Don’t Let Bad Apples Spoil Your Business Team
Article date: Sep 10 2014
Marcus Straub
The typical business features a number of skilled team
members, many with decent and even great attitudes. These individuals
come to work, perform their jobs to a satisfactory level or above and
contribute to the work environment in mostly positive ways. But what
about those team members who, even though they have the skills to do
their jobs, impose a drag on the positive attitudes of others and,
therefore, the business itself? Chances are, you’re thinking of these
people right now.
In most cases, business owners tolerate them because it’s a
hassle to hire and train new people, especially if “bad apples” are top
performers, bring in large amounts of business, work in key positions
essential to operational success or possess extensive or proprietary
knowledge of the company. Under these circumstances, business owners
often feel “held hostage” by these team members, which keeps them from
taking necessary corrective action.
Given the amount of time, effort and expense involved in
replacing team members, it’s no wonder negative attitudes are tolerated.
Continuing to keep these individuals on board is not the best choice,
however.
You’ve likely heard the saying, “Hire for skills and fire
for attitude.” Simply put, this means bad attitudes far outweigh the
technical skills people bring to their positions. And failing to take
action puts a company at risk. It’s just too costly to keep them on.
Any business that has one or more bad apples must
recognize there’s an awareness of these individuals throughout the
company. Negative team members are difficult to work with, which damages
team dynamics and morale. Other members of the team try to avoid them
and could even harbor resentment toward managers and owners for allowing
negative individuals to remain at work. If one of these bad apples
happens to work in a management position, the consequences are even more
severe.
Wherever they are in your company, negative attitudes will
end up costing you top talent. Your best people will only put up with
so much before they can’t take it anymore. As you already know, top
talent can be difficult to find and develop. Given this reality, it’s
never a good choice to knowingly create a situation in which they feel
their only option is to leave. A wise business owner will face the
situation that comes with bad or negative attitudes and initiate
corrective action.
You must free yourself from the belief your business can’t
survive without these people. It’s simply is not true. Time and time
again I’ve helped business owners release this limiting mindset, and the
outcomes have been nothing but positive for everyone involved.
If the team member in question is vital to your operation,
start by offering them coaching and training to help them recognize and
overcome their negative attitudes and damaging behaviors. Certified
Behavioral Assessments offer an exceptional way to accomplish these
goals because the assessments provide the unbiased clarity needed to
achieve the most effective results.
While not an overnight process, a qualified coach or
trainer can quickly identify a team member who’s willing to change. In
cases in which affected team members choose to accept the information,
do the work to change and overcome bad attitudes, they become assets
rather than liabilities.
If they’re not willing or able to change their attitudes
and behaviors, however, the next step is an obvious one: You must step
up to the plate and let them go. The moment you take this corrective
action, your business and everyone within it will be freed of a negative
influence.
When letting go and replacing team members, you must have a
solid plan in place to avoid reproducing the same situation all over
again. The best course of action is to work with a qualified
professional who can create a Job Benchmark for the position and
accurately measure all of the acumen, behaviors, motivators, skills and
talents necessary for success. This sophisticated and statistically
accurate hiring practice will ensure you invite the best people — and
attitudes — into your company.
As a business owner, you can’t afford to allow yourself to
be held hostage by any team member. The overall costs to your business
are far too high. One of the fundamental secrets to success is to build
the most powerful team you can. Individuals with negative attitudes, no
matter how skilled they are, can never be a part of that team.
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