'Cruella' at work: how to eradicate toxic managers from your business

Disney's newest movie, Cruella, tells the story of Cruella de Vil, the puppy-stealing psychopath who uses the animals' fur for her over-the-top sartorial splendor. She's deranged and unapologetically wicked, the villain you love to hate—she's Cruella!

As a child, I was terrified of the evil Cruella but enjoyed watching her get her comeuppance by 101 Dalmatians' satisfying end. As I got older, however, I learned first-hand that working for a Cruella-type manager wasn't child's play and could take a terrible toll on workplace morale, retention, and productivity. As an HR professional, it's up to you to help rid your business of the Cruellas in your ranks, and I'm here to tell you how to do it.

Step one: Identify toxic behavior

First things first: Before taking action, you must identify the toxic managers in your workplace. Luckily, like the black-and-white spotted Cruella with her clown-like makeup and bicolored hair, toxic people don't usually fly under the radar and are easy to spot.

Examples of toxic performers include managers who rule through fear, micromanage, refuse to consider others' ideas (or take credit for them), never apologize, lack empathy when an employee is struggling at work or has a personal issue, belittle others, and gossip about workers behind their backs.