Engineers: Leave Toxic Teams for Success

Is it worth trying to improve things over time, or should you just walk away?

The difficult truth is that, in almost all cases, the answer is to leave a toxic team as soon as possible. Here’s why:

• If you’re earlier in your career, you frankly don’t have a lot of political power in the organization. Any arguments to change team culture or address systemic issues will likely fall on deaf ears. You will end up frustrated and your efforts will be in vain.
• If you are more experienced, you have some ability to improve processes and relationships within the team. However, if you are an Individual Contributor (IC), your capabilities remain limited. There are probably some “low-hanging fruits” of rapid improvements to suggest. A few thoughtful comments could resolve many of the issues. If you’ve done this and things still aren’t improving, it’s probably time to leave.
• If you are in senior management, you may have inherited the problem, or perhaps you were even brought in to solve it. This is the rare case where you can envision a change scenario and fix a broken culture: you have both the context and the power to make a difference.

The world of technology is vast and ever-expanding. Don’t waste your time on a bad team or with a bad manager. Find another team, another company, or start something on your own.

Engineers are often reluctant to leave a poor work environment because they are afraid or unsure of the process of finding something new. This is a valid concern. However, inertia shouldn’t be the reason you stay at work. The best careers are born from the excitement of actively choosing your work, without tolerating toxicity.

Finally, it is worth noting that even in a toxic team you will always meet intelligent and kind people. If you’re stuck on a bad team, look for people who match your wavelength. These relationships will allow you to find new opportunities when you inevitably decide to leave!

—Rahul

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