Having watched the recently released Disney movie Cruella I was struck by how toxic she is, which of course is central to the over-the-top fun of the movie.

However, Cruella-like behavior in the workplace is not fun. Toxic managers and management practices lower morale, increase turnover and damage your bottom line. So how do you recognize and oust the Cruellas before they can hurt your business?

Your first step is to identify the toxic managers in your business. Fortunately, like Cruella with her outlandish makeup and black-and-white hair, toxic people usually stand out.

Toxic behaviors to look out for in any business:

• Aggression, intimidation or bullying

• Micromanaging

• Narcissism and self-focus, not listening to others’ ideas

• Glory-seeking; taking credit for others’ work or ideas

• Rigidity; inflexible and unable to adapt to change

• Never apologizing

• Passivity; avoids taking action when problems arise, avoids rewarding or correcting employees

• Lacking empathy; mismanaging employees who are experiencing difficulties or personal issues

• Forms cliques, belittles employees or gossips about employees behind their backs

• Entitlement; others must automatically comply with their expectations, expects to be treated with favor at all times

Identifying toxic managers can be subjective. You can use a more objective mechanism by conducting 360 reviews on managers to see what their employees really feel about them. Once you have identified a toxic manager you need to document the situation, and discuss strategies with them for changing their management style to one that works within your organization; offer training if necessary. How you respond will ultimately depend on the type of behavior you’re dealing with, whether the manager is open to and able to change, and the impact of the manager's behavior on your employees.

Your response must be tailored to fit the situation, but you must be proactive in nipping unacceptable conduct in the bud before it gets out of hand. Remember the cost of hiring. Employees do not leave companies, they usually leave managers.