Here’s a blog especially for management.
Just about every company has one employee who is amazingly difficult. He or she might be a bully or a prima donna or even a narcissistic jerk.
These people generally are very good at what they do. But while doing their jobs well (sometimes exceptionally well), they create a lot of collateral damage. However, they (and often their managers) believe their value add outweighs their venomous behavior.
You probably know someone like this. At the very least, you can name a famous, high-maintenance professional athlete who fits this profile. To the team’s management (and usually to the fans, too) their contributions seem more important than their dysfunction.
The fact is, dysfunction creates a toxic work environment.
Consider the reactions of everyone else in a business meeting when the bully employee makes improper comments about something or someone and no one reprimands him. There are no consequences for him regarding this generally unacceptable behavior, and other people leave the meeting incredulous and angry—not productive states of mind.
Think for a moment about the prima donna who routinely skips the weekly meeting or turns things in late (business plans, proposals, expense reports, etc.) or doesn’t bother with the assignment at all. Those people who do follow the rules will most certainly be bitter and resentful—again not productive states of mind.
The narcissistic jerks in the office often have some kind of leverage that they think entitles them to get away with bad behavior. They have the relationships with the largest revenue generating accounts. They have the biggest book of business. They are the product experts. They head the most profitable division. These things, they believe, make them special—and allow them to be above the rules that the rest have to follow.
Believe me when I say that over time, even the most profitable contributions do not make up for disruptive dysfunction and the resulting toxicity.
There are many costs associated with ongoing workplace dysfunction. Employee morale suffers. Productivity goes down. People talk behind the boss’s back about why he or she tolerates this behavior, and that kind of water cooler chatter creates disrespect and distrust and discontent—even more ripples of dysfunction.
If you recognize harmful, disruptive traits in an employee, consider cutting your losses early. Remove the dysfunction, and I can assure you that your organization not only will survive, but it also will thrive in the long term. This change might be emotionally and financially painful to start with, but the overall benefits in workplace morale will pay off in the long run.
Also, and perhaps more importantly, management regains employee loyalty with the trust that only appropriate behavior, attitudes and habits will be tolerated.
For more on this topic, read or listen to The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni. That was on our “corsini’s current top 10 must-read (and listen)” list. See it here: corsini’s current top 10 “must-read (and listen)” list.
Recent Comments