VENT

"It’s a direct route to our emotions, and therefore important to decision-making. It creates meaning out of patterns. It coheres communities. It engenders empathy across difference. It enables the possible to feel probable in ways our rational minds can’t comprehend." Ella Saltmarshe In her article, 'Using Story to change Systems' published in Stanford Social Innovation Review (2018) Ella Saltmarshe talks about collective storytelling as a tool for change. At VENT we aim to inspire change for healthier workplaces of the future. We collect and share stories that highlight the systemic issue of toxic leadership because most people led by dysfunctional leaders don't even recognize the behaviours as inappropriate or harmful. The only way to change that is by building solidarity and exposing the patterns and impact. The issue of toxic (dysfunctional) leadership is a worldwide, cross-industry, cross-generational and cross-gender problem. Its consequent negative impact on mental and physical health, destroys individual lives and drains societies' capacities to support people unable to work or live healthy, balanced lives. Toxic leadership is also very expensive for companies and organizations in terms of employee turnover, loss of know-how, lawsuits and harm to reputation. On an even larger scale, harmful leadership practices and self-serving decision-making of leaders are the decisive factor in failed attempts to implement sustainable solutions to social and environmental problems. To learn about toxic leadership and read real stories visit toxicleadershipvent.com

You find yourself in a toxic workplace. After considering your options, you realize that you can't just drop everything and leave. You know the health risks associated with sticking around but there is just too much depending on you keeping this job. 👉 So what can you do to avoid long-term damage to your well-being, self-esteem, relationships and future career prospects? While no one seeks out toxic leadership, reframing it as a growth opportunity can turn adversity into a stepping stone for personal development and career resilience. 💥 Here are 8 actionable tips to help you do that: 1. Clarify your values and leadership style 2. Strengthen emotional intelligence 3. Develop conflict management skills 4. Enhance problem-solving and adaptability 5. Cultivate appreciation for supportive leadership 6. Build strong advocacy skills 7. Foster self-reflection and personal growth 8. Develop empathy for others Experiencing toxic leadership, though challenging and often damaging, can lead to significant personal and professional growth. This is especially important when you don't have the option of leaving the unhealthy environment immediately. If you feel like your dysfunctional leader's aim is to shrink and disempower you - reframe your mindset and shine bright at your next job using all the skills you gain now facing this challenge!💪🧠 -------------------------------------------------------------- Learn about toxic leadership to protect yourself and others: https://lnkd.in/d_K3cMts

When strating a new job after experiencing psychological violence in your previous workplace, you may wonder whether you should disclose the trauma to your new boss. Talking about your history of toxic leadership can be helpful if it impacts your current work behavior in a way that might confuse your new superior and colleagues e.g. 👉 overreacting to minor feedback or setbacks 👉 being overly guarded or suspicious of others However, it’s not mandatory if you don’t feel safe or ready. Sharing sensitive information about yourself may cause additional damage if you expect understanding and support, yet the people you confided in end up using this knowledge against you. The key is to balance your need for transparency with your need for psychological safety. Below, you'll find actionable tips to help you consider: 1. If there is a need to share 2. If it is safe to share 3. How and how much to share 4. Alternative options 👇

Most of us don't have the luxury of never returning to employment after experiencing an abusive workplace. Toxic environments leave a scar by teaching our bodies responses that are meant to keep us sane, safe and alive. The longer we stay in a toxic workplace, the harder the road to recovering from daily state of existential threat. Over the past two years, we have conducted over 100 interviews with survivors of toxic leadership. A significant majority of them shared deeply seeded fear of stepping into another abusive workplace and having to deal with the same situations, the same kind of people. Those with multiple negative experiences were sabotaging themselves by not even looking for new opportunities, never applying, or talking themselves out of accepting offers. For most of us, there is a limit to how much we can avoid going back into employment. Not everyone is prepared to start their own business, not everyone can succeed if they did. And then we meet our new colleagues, superiors, subordinates, clients, patients, students. And it feels like our skin has been turned inside out. The slightest change in the tone of voice, the smallest break in communication, that one email that didn't read right, that side eye that looked too familiar. Everything turns immediately into a red flag and we're seriously contemplating a runner. - So how to manage the fear when starting a new job after having experienced a toxic workplace? - How to take care of ourselves without accidentaly self-sabotaging? Here are 8 practical tips to help you: 1. Acknowledge your feelings  2. Give yourself time  3. Set boundaries early  4. Document experiences  5. Engage trusted colleagues  6. Focus on what you can control  7. Trust your gut, but verify  8. Have an exit strategy It’s important to balance vigilance with openness. Your new workplace might surprise you in a positive way, but if it doesn’t, you’ve learned to spot the signs early and can make empowered decisions to protect yourself! -------------------------------------------------------------- To learn about the impact of toxic leadership, visist: https://lnkd.in/d_K3cMts

What happens when you turn for help and those trained and paid to have your back fail miserably? VENT brings you this Real Story of neglect in a time of need to illustrate how incompetence and ignorance enables abuse in the workplace multiplying its lasting negative impact. "I had my workplace failing me, but also my family doctor of over 20 years. She was just about to retire, and after 4 months of under-diagnosing me as having burnout, she said to me, "You just need to go back to work. People expect you to be better by now". She pushed for a Return to Work Plan and I felt she was leading me to my death. In fear and confusion, I could not challenge her or seek a second opinion. Who would believe me over an established medical professional? That doctor caused and enabled further bullying and further damages. Meanwhile, I felt like a failure at recovery." Link in the comments. --------------------------------------------------------------------- VENT is THE platform addressing experiences of toxic leadership through storytelling and research. We bring together multidisciplinary collaborators, survivors, and technology to reduce the impact of toxic leadership on individuals, communities, businesses, and the environment. Through educational campaigns, research, and powerful storytelling, we shed light on real experiences, offering insights to inspire change!

