What do you see when you look in the mirror in the morning? As the leader of your organization does the image that you see reflect the legacy that you want to leave? Have you become complacent and unwilling to deal with the negativity in the workplace or even worse the bullying and harassment that is taking place? Do you even know that it is taking place or worse yet you have decided to ignore the signs that way it can’t be taking place in your organization?

Toxic workplaces do not happen overnight. They are fueled by a lack of leadership and leadership talent. People that are in leadership roles that emulate the command and control style of leadership typically are the catalyst for the birth and continued growth of a toxic work environment. In today’s work environment that style of leadership does not bode well with employees especially those of Generation “Y” era which is now becoming a norm for some of the other generations. Employees are becoming more in tune with what a healthy work place is and what it can mean to them as a valued contributor to the organization. Working in a healthy work environment provides the balance that we search so long and hard for in our lives. We all encounter stress at various levels and from various sources so having a healthy work environment is one less thing for us to be concerned about. Staying with one organization and one job is not the norm anymore. If you find yourself in a toxic – not so healthy work place chances are you are going to begin to look elsewhere and you will likely move when you find the organization and the environment that better suits your needs. It is always the good employees that move – because they can!

All of this can be mitigated by demonstrating that as a leader you do care about the well-being of your employees. It goes beyond a simple hello in the morning to actually developing a relationship with each of your employees. Getting to know one or two personal items about an employee sends a very clear message that you value who they are as a person and as a meaningful contributor to your organization. Demonstrating that in a genuine manner sends a very clear message. Effectively and consistently communicating that message is one of the desirable traits of a good leader.

Creating that work place of positive energy can be accomplished through the implementation of a mentoring program and/or a mentoring culture. Some of the attributes of a good leader are those of an effective mentor. Building trusted relationships and communicating effectively are key skills that a mentor and a leader share. Demonstrating humility and being genuine are characteristics that work well for a leader and an effective mentor. We can stop bullying and harassment. We can create a work place that is filled with positive energy. We can develop our leaders to have the desired skills moving forward. This can all be accomplished but we first need leaders in the organization to buy in to the journey and to demonstrate the correct behaviours. If they are not willing or do not have the skills to begin the journey then we won’t like the image that we see in the mirror in the morning. We will see images of people leaving our organization on a regular basis. Our legacy will be that of a revolving door where people came and went on a regular basis. Our legacy will be that of having created a toxic work environment where leadership was lacking and people were not valued.

When you look in the mirror tomorrow morning is that what you see? Are you ready to change that image – “can you afford not to”? It is your legacy!