Episode: 793

Episode Title: Holding Toxic Leaders Accountable  

How do you hold a leader accountable when they display toxic behavior? Let’s talk about this sticky issue, next on The Perna Syndicate.

Ep 793 show:

You’re now in The Perna Syndicate—welcome! Yesterday we talked about some of the ways that leaders can contribute to a toxic work culture. Hopefully your managers don’t resemble anything from that episode, but…what if they do? How do you deal with toxic leadership in your place of employment? 

Depending on the situation, and the company structure or reporting mechanisms that are in place, employees can take several steps in holding their managers accountable. 

It starts with educating yourself on your rights and the company’s policies regarding workplace behavior. Oftentimes there are good policies in place, but they’re just not being enforced. 

Experts advise employees to keep a record of specific instances where toxic behaviors are observed. Then, arrange a private meeting with the next manager in the line of command to discuss your concerns. If the manager happens to be unresponsive, it’s probably time to escalate the issue to HR or a higher-level manager.

If your organization has anonymous reporting channels, you should utilize them in order to maintain confidentiality. The bottom line is that you need to make your concerns known, in one way or another. 

Toxic behaviors don’t disappear on their own, but will only get worse if left unchecked. You owe it to yourself and the rest of the team to say something. 

Thanks for joining me today. Tomorrow: What if you’re realizing YOU are actually contributing to a toxic work culture? We’ll talk about it next time on The Perna Syndicate. See you then!