Being subjected to workplace abuse is a very isolating experience. Full of shame, confusion and pain, it has a significant negative impact on individuals, their families and whole communities. Over the passed two years we've been building cooperations with individual experts and organizations to give you as much access to information and support as possible; building solidarity and shedding the light on how common experiences of abuse of power in the workplace are. One of our most trusted partners, Heliana Ramirez, Ph.D., L.I.S.W. put all her passion and hard-earned professional and academic expertise in trauma recovery and neuroscience into creating the Hostile Workplace Recovery, LLC - an informational, community-building website providing online support for toxic job survivors. An anti-racist and LGBT-affirming recovery space by and for workplace abuse survivors where you can learn about workplace abuse, connect with people who understand workplace trauma, and access self-help resources to support your personal recovery journey. At VENT, we couldn't be more proud and happy to announce, that Hostile Workplace Recovery LLC is now one of our official collaborators. Find more information about how they can support you here: https://lnkd.in/dvcc4PtN

The power of a toxic leader lays in their ability to control the perception of reality of the people they lead. Does that make them toxic? No. A good leader also paints a reality and depends on their people believing in it. The problem is when the reality is based in fear: ◼ fear of failure ◼ fear of rejection ◼ fear of loss ◼ fear of not being good enough ◼ fear of having no voice ◼ fear of being a fraud ◼ fear of having no other option Toxic leader has all or some of these fears, which is why they know what buttons to press and how to manipulate the fear. The fear comes from how we were raised, how we were educated, how we were born. Some things we cannot change, some we can. 👉 The more fears you have, the easier for a toxic leader to manipulate your reality. What can you do about it? 👉 Identify what your fears are and do whatever is in your power to develop yourself emotionally, physically, psychologically, professionally. It doesn't matter how small the steps you take are, as long as you take them. Keep moving forward, developing yourself and reducing the fear. 👉 Toxic leader has only as much power over your well-being as you give them. And remember, with so many fears fuelling their harmful behaviour - they are more afraid of you than you are of them.

You don't address a toxic workplace by bringing in more giving, selfless and kind people. You address it by removing the self-serving, abusive ones. No matter their technical competence.

If you are dealing with an adult who throws tantrums, cannot take criticism, pretends to know what they are doing, cannot manage anger, admit making mistakes or share the spotlight with others - this person should not have authority over other people. Those who cannot deal with themselves, cannot lead. What can be done when there is no other way but to work under an immature boss who doesn't know how to manage their fears and emotions? 👉 Keep in mind that your efforts to improve the situations are unlikely to succeed. 👉 They are acting this way to feel better about themselves and they have no other tools than an average 10-year-old. 👉 It has very little to do with you and everything to do with their inability to deal with their own emotions and insecurities. If their behaviour is too much to bare and you recognize it having a negative impact on your well-being, consider looking for other opportunitues. If this is not an option, find someone you can talk to about it and find ways to reduce the negative impact on your mind and body. There more and more affordable resources available such as: BetterHelp, Headspace or Hostile Workplace Recovery, LLC. You can also visit our website - https://lnkd.in/d_K3cMts to find solidarity, ideas and tips from professionals and peers with similar experiences.

Let's talk about Gary 📌 Gary could be that “best colleague” who always has the right answer. Maybe he is the friendliest one who welcomed us with open arms when we first came to the organisation and explained all the secrets of the system to us. 📌 Gary is the one with a special status who knows exactly "who is who in the zoo" you are entering, who explains you: who you need to be wary of and who you can trust completely. 📌 Gary is also the one you eventually realize you can’t quite trust, because since you’ve become trusting of him, the dynamic around you has become extremely formalised. 📌 Gary is the one who is comfortable in his own skin, who sees the organisation as perfect because, after all, he is helping out and playing the role of permanent supervisor. 🫡 Management adores Gary because he’s their best colleague – you know, the one who always raises his hand first and supports something that perhaps too often looks like manipulation. 📌 Gary is also the one who works hard but has little to show for it. He never needs help and always offers it when it needs to be offered publicly. Over time, you realise that the team sees Gary like the air freshener in the car: At first the smell bothers you, then you get used to it and after a while you remove it, but it’s hard to throw it away. In reality, everyone likes Gary as long as he lets them do their job. And that begs the question: 🕯️ How would Gary behave if he received regular feedback instead of constant adjustment by the team? 🕯️ Why are Gary’s needs seen as a “tax” that the team has to pay just to have peace with management? There are many Garys in different teams, and they can point this out: 💡 A double standard – one for Gary and one for the people who actually work 💡 Hypocrisy among team members – the public secret is that Gary is unnecessary 💡 Gossip within the team – after all, Gary bothers everyone, but we tolerate him and do not tell him because he’s always been there. Gary can be the definition of a brilliant jerk, and Netflix has a great answer to that: they don’t tolerate brilliant jerks because the price of teamwork is too high. The video shows Gary coming to help with a project that he thinks needs his help.