Some time ago, I was brought into a mid-sized company in Port Harcourt to investigate why productivity was dipping despite what seemed like a high-performing team on paper.
The metrics looked good. The CVs were impressive. Even their monthly reports were filled with bullet points that screamed efficiency.
But when I walked into the office, the energy told a different story.
It was subtle, but obvious to a trained eye. People worked in silos. Meetings were filled with side glances. A few employees avoided eye contact altogether. And then I heard it—in the break room, by the hallway, during lunchtime—gossip.
Whispers about who was being favored. Speculation about who was getting fired. Mocking jokes about someone’s recent presentation.
And right there, the problem revealed itself: toxic behavior disguised as harmless office chatter.
The Culture Beneath the Surface
I sat down with the HR lead, and she said something that stayed with me:
"We don’t have any formal complaints, so we assumed everything was okay."
That’s the mistake many leaders make.
They look for toxicity in formal reports and exit interviews but toxicity rarely announces itself through official channels. It creeps in through sarcasm, passive aggression, exclusion, and the classic “let me tell you something, but don’t tell anyone else.”
And it doesn’t just affect morale; it kills trust, blocks collaboration, and creates a fear-based culture where even top talent underperforms.
The ‘Star’ Who Was the Storm
At another company I consulted for, there was a high-performing team member; let’s call her Ada. Ada hit all her targets, was always early, and led team presentations flawlessly.
But within months of her joining, three team members requested departmental transfers. One quietly resigned. Another broke down during a performance review and said, “I can’t focus. I feel constantly judged and cornered.”
The issue? Ada was the source of constant gossip, subtle bullying, and exclusionary cliques. She undermined team leads during meetings with “jokes,” and used WhatsApp to share screenshots of private conversations with sarcastic captions.
Leadership almost missed it, because she was getting results.
But at what cost?
Eventually, Ada’s toxicity eroded the team’s trust so badly that productivity dropped by 43% in six months. When she was finally let go, it took weeks of team rebuilding to regain morale.
Toxicity Is Not Always Loud—But It’s Always Costly
Most toxic behaviors in the workplace don’t come in screaming. They walk in with a smile, cloaked in small talk and side comments.
But they leave behind:
▪️Demotivated teams
▪️High turnover
▪️Silent disengagement
▪️And a culture where no one feels safe enough to speak up
How We Addressed It at Milash Brand Digital
In my own team, we once had an incident where two interns were constantly pitted against each other by a supervisor who thought “competition keeps people sharp.”
It didn’t.
It led to mental fatigue, distrust, and eventually, burnout.
We stepped in. Restructured the reporting lines. Re-trained the supervisor. And introduced a Culture Feedback Loop where every team member could share sentiments anonymously without fear.
We didn’t wait for gossip to become resignation letters. We listened. And we acted.
Here’s What Every Leader Needs to Do
Pay Attention to the Invisible Conversations
Toxicity thrives in blind spots. If you don’t know what’s being said when you leave the room, you don’t know your culture.
Stop Protecting Performance at the Expense of People
A top performer who creates fear is a liability, not an asset. Period.
Create Channels for Safe Expression
Whether it’s anonymous forms, one-on-ones, or digital sentiment tools; people need a way to be heard without being harmed.
Train Managers to Detect and Diffuse Toxicity
Most toxicity goes unchecked because middle managers don’t know how to handle it or fear confrontation. Equip them.
You Can’t Fix What You Don’t Acknowledge
Leadership isn’t just about getting results; it’s about building environments where people can thrive while delivering those results.
And sometimes, the most strategic decision you’ll make as a leader is choosing to confront what’s quietly destroying your culture.
Because it’s not the loudest voices that create impact; it’s the safest spaces that sustain it.
If your team feels off but you can’t put your finger on it, don’t ignore that instinct. Let’s do a culture audit together. It may be the clarity you’ve been missing.
Let's fix it now. Click here to get started
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