Hello, my name is Cathy and I've been an #enabler. As I debrief after 13+ years at a company, I realize how often I have worked in #toxic_environments. That is not to say that they all didn't have great teams, good moments, good beginnings and good intentions, but a post-mortem doesn't lie.
I've been reading Forbes and other resources on toxic cultures, how to know if you're working in one (because you are the proverbial frog in boiling water), and even a few on how leaders can fix it. Twelve ways to know, ten unmistakable signs, and a few suggestions on how to survive them, but most advice is just to find another job. Or church. Or community.
But what can you do if you aren't the leader? Or what if you're just one of the leaders, not THE leader? What if you can really only influence your own team?
The answer: Build your own #microculture.
In this excellent article from Harvard Business Review, entitled "Keep Your Company's Toxic Culture From Infecting Your Team", I found the best resources on what a leader (but not THE leader) can do to build a healthy, resonant micro-culture.
Here's my summary and additions I've gathered over my own tenure(s) in more or less toxic cultures:
Recognize it for what it is
Recognize the pressures it puts on you to conform, compete, and overwork
Establish personal boundaries to reduce conformity, competition and overwork
Establish rules with your own team to reduce the above
Invest in the individuals on the team (including yourself)
Follow your own rules
Here's what the article's author, Annie McKee, says:
"Take deliberate steps to articulate shared values as well as shared rules of engagement to guide everyone’s behavior. Codify this, if you like, in a team code of conduct. Remember, though, that as you begin to live your new culture, things won’t change overnight. Old habits die hard, and the pressure of your broader company culture is still very real. So, while you hold yourselves accountable for building your resonant microculture, you’ll also need to be patient, supportive, and ready to forgive yourself and others."
It all boils down to knowing the people on your team, what's important to them at work, what they want and need. Know their strengths and weaknesses. Build their strengths and extend grace (and support/training/personnel/technology) for the weaknesses. #Be_kind. #Celebrate_often. #Launch_individuals.
#Grace builds a team. Regardless.