Often all you have to do is walk around. Out of your office, employees may seek you out to point out their toxic boss. If this doesn't happen it may be due to the fear that the toxic boss generates in the organization. Then you have to get the information in other ways.
Talk with clients, or even former clients, of your company. Listen to the side comments they make as they answer your direct questions about something else. Ask them about the managerial strengths of the organization and be sensitive to what or who they leave out.
One of the biggest costs of a toxic boss is in personnel issues. Often these costs are collected into overhead accounts rather than charged to operating units. Even if your company's annual turnover rate is within norms for its industry, look into the numbers.
Does one group have more people quitting (or retiring) than the others? Have there been instances where several individuals from the same unit have left the company in a short period of time? Does one department have higher overtime costs than the others. Have the employees in a particular section been using up all their vacation and more of their sick days than the average?
Talk with clients, or even former clients, of your company. Listen to the side comments they make as they answer your direct questions about something else. Ask them about the managerial strengths of the organization and be sensitive to what or who they leave out.
One of the biggest costs of a toxic boss is in personnel issues. Often these costs are collected into overhead accounts rather than charged to operating units. Even if your company's annual turnover rate is within norms for its industry, look into the numbers.
Does one group have more people quitting (or retiring) than the others? Have there been instances where several individuals from the same unit have left the company in a short period of time? Does one department have higher overtime costs than the others. Have the employees in a particular section been using up all their vacation and more of their sick days than the average?