feel
inferior
or
wrong.”
3.
Encourage
friendly
competition
While
unhealthy
competition
often
leads
to
a
toxic
IT
culture,
healthy
competition
can
be
a
positive
motivating
force.
“Encourage
your
team
members
to
compete
against
each
other
in
a
healthy
way
by
setting
goals
and
providing
rewards
for
meeting
those
goals,”
suggests
Boris
Jabes,
CEO
of
data
integration
platform
provider
Census.
Like
all
successful
IT
leaders,
Jabes
believes
that
it’s
essential
to
foster
a
positive
IT
department
environment.
“This
means
creating
an
atmosphere
where
employees
feel
valued
and
appreciated,”
he
says.
“You
can
do
this
by
recognizing
and
rewarding
employees
for
their
good
work,
encouraging
open
communication,
and
providing
opportunities
for
professional
development.”
Satisfaction
and
productivity
are
powerful
toxic
environment
antidotes,
Jabes
adds.
4.
Raise
awareness
It’s
impossible
to
eliminate
a
toxic
culture
without
first
acknowledging
its
existence.
“Start
talking
about
it,”
advises
Kimberley
Tyler-Smith,
a
former
McKinsey
&
Co.
analyst
who
is
now
a
strategist
at
career
tech
service
company
Resume
Worded.
“It’s
essential
that
everyone
knows
what’s
going
on
and
that
they
understand
how
everyone
else
feels
about
it
—
especially
if
one
group
of
employees
seems
to
be
more
affected
than
others
by
the
toxic
environment.”
Team
members
need
to
feel
safe
when
talking
about
what’s
happening
at
work.
“No
one
should
feel
like
they
can’t
tell
anyone
else
how
they’re
feeling
without
risking
their
careers
—
that
can
make
things
much
worse,”
Tyler-Smith
says.
5.
Encourage
openness
Champion
an
environment
in
which
team
members
feel
free
to
share
their
mistakes
with
the
understanding
that
they
will
be
supported
and
helped
to
do
better.
When
there’s
a
free
and
open
environment,
people
tend
to
feel
safe
and
respected,
says
Thomas
R.
Harris,
founder
of
The
Exceptional
Skills,
a
leadership
training
course
provider.
“They’re
able
to
focus
and
work
on
making
the
vision
happen
instead
of
worrying
about
someone
stabbing
them
in
the
back,
or
whether
they
will
be
supported
by
leadership.”
A
staff
that’s
united
and
reaching
toward
specific
goals
can
see
how
their
efforts
are
leading
to
success.
“It’s
no
longer
‘me
versus
you’
—
it
becomes
‘we’
working
together,”
Harris
says.
An
open
approach
is
generally
effective
because
culture
and
team
effectiveness
comes
from
the
top,
he
notes.
When
leaders
allow
a
toxic
environment
to
fester,
they
will
likely
lose
good
people,
Harris
warns.
The
organization
then
becomes
less
efficient
and
productive.
In
a
toxic
setting,
“people
aren’t
focused
on
the
enterprise
or
its
goals,
but
on
themselves,
protecting
themselves,
and
making
themselves
look
good,”
he
adds.
IT
culture
is
likely
to
turn
toxic
when
team
members
believe
that
it’s
the
best
way
to
exert
autonomy
or
authority.
“They
can
say
‘no’
and
feel
in
control,”
says
Aviv
Ben-Yosef,
head
of
Aviv
Ben-Yosef
Consulting
and
the
author
of
The
Tech
Executive
Operating
System.
An
effective
approach
to
collaboration
is
immersing
the
organization
with
a
teamwork
culture
in
which
all
team
members
view
their
colleagues
as
peers,
not
rivals.
“Everyone
wants
to
feel
that
what
they
do
means
something,”
Ben-Yosef
says.
“Give
them
a
better
way
to
achieve
that
goal
by
changing
the
culture
and
you
will
carve
a
new
path
of
least
resistance,
one
that
fosters
cooperation.”
7.
Build
trust
Building
an
open,
collaborative
environment
requires
a
leader
who
is
transparent
and
honest
with
team
members.
“Share
information
and
be
candid
about
the
challenges
your
team
is
facing,”
advises
Leon
Bierhals,
CTO
of
WREI.org,
an
organization
that
distributes
information
related
to
women’s
health,
well-being,
and
empowerment.
Observe
and
listen
to
team
members.
“Take
their
concerns
seriously
and
be
open
to
their
suggestions,”
Bierhals
suggests.
Also
reward
team
members
for
their
efforts,
both
large
and
small.
“Thank
them
for
their
contributions
and
give
them
recognition
when
they
do
a
good
job,”
he
suggests.
Bierhals
says
that
exhibiting
trust
shows
team
members
that
management
genuinely
cares
about
them
and,
in
the
event
a
business
or
personal
problem
arises,
is
willing
to
work
with
them
to
address
or
resolve
the
issue.
“It
also
demonstrates
that
you’re
willing
to
put
your
faith
in
them,”
he
says.
“It
sends
the
message
that
you’re
willing
to
work
together
to
achieve
common
goals.”
8.
Foster
unity
Give
team
members
the
ability
to
freely
communicate
and
innovate
with
each
other,
advises
Tim
Flower,
vice
president
of
Nexthink,
a
digital
employee
experience
platform
provider.
Use
the
customary
collaboration
tools,
such
as
Teams,
Slack,
and
Zoom,
then
combine
them
with
platform
analytics
to
meet
enterprise
needs
and
allow
multiple
teams
to
work
within
the
same
view
of
information.
Flower
suggests
uniting
teams
by
deploying
compelling
programs.
“Turn
the
lights
on
to
the
unknown
and
give
them
challenges
…
versus
just
sending
a
mandate
to
‘work
smarter.’”
He
also
recommends
supporting
collaboration
with
praise
and
encouragement.
“Call
out
business
results
that
would
not
have
been
achieved
had
it
not
been
for
the
collaborative
approach.”
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