This is a cautionary tale — a true story about one of America’s largest companies and best-known brands. We’ll call it Company X.

Despite its apparent success to the outside world, Company X keeps losing talented executives. They pay their people well, and offer the same perks as other progressive, talent-focused companies, yet they can’t keep their best and brightest from dashing for the exits.

The reason, quite simply, is culture. Company X has allowed an opaque, passive-aggressive environment to take hold in their workplace. As a result, many high performers feel confused about where they stand, leaving them de-motivated and ultimately disengaged.

How Companies Fail Their Employees

Take, for example, the story of a man I’ll call Bob. Not that long ago, Bob was a rising star at Company X. The company asked him to take a foreign assignment, and promised he would be promoted when he got back. So Bob packed his bags and headed overseas.

When Bob returned to the US, Company X was actively searching for a new head for his department. Despite their agreement with Bob, they never interviewed him for the position—or even mentioned it to him. None of his bosses gave him feedback about why he wasn’t being considered; and Bob never asked for it. In keeping with the company’s passive aggressive culture, he quietly let his resentment and frustration build.

Company X eventually hired someone from outside the organization to take the position. Not surprisingly, Bob’s resentment affected his relationship with his new boss, and his performance quickly deteriorated. The rising star had become a liability.

Even worse, Bob’s lack of engagement began to affect the way he managed his own direct reports. Company X had recently hired Betty, a sought after junior executive. They planned to groom Betty for a leadership position, but working under Bob, she quickly became frustrated and de-motivated.

The Cost of a Toxic Work Culture

You can probably see where this story is going. Company X eventually lost both Bob and Betty — two talented employees who could have made a real impact but were instead driven from the organization as a direct result of bad decisions from the top.

Of course, Bob played a role in his own demise. He could have “managed up”— and confronted his superiors about their broken promises and his subsequent standing at the company. But in keeping with the dysfunctional culture, Bob felt powerless to change course, and eventually derailed his once-promising career.

As for Betty, Company X never even inquired why a prospect they had actively courted would suddenly depart. Before she left, Betty asked the executive who brought her in how he could let this happen. The executive was baffled by her question. He couldn’t even fathom that the actions and behavior of the organization had played a role in the outcome.

Indeed, it is the leadership team at Company X that ultimately bears responsibility for what happened. The events may have occurred lower down on the corporate ladder, but they were reflective of the culture they communicated from the top.

Lessons For Ensuring You Get It Right

So what can we learn from the sad tale of Bob and Betty?

1.    Take control of your own career. If you aren’t getting feedback, seek it out.

2.   Culture starts at the top. Senior leaders need to manage the culture of the workplace, not just the employees. And one bad hire at a high level can have an enormously damaging effect on the culture of a company.

3.   Culture is not just touchy feely. It can have an enormous impact on the productivity, and ultimately the financial results, of an organization.