| Although I’ve never been labeled as “toxic”, I’ve been a development manager that had to help coach “toxic” individuals and have worked with numerous toxic team members throughout my career. Here are some things to keep in mind: 1) It is really hard to go from toxic to non-toxic within the same organization. Once your peers and management have formed that impression of you, it is difficult to get rid of it. 2) Engineers typically undervalue the importance of communication skills and interpersonal relations. You need to cultivate these skills probably more than you realize and they will become even more important as you advance in your career. The way to cut through road blocks and bureaucracy in the real world is through relationships. Ever notice how some people can just make a few calls to resolve issues? 3) The “golden rule” is just as important as it was in elementary school. Keep the tone professional at all times – especially over the phone or when emailing or texting. If you have problems with this, try to talking to your coworkers in person. 4) You probably need to better understand the business side better. Your employer wants to get the best return on their investment. Sometimes that means that it is better for you to develop the Pinto instead of a Cadillac. Developers have a really hard time with this because we always want to do things the “right way”. 5) Instead of complaining about the incompetence of your management, try explaining the limitations of their decisions and offer some alternatives. Once a decision is made, however, drop it and just do your job. Good luck. I recently saw this: https://hbr.org/2015/12/its-better-to-avoid-a-toxic-employee.... Getting labeled toxic is definitely something that you want to avoid. |
..."otherwise skilled employees who ended up doing real damage — employees who had been fired for egregious company policy violations, such as sexual harassment, workplace violence, or fraud"...