Bernadette Boas identifies five toxic workplace behaviors: self-centeredness, information hoarding, emotional outbursts, blame-shifting, and what she calls the "corporate bitch" pattern. She argues each stems from insecurity and requires direct feedback and 360-degree assessments to fix.
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If there was one thing that I walked away with very disgruntled about, I definitely felt that I deserved what happened. At the same time, I wasn't given the direct, honest, brutal feedback that would allow me to take a hard look at myself and make the changes that were needed. So let's avoid that, shall we? And use this list that I'm going to give you of the qualities and traits and behaviors of a toxic individual to start assessing yourself and then assessing others. And if there's any signs that are close to looking like toxicity in any way, shape, or form, then make a commitment to get it confronted and get it addressed as soon as possible. Your team will benefit from it. The business will benefit from it, and you will benefit from it. All right. In no particular order. To the f— So the first one would be self-centeredness. Sounds simple, right? Somebody who is extremely singularly focused on their own goals and objectives, on their own success, on their own achievement, on their own pursuit, and not concerned and not engaging and not bringing into the fold the people that are actually going to make them successful. And that's what people managers really need to understand is, yes, people are your number one asset. You need to do whatever you can to give them the tools and the support and the trust that is needed for them to maximize their potential. Because if they maximize their potential, you're gonna maximize your output. And in some instances, Even from clients that I've worked with over the years, I would even go to the extreme of saying narcissistic. So there could be a range, someone who's just simply self-centered all the way to someone who is narcissistic. And again, you start looking at those behaviors, looking at those impacts that they're having, and you definitely want to put a stop to it and make, make the changes necessary in order to prevent any damage or destruction as a result of it. So self-centeredness. The other one would be as a result of self-centeredness, they tend to keep everything close to the chest. They don't share, they don't include, they don't trust. And we'll talk about that in a minute to, to the point where they share the vision that they have, feeling as if, if they share it, someone else will take it and/or someone will even use it against them. Them. Um, so they don't necessarily have a vision defined, let alone sharing that vision. The third one would be those individuals that have emotional outbursts, and they could be to where they're just angry or curt or defensive or demeaning or destructive in any way, or they could be to where they're You know, actually, you know, lashing out like a little child and going on a rampage about something that they want, something they feel they deserve. I could share stories endlessly about my own behavior, and you can always reach out to me directly to hear those stories. But emotional outbursts are definitely something you want to be confronting immediately and getting them addressed. At the same time, I want to plug this in. At the same time, any of these traits and qualities have meaning behind them. There's a purpose for them. There's a reason that they are happening. That's what shedding the corporate bitch is all about. Bitches in our world are your fears, insecurities, doubts, and negativities that cause someone to lash out or to behave in a certain way that is often more destructive than it is positive. And finding those things so you can shed them And, you know, kind of shift into more of a powerhouse rich mindset than a fearful mindset. So when it comes to the emotional outburst, also, as if you have to address them, try to kind of get under the covers and figure out where are they coming from? Why are they happening? And it's not because of someone else. It's not, you know, all of a sudden they're blaming. And that's the next one that I wanna talk about is They're shifting blame to others. Forget about just the fact that something wasn't done on time or something, you know, bad happened or something failed in the, in the work. If you find someone who can never take accountability for their own behavior, for their own actions, for their own words, that is a huge red flag that you have a toxic individual that you absolutely need to get support for. You know, have them make adjustments and shifts. Now the next one is again, in itself can be misleading as toxic. Yet if it's compounded with these others traits and qualities, then you're definitely moving closer and closer into a toxic individual. At the same time, it is a misunderstood and mislabeled trait and quality of someone very often in the work that I do as an executive leadership coach and trainer, to the point where in the coming weeks, and you know, we're gonna have a whole episode solely focused on it. So be sure to subscribe or follow the podcast wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube. Make sure that you really understand the scenarios, the examples, the illustrations. The experiences people are having with you. That'll hone in and make you much more aware of what exactly it is that they're trying to convey to you than just taking statements from someone about behavior that's not acceptable. All right? So seek out those observations, those, that feedback, those facts, those insights, illustrations, examples, and scenarios. And then request that you have a 360 assessment or some other assessment to be done. A 360 assessment would allow your employees, peers, and managers, and other, you know, third-party individuals that have great influence on, you know, the work that you do and vice versa, and seek their feedback and their observations and their examples. Of your leadership and your performance and your behavior and your actions and your words. Don't be afraid of feedback.
