Toxic Workplace!: Managing Toxic Personalities and Their Systems of Power

Part One: Understanding Toxic People and Toxic Environments 1

1. The Human and Financial Costs of Working with Toxic People: Toxic Behaviors are Just the Tip of the Iceberg 3

2. Recognizing the Toxic Personality: It Isn’t as Easy as You Think 21

3. Leader Reactions and Strategies That Typically Don’t Work: Why Identify Strategies That Don’t Work? 43

4. Organizational Culture: How Toxicity Spreads Like an Infection 67

Part Two: The Toxic Organization Change System Model 85

5. Organizational Strategies: Dealing with Toxicity at the Highest System Level 89

6. Team Strategies: Dealing with Toxicity at the Team Level 111

7. Individual Strategies: Dealing with Toxic People One-on-One 151

8. Myths and Truths About Toxicity—and Renewal from a Toxic Environment: How to Move Beyond Toxicity 181

Appendix A: Our Research Methodology 209

Appendix B: National Survey Responses on Toxic Behaviors 215

Notes 233

The Authors 237

Index 239