Don’t Let the Storm Make You a Toxic Leader

The “toxic workplace” conversation isn’t going away. According to Gallup, 58% of employees who leave a job cite toxic culture and lack of trust in leadership as the top reason.

Leadership today operates in what I call the organizational troposphere—the layer where the real weather happens: daily operations, urgent problems, employee concerns, customer expectations, and organizational pressure.

That should be a wake-up call.

It’s chaotic. It’s demanding. And it’s where most leaders live every day.

But the leadership formula isn’t complicated.

Be approachable.

Be willing to listen.

Be responsive.

Lose even one of those qualities and your best intentions can get lost in the storm—and the workplace starts to feel toxic.

Last week I coached several layers of my leaders on how to be coaches, consistent, wanting your players (employees) to be successful. Coaches always want their players to win.

The best leaders, according to Gallup, act as coaches. They build trust, develop people, and drive results through engagement—not fear.

The question is simple: Do you have the courage to lead that way every day?

Jeff