Solid technically, scary culturally
I frequently come across companies where the owner or CEO knows they have an employee that is technically solid in their job, maybe even great at it, but this employee is also notorious for causing internal issues with either their peers or those that work for them. In other words, they don't play well with others and this causes ongoing personnel conflicts that can consume time and energy to deal with. Too often, owners or CEO's will overlook the shortcoming in this employee either because they believe the employee possesses an offsetting strength that makes them valuable to the company or just because there is a lack of willingness to make the tough decisions and address the situation.
My advice to executives facing this situation is they are most often under-estimating the damage and cost this employee is causing to the company. There are real costs associated with toxic employees, some costs are hitting your business now and others will be felt in the years ahead. The short term costs can range from poor productivity due to morale issues within your team to the costs associated with having to replace those employees that get frustrated with the situation and choose to leave your company. Another cost is the one associated with the broader employee base losing confidence in their company leadership for failing to address the problem. Then, there is the ultimate cost that is painful to experience and that is when a future investor or acquirer comes in to value your business and they see signs of a weak or even toxic culture and it sours them on pursuing a transaction. Too often this is when owners and key executives kick themselves for not having addressed the situation far sooner. So it's not a matter of "if" you should address this difficult situation, it's a matter of "when". I share with owners and CEO's, employees want to trust and respect the leadership of their organization and critical to this is fostering a dynamic work culture that helps you build long term company value...don't let anyone get in your way of doing this. Be the strong leader that your employees want you to be.
