Fantastic post, Kathy. After over a decade of managing employee engagement surveys, I've noticed that there is always a 'mad, bad and sad' element of around 3% of employees in any organization.
- Nothing pleases them
- Everything is a threat or a conspiracy
- Their viewpoint is always right
Your interview questions are spot on, and although a few toxic employees will still slip through the net, you'll minimize the amount doing so by consciously looking for them.
You are so experienced in building strong cultures and teams. Your feedback means a lot to me!
I love your framing of 'mad, bad and sad'. It's not great to make light of people who are struggling, but I've seen too many leaders (including myself) use empathy as an excuse to avoid giving direct feedback to these employees and exit them if need be to the detriment of the entire organization.
Thanks, Kathy. Re the 'mad, bad and sad', yes, probably an outdated description that I should give up using!
I'm all for giving people support, retraining and coaching but if that doesn't work, there's a point where you realize that it's best to exit the employee.
Experience is what helps us get to that point quicker. Well-meaning leaders can try too long to turn a team member around, usually because they can't believe that people want to behave in a toxic manner or sabotage the team.
Fantastic post, Kathy. After over a decade of managing employee engagement surveys, I've noticed that there is always a 'mad, bad and sad' element of around 3% of employees in any organization.
- Nothing pleases them
- Everything is a threat or a conspiracy
- Their viewpoint is always right
Your interview questions are spot on, and although a few toxic employees will still slip through the net, you'll minimize the amount doing so by consciously looking for them.
Thanks, Wendy!
You are so experienced in building strong cultures and teams. Your feedback means a lot to me!
I love your framing of 'mad, bad and sad'. It's not great to make light of people who are struggling, but I've seen too many leaders (including myself) use empathy as an excuse to avoid giving direct feedback to these employees and exit them if need be to the detriment of the entire organization.
Thanks, Kathy. Re the 'mad, bad and sad', yes, probably an outdated description that I should give up using!
I'm all for giving people support, retraining and coaching but if that doesn't work, there's a point where you realize that it's best to exit the employee.
Experience is what helps us get to that point quicker. Well-meaning leaders can try too long to turn a team member around, usually because they can't believe that people want to behave in a toxic manner or sabotage the team.