Stop culture damage before it spreads. Learn how proactive leadership prevents toxic employees from driving your best people away.
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Episode 19 | Watch on YouTube
One person gives notice, and within a month, half your team walks out the door. Sound familiar? That cascade is a sign you were already operating with a toxic workforce — you just did not see it building. According to the Harvard Business Review, 47% of private practice owners admit to delaying action against toxic employees, most commonly out of fear of legal repercussions or disruption.
Brandon uses a powerful analogy: toxicity in a workforce is like Tabasco sauce poured into your water system. You will not taste it immediately. It spreads invisibly for months before anyone notices the contamination. By the time it is obvious, you have to flush the entire system. The moment you see two or three employees turn sour, act. Do not wait for it to spread.
How a candidate talks about their former employer is often a preview of how they will talk about you. Brandon's strategy: ask candidates directly what would have needed to happen for them to stay in their previous role. Listen for accountability and ownership versus blame and victimhood. When you hire for character, mindset, and maturity first, you build a natural resistance to toxic infiltration. Skill sets can be trained. Character is far harder to shift.
You cannot spot toxicity if the only feedback you receive comes through formal channels. Build an ecosystem where people feel safe sharing concerns directly, regularly, and without fear. Use pulse surveys and structured one-on-ones to keep your finger on the cultural temperature. SHRM's employee relations resources offer frameworks for creating the psychological safety that prevents toxic dynamics from taking root in the first place.
