Toxic bosses, range, and how to learn faster

Teams: Toxic Managers

Like many people, I have been unlucky enough to suffer from a toxic manager. The feeling of anxiety whenever I would see their name on my screen, the dread in my chest that would start a week out from an upcoming one on one. Trying to remain professional as they spent those one on ones criticising you without offering any guidance, or bad mouthing your colleagues behind their backs. Quitting without another job lined up was one of the best decisions I ever made in my career. Below is some advice for those dealing with toxic managers.

What Research Tells Us About the Impact of Toxic Managers

Research consistently shows that toxic managers have profoundly negative effects on both individuals and teams. Studies like the one conducted by Housman and Minor (2015) reveal that toxic employees and managers can significantly degrade organisational performance, leading to increased turnover, lower employee morale, and substantial legal and regulatory costs. Toxic leadership is often characterised by "Dark Triad" behaviours (narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) that contribute to a hostile work environment. Additionally, a study by Koropets et al. highlights that exposure to toxic management leads to heightened levels of stress, emotional exhaustion, and burnout among employees. The ripple effect of a toxic manager can also reduce team cohesion, stifle innovation, and diminish overall productivity.

Practical Advice Dealing with a Toxic Manager

Dealing with a toxic manager takes a strategic approach to protect your wellbeing and maintain professionalism. Document instances carefully, noting dates, times, and specific actions. This record matters if the situation escalates or formal complaints become necessary. Set clear boundaries to protect your personal space and time, especially if the manager invades your off-hours. Seek support from HR or a trusted mentor inside the organisation. Prioritise self-care to manage stress and prevent burnout. Regular physical activity, social connection outside work, and, where useful, professional counselling all help. Address the toxic behaviour, but your health comes first.

Talent: Competence shifts with context

We continue our deep-dive series on the five interrelated developmental principles outlined in Immordino-Yang et al.'s recent paper, this week starting from their notion that what someone can do moves with the situation, not only with what's stored in their head.

The principle of developmental range makes clear that knowledge is not something stably stored in one's head for later retrieval… Be it an academic skill like solving quadratic equations, or a social skill like calming a distraught toddler, what one can understand and accomplish in any given moment is a dynamic function of the relation between the knower's past experience, which has also shaped their development, and the current context, including its social, cognitive, physical, cultural and affective aspects (Dixon-Román, 2017).

Immordino-Yang et al.

What the quoted principle is claiming

The authors summarise a principle common in developmental science: human development and learning are dynamic and context-dependent rather than linear or unidirectional. Individuals know and can do things in context, which changes internally within the embodied individual and externally within the sociocultural space. Meaningful knowing or doing is closer to organising a disposition to act or think than to retrieving a stable file from memory. Knowledge and skills show up as adaptations inside specific situations.

An example outside the office

Children from street vendor families in Kolkata and New Delhi show this pattern clearly. They often display advanced applied maths skills at work, calculating prices, giving change, and managing transactions, yet struggle with formal maths tasks in the classroom. The classroom doesn't draw on the practical knowledge they've built through their work. The gap between street maths and textbook maths is mostly situational, not IQ.

Application in Organisational Learning

In organisational learning, that points to flexible environments rather than one corridor for everyone. Corporate training programmes should move away from one-size-fits-all approaches and instead offer multiple entry points and pathways that reflect how differently the same person can show up in different rooms. An employee might excel at problem-solving beside peers and stall when asked to perform the same task alone at a desk. Design that ignores context will misread capability.

Productivity: Learning Productivity

What is Learning Productivity

When people think of improving productivity, usually their first thought is to focus on work tasks. However an often overlooked aspect of productivity is learning productivity: decreasing the time it takes to learn and increasing how much you are able to retain. Effective learning productivity can lead to faster skill acquisition, better job performance, and a more adaptive approach to new challenges.

The Science Behind It

The science of learning productivity rests on neuroplasticity: the brain's ability to adapt and change in response to new experiences. Making and correcting errors during the learning process is essential for neuroplasticity. When we make mistakes, our brain releases neurotransmitters like dopamine, which indicates learning is underway and helps consolidate new information. For example, repeatedly failing and then succeeding in tasks can lead to stronger neural connections, as seen in motor learning studies involving athletes and musicians.

Timing also matters. Our brains have natural rhythms, and aligning study with periods of high mental acuity improves learning efficiency. For most people, that means intense learning in the morning, when the brain is most alert, and less demanding tasks in the afternoon.

Some Practical Tips

To boost your learning productivity, start by setting clear, achievable goals for each study session. Break down complex topics into smaller, manageable sections and use active recall to reinforce your learning. Ensure your study environment is conducive to concentration. That means minimising distractions and possibly using tools like white noise or instrumental music to enhance focus.

Incorporate physical activity into your routine, as exercise has been shown to boost cognitive function and memory. For example, a study by the Department of Exercise Science at the University of Georgia found that even a 20-minute bout of exercise can facilitate information processing and memory functions. Engage in regular review sessions using spaced repetition to ensure long-term retention of information. This method, supported by cognitive science, involves spreading out learning over time rather than cramming, which has been shown to improve retention and understanding.

Finally, prioritise sleep and relaxation; the brain consolidates memories during sleep, making rest an essential component of effective learning. Dr. Matthew Walker, a sleep scientist, emphasises that sleep is a critical component of learning and memory consolidation. Inadequate sleep can impair your ability to learn new information by up to 40%.