I get a lot of questions about how people can deal with toxicity in the workplace and trust me these cuts across private and public sector, small, medium and large corporates alike.
Before we are colleagues, bosses and subordinates in the workplace, we are Batswana, well known for our strong value of ‘Botho.’ When I graduated over 30 years ago, I was very excited and looking forward to going to work every day. I found brothers and sisters in the workplace who embraced me and created an enabling platform for me to learn from them, work and do good in some and mess up on others, learn from my mistakes and grow to be the person I am today. Today most people, both the old and the young, including fresh graduates, our own children, develop panic attacks when they think of going to work.
Toxicity doesn’t happen overnight; it’s built over time by allowing people to get away with unacceptable behaviors in the workplace. It may start with one person and overtime it comes part of the organizational culture, mind you they say, ‘culture eats vision for breakfast.’ Considering that the greatest mandate of leadership is to build a culture that ensures the long-term sustainability of the organization, we cannot divorce the leadership of such organizations from the toxicity of their work environment.
Culture is built through the energy that dominates the workplace. If people are energetic and they feel safe to contribute, challenge and air their views without any fear of victimization, that becomes the culture of the organization. The reverse is also true. There is a say that as human beings we cannot give what we don’t have.
Does this mean the current crop of leadership were socialized to believe that leadership is about bossing people around and making everyone shake when they see you? We surely need pause to think hard about this!
What happened to us as a nation? How did we get to where we are today?
Being as great as most leaders believe they are today, what is going to happen to the great organizations you are busy building if you cannot walk with your teams and empower them so that when the time for you to pass on the baton comes, they are ready?
Remember, your success as a leader is measured by your legacy, not by the number of people you fire, intimidate and eventually destroy.
Reflection time! As a leader today:
• Are the people you are leading becoming better by being around you or they are becoming bitter?
• Are these people working with you because they like your positive impact on them and who they are becoming in the process or is it because they don’t have any other options?
Bear in mind that people cannot perform at their best when they are forever unconsciously hiding or ducking the bullets that are fired all the time at work.
Let’s go back to our leadership crossroad and remind ourselves why we are leading in the first place!
Keep Learning to keep Leading!
Coach Lorato Mosetlhanyane
Your Personal Professional Certified Coach
For more information on how our programs can help you grow yourself, lead yourself and lead others more effectively, visit our website at www.pinnalead.com or send us an email at info@pinnalead.com or WhatsApp @ 267 75 806 975.
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