Professional Paraplanner is running another of our popular Team Leader full-day seminars on Thursday 13 November in London. Join fellow Team Leaders as we discuss building a productive team, why team culture matters and how to develop it, communicating like a leader and more, as well as networking and hearing from your peers’ experiences in our peer-to-peer sessions. You can register HERE.
One of the issues that team leaders can face is inheriting a negative team culture? We look at some actionable strategies to help turn things around?
Taking on a new team as a leader is both an exciting and challenging opportunity. But when that team has developed a reputation for negativity, complaining, and resistance to change, the challenge becomes far more complex. A negative culture can quietly sabotage productivity, morale, and innovation. It can stem from long-standing frustrations, lack of trust in leadership, poor communication, or simply ingrained habits that haven’t been tackled.
So how does a team leader begin to shift such a culture into one that is positive, forward-thinking, and driven by solutions?
What lies beneath?
Before attempting to change anything, it’s essential to understand what you’re walking into. A negative culture doesn’t appear overnight — it’s often the result of:
• Lack of recognition or appreciation
• Poor leadership in the past
• Unclear expectations and goals
• Communication breakdowns
• Lack of accountability
• Change fatigue or organisational instability
Team members in such environments may be used to voicing dissatisfaction, pointing out problems without offering solutions, or simply resisting any new idea by default. These behaviours can become normalised, feeding off each other and creating a toxic loop.
Negativity can spread quickly. Even highly capable individuals can lose motivation in an environment where complaining is the norm. It diminishes innovation, erodes trust, and reduces collaboration. Over time, high performers may leave, while others disengage and adopt the prevailing negative tone, further embedding the problem.
Strategies that can help shift the culture
Transforming a negative team culture doesn’t happen overnight. It requires consistency, empathy, and clear direction. Here are some key steps a team leader can take:
• Listening
Before introducing change, take time to understand your team’s perspective. Holding one-on-one or small group sessions can be useful to find out what’ the team feels is working, what’s not, and what change they would lie to see?
This can provide useful insight into the issues, both obvious and underlying. It can also help build trust, demonstrate that you value team members’ input.
• Setting clear expectations and standards
Clearly defining what behaviours are acceptable and what aren’t, lets people know the boundaries. You can build a culture of accountability by setting expectations for the team. These can include encouraging solutions-focused discussions; discouraging gossip, blame, or excessive complaining; and setting the tone by modelling professionalism, positivity, and fairness.
When people know the ground rules, it’s easier to challenge toxic behaviours without seeming personal.
And celebrate the small wins. Big cultural shifts start with small, visible changes. Celebrate progress — no matter how minor. This might include completing a project milestone, or receiving positive client feedback, or a team member going the extra mile.
By recognising progress in this way, you can help gradually shift the focus from what’s going wrong to what’s going right, while reinforcing a more positive attitude amongst the team.
• Involve the team
Leading a team doesn’t mean you have all the answers and giving the team the opportunity to help resolve issues can be a great way to help shift culture also. When issues are raised, respond with “Thanks for bringing that up — what do you think we could do about it?”
This not only encourages ownership, it nudges people into solution mode and away from a passive always negative attitude.
There will be resistance, especially from those who are comfortable in the old culture. Dealing with this can be hard at first but strategies include:
- Calling out persistent negativity constructively
- Addressing toxic behaviours early and fairly
- Staying consistent in applying new standards.
Change may be uncomfortable, but a leader who is clear, fair, and firm sends a powerful message that the culture is shifting, and it’s not optional.
Negativity often thrives in a vacuum of information. Share your goals, decision-making processes, and challenges openly. Transparency builds trust, reduces cynicism, and makes people feel part of something bigger.
And as the team evolves, reinforce the new culture through recruitment and promotion. Look for attitudes, not just skills. Reward those who embody a positive, can-do mindset, and make it clear that cultural fit is as important as technical performance.
Transforming a team with a negative culture is hard work and it takes time but it can be done.
Remember also, you are not alone. Talking to your management about how you are effecting change and getting their buy-in or finding a mentor to talk through strategies can be great help.
A leader who leads by example, listens with empathy, and sets high standards for behaviour can spark the kind of culture shift that re-energises not just performance, but people. And when that shift takes hold, the results can be truly transformative.
Main image: pushkar-kumar-S1vCpo4Furg-unsplash
