Training for toxic workplaces: It’s all in the delivery

We’ve all heard the phrase “toxic culture” or “toxic workplace.” Maybe you’ve even worked in one, but chances are you don’t anymore.

Toxic cultures come in many shapes and forms, but they share one common feature: they drive employees away. And that’s both a financial cost (one estimate places the cost of replacing an employee at 33% of salary) and a productivity cost. Even with a fabulous new hire the day after someone leaves, they cannot contribute immediately at the same rate or in the same way.

Listicles abound on how to identify a toxic culture, as do tips and studies. While any culture comprises multiple elements, one key factor plays a consistent role in creating and perpetuating a toxic culture. And that factor doesn’t always make the headlines of those lists and tips.

The factor? Managers, or more specifically, their skills and abilities to manage others.

When good intentions lead to bad results

Managers can perpetuate a bad culture simply by not being equipped for their roles. When you look into toxic culture elements like a lack of respect, that lack may be less about an active intent to be disrespectful, and more about a lack of skills, training, and a system to reinforce the values of respect in the workplace.

Here are three common causes of toxicity that exemplify good intentions gone bad. Meaning, these steps are usually done to improve culture, but they can actually do the opposite.

1. Promotions as a reward
2. Perks to soothe stress
3. Intensive training to jumpstart new managers

Who does a promotion reward?

We’ve all experienced it. A person with strong technical or operational skills gets promoted. But chances are low that their technical skills seamlessly translate to the next level of leading others. Maybe they’re better at execution than strategy. Maybe they excel at doing but struggle to listen. Promoting someone to reward that one person may do far more harm than good, if that person isn’t equipped to lead.

Benefits don’t banish burnout

The term burnout is almost as popular as toxic workplace. The solution for many organizations is to offer fun benefits or perks. Free yoga! Bring your dog to work! Don’t even come into work! According to a McKinsey study, “decades of research suggest that interventions targeting only individuals are far less likely to have a sustainable impact on employee health than systemic solutions, including organizational-level interventions.”

Rather than only looking at the person suffering from stress, also look at their manager. Is the person being asked to do too much? Not supported? Isolated? Individual perks can’t alleviate the stress of a demanding boss, unrealistic expectations, or an understaffed team.

Good training = content + delivery

Yes, training works. In fact, it’s crucial for every employee to have the skills they need to do their job. Best practice recommends a mix of formal, social (informal) and on-the-job training, with emphasis on the latter. But somehow, training frequently turns into formal, time-intensive training classes.

New managers, or those who are struggling, need real-time support. The pace of work and change is too fast to take a manager offline for hours or days at a time. Another challenge with intensive training is retention. Research shows that 70% of learning is lost by the time you leave that awesome seminar and are ready to put it into practice.

How to deliver training better for better managers

All people leaders need training. It’s like health. You can’t say “I lifted weights today; I’m done with strength training!” You have to keep doing it. People skills are the same way: it’s a question of ramping up and then maintaining the learning while adapting to new situations along the way.

Three keys to better manager training

• Think small

Look for learning in bite-sized bundles, for example 10-minute micro-learnings. Not only do shorter trainings have a higher chance of actually being completed, but they have a higher level of retention.  Why?  Research shows our brains only effectively can retain about 20 minutes of new information.

• Applied versus abstract

Look for training that includes real-time action strategies. Best practices are great, but understanding how a best practice actually translates to real-world situations will provide more value.  You need to balance the theory (the “why” behind an approach) with the opportunity to apply the theory. That’s especially important for concepts like Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) and unconscious bias, where you need to absorb the history and concepts, then apply them, and then go back to the material. A learning loop will be more helpful than a learning sequence.

• Think Community, not Group

A company may send a new cohort of managers to training at the same time, or you may do group exercises as part of a class. Group learning adds value, no question. Given we all learn at different paces, though, it’s unlikely everyone will come away from the same training with the same knowledge.

Read more: Are you fostering a toxic workplace without even knowing it?

You need training that provides community on your employees’ terms. Look for training tools that offer a cohort approach including live interaction, as well as a peer group for feedback.

Equipping managers leads to organizational lift

Unlike many investments that can be made into a business, developing managers has no downside.  Building better managers allows the entire organization to create and nurture high-performing teams, which improves retention and results. Supporting this internal shift to focus on manager training can reduce turnover and lead to increases in productivity (shown to be as high as 21%), profitability (a potential 22% boost), and customer satisfaction rates (a 10% lift).

Even without those impressive measurable results, it simply makes sense to equip managers with the skills they need — especially when those skills have a direct link to other employees’ success.

Heather Polivka is the owner and founder of Awesome People Leaders, a mobile manager training program of micro-lessons with practical application, supported by an experienced business leader.