Mamaearth's Ghazal Alagh shares how she tackles toxicity at work without confrontation

Mamaearth Co-founder, Ghazal Alagh, revealed how she handles workplace toxicity with curiosity.

Mamaearth co-founder Ghazal Alagh recently shared her take on handling workplace toxicity in a viral LinkedIn post. Instead of responding with confrontation, Alagh revealed how she chooses to stay calm and curious when faced with negativity or hidden agendas at work.

In a viral LinkedIn post, Ghazal Alagh shared how staying calm and curious helps her tackle workplace toxicity. (@Ghazal Alagh/LinkedIn)

“Strong leadership isn’t always loud or reactive,” she wrote. “Sometimes, it means allowing silences, asking the right questions, or not playing someone else’s game.”

In her post, Alagh described how she once sensed subtle resistance during a key project. Instead of reacting, she chose to observe the situation, ask questions, and let the facts speak for themselves.

“People sometimes assume that leadership means always being direct and confrontational with negativity at work. But experience has taught me that sometimes, the smartest move is to play it cool,” the caption of the post reads.

Key strategies for handling workplace toxicity:

First, she pays close attention to team dynamics and avoids making decisions based on provocation. She then asks open-ended questions to know people’s true intentions without any conflict. Rather than jumping into drama, she lets the situation play out naturally so others can see what’s happening.

Her focus remains on solutions, not confrontation. And when an issue must be addressed, she prefers to do it privately and respectfully.

Check out the post here:

Many LinkedIn users praised Alagh’s calm approach while dealing with toxic situations at work. People shared similar experiences from their workplaces, noting how stepping back and asking the right questions helped them handle difficult situations.

One of the users, Awantika Verma, commented, “Sometimes being the calm ninja in the workplace is the best way to slice through the drama.”

Another user, Kunal Daswani, commented, “Toxicity thrives on reaction. The smartest leaders disarm it not with confrontation, but with calm precision and quiet consistency.”

Other users commented that her post was a helpful reminder that leadership doesn’t always need to be loud.