CEO Chronicles # 28 : Top 4 Reasons For Toxic Teams June 3rd, 2020
Return Of The Gang Of Four
“In response to the question on why some teams are so toxic, may I tell you a story?” asked Faizal, as he settled back into the sofa with a dew-dotted glass in his hand.
Faizal’s words were in response to my describing my meeting with Karla and her descriptions of the toxic behaviours of her team. I had just posed the three questions Karla had asked me at the end of our meeting :
- One, why are some teams so toxic?
- Two, how can toxicity be removed from such teams?
- Three, what should Karla do in this situation?
“Of course, Faizal!” said Chow Yen, “I am a sucker for stories! Go for it!” He, too, held a glass with golden yellow liquid that sparkled in the mood lighting in the lounge.
“Me too!” said Anders, “I have often given this question thought, and would really like to hear your reasons for a team becoming or being toxic.” Anders held a plate of tuna sandwiches that he was demolishing rapidly.
(If you are new to the CEO Chronciles, a quick catch up : The Gang Of Four was the informal group of four friends – Anders, Chow Yen, Faizal and I – which met once every 5-6 weeks to catch up, and more importantly, to discuss issues and problems each of us was facing and to find approaches and solutions together. Today, we were in the bar lounge in St. Regis).
“Great,”said Faizal. “It was 2008 and I had just taken over as CEO of ABC Limited…”
A Team In Torment
ABC Limited was an established privately held Group headquartered in Singapore. It was established in 1985, and had steadily grown into a transnational company.
ABC Singapore, in addition to the corporate office, had two business units (BUs), one focusing on engineering products and the other delivering diverse maintenance and repair services.
After I settled down, (said Faizal) I noticed that the two teams were very different. They were each on a separate floor, below the corporate office. The product BU floor had a subdued air to it. The services BU, on the other hand, seemed full of laughter and light.
Financially, both BUs were performing similarly, with similar toplines and acceptable margins. However, on closer analysis, the product BU numbers seemed to have a gradual downward trend, and the services BU was clearly moving upwards.
Operationally, I noticed that the product BU had a high attrition rate. The BU had separated from 18 people in the last year, out of a total of 42.
My antennae tingled and I decided to learn more. I started with talking to my Group CFO, Sheetal.
The discussion was not comfortable. Sheetal hemmed and hawed and spoke in generic phrases, which was very unlike her normally frank approach.
I then spoke to our Group COO, Geoff. He, too, seemed to dance around the questions I asked, not committing to anything.
Harmony Before Honesty
I had had enough. I invited Sheetal and Geoff out for a drink that evening, and once we were settled, I looked at them seriously.
“Guys,” I said, “quit fooling around. I want you to tell me what is going on with the product BU. No hedging and feinting, please!”
Sheetal and Geoff looked at each other. They had been working together for the past 4 years, and knew each other well. Some kind of signal passed between the two, and Geoff leaned forward.
“Well, Faizal,” he started, “Morton was hired by your predecessor about two and a half years ago. I believe that both of them, ahh, hmm, share a nationality? And have been friends for some time. Do you get me?”
“Am beginning to,” I said, the light slowly dawning, “please go on.”
“Um, well,” Geoff was clearly uncomfortable, “so Morton was brought in as the General Manager of the product BU without much involvement by any of us. He was like, what you say, a special case?”
“Okay,” I said, “I get where you are going. And then?”
Sheetal took over. “Morton is, uh, different,” she said, “he comes from a different industry, and thinks and behaves differently…”
I sat up as straight as I could in the soft lounge settee.
“Sheetal, Geoff, much as I respect your reticence and sensitivity,” I said, firmly, “if we have a problem with one of our teams, I need to know it, and the sooner the better. If you keep throwing euphemisms at me, how am I expected to analyse the issues involved?
Finally, the floodgates opened. I listened and listened and took notes.
And I understood the problem.
Career Before Character
The next morning, I called the Chief HR Officer to my room.
“Anna,” I asked, “May I see the exit interviews for these ex-employees?” I gave her the list of the 18 people who had left Geoff’s team in the previous 12 months.
Anna glanced at the list. “Why do you need…?” she began, and then she recognised the names. “Oh…” She looked at me for a few moments, poised to say something. Then she rose to leave. “You will have it in an hour, Faizal,” she said.
I spent the afternoon reading 18 documents that confirmed the understanding that had dawned on me the previous evening.
The words, “self-involved”, ‘apathetic”, “selfish”, “untrustworthy”, “incapable” and “incompetent” were repeated too many times to have been missed.
My opinion of my predecessor dropped more than a bit.
