I like this question. I'm going to be somewhat prescriptive here, and make some assumptions about what management means by "toxic". Is the first time you're ge

I like this question. I'm going to be somewhat prescriptive here, and make some assumptions about what management means by "toxic". Is the first time you're getting this feedback is at the performance review? If so, then one thing you could do going forward is ask your manager to give more timely feedback. It's perfectly reasonable to tell them that you want to improve (clearly you do, since you're posting here!) and to give you feedback right when they observe "toxic behavior" rather than waiting for the annual review. Things that I have observed that I myself would call toxic: 1. Snark. All the time. In your case, snark about the slow-moving bureaucracy. The question to ask is, when engaging in a conversation, what do you really expect the outcome to be? If you're complaining about the slow-moving IT department, is there really a purpose rather than venting? 2. Truth be told, when I work with people who are snarky/negative/critical all the time (which, again, is my assumption of what management means by "toxic"), it really does bring the rest of the team down. People spend time gossiping and being more negative themselves. It breeds a team who continually complains, rather than people who identify problems and actively try to come up with solutions to make things better. Be honest - which camp do you see yourself in? 3. Is there a better venue to bring up issues than with co-workers? Bringing up complaints in a 1-1 with a manager will reflect better on you than venting to co-workers. Everybody knows that the team is less productive because of bureaucracy, so complaining doesn't help. Consider asking "why is this central IT body here in the first place?" and seeing if you can help come up with solutions which fit. And, at the end of the day, the business has made a decision that they are "okay" with development moving - and people being blocked - with their current policies. In a sense, that is perfectly valid decision for them to make, and if they want to pay you to wait around for them then that is the company's burden.