We all make mistakes. We wouldn’t be human otherwise. But running a business isn’t just about profit and loss. Unwittingly we, as business leaders, sometimes make the mistake of creating a toxic business culture which can do as much damage as a cyberattack. Disgruntled staff can lead to your reputation suffering. It isn’t easy to get new recruits when rumours suggest the company is not a happy place to work. Recruitment is expensive. It is much better to keep the staff you have got. Just as a pilot does pre-flight checks, mid-flight checks and pre-landing checks, as a business leader, you should too.

1. Detox Your Business Culture!
5 Ways That CEOs Can
Lead the Way
Take a Moment to Check Out
Whether Your Business Has a Toxic
Work Culture and Follow 5 Simple
Steps to Put Things Right
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2. vistage.co.uk
What Does A Toxic
Business Culture Look Like?

3. A new employee
can often sense toxic
business behaviour
from day one.
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4. Their new
colleagues
may be
standoffish
or reluctant
to show them
the ropes.
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5. Staff go along to team
meetings but find
themselves being
quietly ridiculed or
marginalised.
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6. Managers are quick to
show staff solutions
but slow to share
their thinking process.
They may be too busy
or unwilling to take
time to explain.
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7. It becomes obvious that employees are keeping
their heads down to avoid the office politics. They
feel under pressure to take sides.
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8. Staff are asked to do
jobs outside of their
field of expertise. They
struggle but dare not
ask for help.
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9. vistage.co.uk
5 Ways to Detox Your Business
Culture, If You Need To

10. 1. Strong leaders take on board what
their staff are telling them. Their view
may be counter to yours but they are
doing the job on a day-to-day basis.
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11. vistage.co.uk
“Don’t believe your
own brilliance.”
Arne Sorenson, Chief Executive Officer, Marriott Hotels.

12. 2. As the CEO you are
used to coming up
with a solution very
quickly. Be explicit
when talking through
your thinking processes
with staff.
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13. 3. Look at your own
values. Do they
align with those of
the company? Make
sure your business
philosophy is about
action and not just
words if you want
staff to believe in you.
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14. 4. Allow people to excel. Trying to get
everyone to be all things to all people
will simply water down their skills.
Respect your employees. Acknowledge
their contributions.
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15. 5. Short-term highly visible victories
will help win support for change.
These offer a sense of accomplishment.
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16. Takeaways:
Introduce a
method of finding
out what your
staff really think.
Ensure your
values as a CEO
align with those
of the company.
Give staff highly
visible short-terms
wins to show
change works.
Listen and act on
staff ideas.
Show you respect
the skills of your
employees.
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17. Find Out How to Build a Healthy
Business Culture. Download:
The Business Leader’s Library.
Vol 2: Business Culture
DOWNLOAD NOW!
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