The exit interview minutes described a leader who had no right to that title; a boss in name only, with little interest in anything other than self-interest; a manager who abdicated his duties; a teammate who had long forsaken his team; a professional who blamed his incompetence on his subordinates.
At about 5:00 PM, I asked Anna to see me again. She did, but her feet dragged as she walked into my room.
Cronyism Before Competence
“You know about this,” I said. It was not a question, really.
“Yes,” Anna answered. She couldn’t meet my eyes.
“You are the head of HR,” I said, trying to maintain a neutral tone. “It is your responsibility to…”
I stopped. Anna was working hard to control herself.
“I tried!” she said. “Every time, I shared the feedback with the CEO. Each time, I recommended that we needed to act on this! But…” she realised that she was raising her voice, and paused.
When Anna had recovered a little, she continued. “Every time, Faizal, every time I was told that the matter has been ‘noted’ and that appropriate counselling will be given. That I don’t need to worry. That I should leave it with the CEO.”
“And?” I asked gently.
“And nothing,” Anna said, frustrated. “Good people kept leaving, and we took no action. Other teams complained, and we took no action. It was almost as if Morton was being protected…”
“It’s not your fault, Anna,” I said, as comfortingly as I could. “You did your best.”
Anna looked at me, her expression a mix of sadness and disappointment.
“No, I did not do my best,” she said, “That is why I am feeling so terrible.”
Silos Before Synergy
Before I left that day, I called Sarang, the General Manager of the Services BU, and asked him to drop in for a chat.
I sped through the pleasantries.
“Sarang,” I said, “let me get to the point of this meeting. You have been in this company for more than 7 years. You are a smart, capable manager and leader. There is no question but that you know about the problems in the Product BU?”
“Yes, Faizal,” Sarang answered, without hesitation, “I know.”
“What did you do about it, if anything?”
“Me? Nothing,” said Sarang. “I don’t have anything to do with that BU.”
“I hear you, Sarang,” I said, “the question is why. You are part of this company’s senior management. If you have been seeing a dysfunctional team for nearly 4 years, you should have intervened.”
“Honestly, Faizal,” said Sarang, “I am focused on my BU. That is what I am paid for. My team is doing well, and I have achieved all my targets. I don’t see why I should interfere or intervene in another BU’s issues.”
“Oh,” I said, “fair enough. Have you heard of a poet named John Donne?”
Sarang’s brow creased. “No, sorry, never hear of him.”
“Thanks, Sarang,” I said, “Just check John Donne out on the internet, will you? He has written a wonderful poem on islands and continents…”
Causes & Symptoms of Toxic Teams :
Faizal leaned back, and took a deep gulp of his drink, and sat back, smiling at us.
Chow Yen sat forward. “Okay, Faizal, great story, but don’t keep us in suspense any longer! So, what are the main causes for some teams to be so toxic?”
Faizal grinned. “Oh, I thought you would have got that from the article’s sub-titles,” he remarked. “Let me sum it up for you. Teams are or become toxic if,
- One, an organization prefers to hide rather than confront. That is, instead of putting honesty before harmony, which is always the difficult path, they choose the other way around.
- Two, a leader prioritizes his career, rather than his character. Rather than do what is right, he does what is expedient, and in the process damages his team and the company as a whole.
- Three, decisions are taken based on personal likes and quid pro quos, rather than what is best for the organization. Too often, we see cronyism trump competence, only to see the team or company suffer thereafter.
- And four, silos form within the company, because of a lack of cohesion, losing all claim to synergy. This allows different cultures to flourish in different parts of the organization, which others ignore or are indifferent to, leading to a gradual fracturing of the entity.
“I am not saying these are the only causes or symptoms. But these are the big ones, I believe.”
*****
Anders lifted his glass. “Excellent Faizal, a well woven story! Thank you!
I raised my glass, too. “Great narrative, Faizal, you had us on the edges of our seats. One question before we disperse – what did you do next?”
Faizal cocked his eyebrow. “Isn’t that Karla’s next question, Shesh – ‘How can toxicity be removed from a team’? Shouldn’t that be addressed in the next article?
****
Faizal has shared four causes of toxic teams. There are many more causes – can you share any that you have come across? Either in your own company or a situation that you have encountered?
Please send them to me, either as a comment or as a PM. Let us work to find a solution to this unfortunately common problem.
Cheers | Shesh | Singapore | 02 June 2020.
Post Script :
- For other interesting CEO Chronicles click here.
- Follow me so that you don’t miss the next issue of CEO Chronicles.
#ceochronicles #careeradvice #careers #bestadvice #hiringandpromotion #personaldevelopment #success #leadership
