I know, it sounds harsh.
But hear me out…
Sometimes the MOST technically talented people with the most job-specific expertise have the LEAST emotional intelligence.
They often have strong personalities and trigger others around them. They can be like sandpaper to the rest of the team.
Maybe you’re experiencing this, and you have a team member who is affecting the harmony of your team. And your team culture is suffering…maybe even toxic.
I had a client in this kind of situation with one of his engineers.
The team and people in the org whose projects he worked on did not enjoy working with him. The leader of the team saw the impact this was having, but the engineer produced such great work that he didn’t feel that he could let the engineer go.
He shared feedback with the engineer and made efforts to coach him. This went on for quite some time, but eventually he had to do something…
He started by embracing the thought that “your team is only as good as your weakest player.”
After making additional efforts to coach this team member, he realized the engineer was not ‘coach-able’.
While he was very concerned about how the team would complete all the project work without this engineer, my client finally decided to let him go.
It wasn’t long after he let him go that…
● The team culture skyrocketed.
● The level of stress went down.
● Team morale went up.
● Projects came in under budget.
● The team got more done, in record time, and with more innovation and excitement.
All of that with one less team member!!!
As leaders, we must address TOXICITY in our team. We need to coach them UP or coach them OUT.
There’s a huge cost to letting toxic employees stay:
● Morale
● Creativity
● Engagement levels
● Psychological safety
It’s NOT kindness to refuse to let people go.
It’s one thing to coach problematic employees and help them grow.
It’s another to tolerate behavior from team members that harms the culture and well-being of your team.
As a leader, you can only take 100% responsibility for 50% of the relationship. The employee has to take their 50% responsibility…and if they don’t, it’s usually best to part ways.
The time may come when you need to let the employee go. If you’ve done a good job coaching, the employee won’t be surprised. They should already know why. And more often than not, the decision will be mutual.
It’s one of the harder, far less fun parts of leadership. But it’s essential to protecting your team and the culture you want to build!