Turning Around a Toxic Team: How New and Middle Managers Rebuild Trust and Reset Culture
Few challenges test a manager more than inheriting or leading a toxic team.
Gossip. Blame. Silos. Passive aggression.
Or worse — a team that has accepted dysfunction as normal.
But here’s what every new manager, middle manager, and emerging leader needs to know:
Toxic teams don’t become toxic overnight.
And they don’t turn around overnight either.
Teams become toxic when trust breaks down — slowly, quietly, and usually over long periods of inconsistency, unclear expectations, or poor leadership habits.
That’s why rebuilding a toxic team always starts in the same place:
trust.
Before you fix process, performance, or systems, you fix trust first.
If you missed our earlier post on this, revisit: 👉 Building Trust Through Consistency because consistency is the first step toward healing any dysfunctional culture.
Here’s how strong managers turn toxic teams around:
1. Reset expectations with clarity and courage
Don’t assume people know what “good” looks like. Toxic teams often operate in the gray. Great managers paint the picture in full color.
2. Model the behavior you want to see — relentlessly
If you want honesty, be honest.
If you want accountability, be accountable.
If you want calm, be calm.
Teams watch leaders before they listen to them.
3. Have the hard conversations quickly
Every toxic team has one or two behavior drivers.
Addressing them early shows the rest of the team that things truly are changing.
4. Celebrate micro-wins
Culture rebuilds in inches — not miles.
Reinforce every sign of progress.
5. Give people a path to re-enter the culture
Some employees behave poorly because no one ever showed them a better way.
And here’s a truth many new managers don’t hear enough:
Most toxic teams don’t need a hero — they need a leader who is steady, fair, and consistent.
That’s what Boundless helps managers become.
For managers building stronger teams:
https://members.boundlessnewleaders.com/
For executives wanting better managers and healthier teams:
https://pages.boundlessnewleaders.com/information_request