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When it comes to workplace morale, one bad apple can poison the environment for everyone else. But what happens when that bad apple is also your golden goose? Enter a seemingly innocuous NYT piece about how small business owners can diagnose and deal with high-performing employees who are also forces of destruction and drama in the workplace. Recounting the experience of several employers who have dealt with "destructive heroes" in their midst, the piece provides some rather pat advice on how to get these loose cannons back in line. Quoting Cliff Oxford of The Oxford Center For Entrepreneurs:
“Mr. Oxford and others suggest the following: Confront the destructive hero with his or her unacceptable behaviors; get agreement that specific changes are necessary; and set a deadline of several months to make and maintain the turnaround. Along the way, they advise, be sure to document the changes or lack of changes that ensue, that way establishing grounds for dismissal and protection against retaliatory lawsuits.”
What this advice doesn't deal with is the reality that we're all complicit in allowing these enfants terribles to flourish.
Even if you had no idea who he was before last week, you've now doubtlessly heard of Jian Ghomeshi, the celebrated Canadian radio host accused of assaulting numerous young women under the cloak of consensual BDSM. While an increasing number of women step up to the mic to recount disturbing tales of physical violence, another group has also been speaking out — media insiders, colleagues and friends of Ghomeshi who knew something wasn't right when it came to his dealings with women, but opted not to confront him or go public with what they knew. They didn't voice their concerns, they didn't boycott appearances on his show and they let Ghomeshi's rep as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's golden boy stand. Even the CBC itself has come under fire with respect to how much they knew about Ghomeshi’s behavior (both on the job and in his personal life), when they knew it and whether they should have disciplined him sooner.
We live in a culture in which talent trumps toxicity and we reward earning ability over EQ . While Jian Ghomeshi certainly exists at the far end of a spectrum of bad behavior, the worlds of business, entertainment and sports are bursting with examples of individuals whose perceived abilities have afforded them ample leeway with respect to unprofessional conduct. Steve Jobs is regarded as a technology demi god, but he had a long and well-documented history of rudeness and bullying. Bob Knight, celebrated coach of the Indiana Hoosiers, wasn't let go from his position until 2000, although he had a track record of controversial conduct dating back to the 70s. His firing was a national news event and Indiana students went as far as burning an effigy of the college president in protest. Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay throws expletive-laced tantrums in the kitchen and verbally eviscerates underperforming chefs and we simply chuckle at his tirades and reward him with another TV show. Madonna can demand that Toronto International Film Festival volunteers turn their backs and eschew eye contact as she strolls by and we don’t blink at the Material Girl’s sense of entitlement. Heck, we celebrate a Nazi collaborator as a timeless fashion icon. We let the rich and famous and powerful get away with boorish and frequently illegal behavior and then we're shocked when Joe from Sales and Marketing thinks that his unmatched ability to close deals entails him to special privileges and excuses him from hewing to org policies? If anything, we should be surprised that we don't have more Joes in our midst.
Whether it’s a media personality who allegedly assaulted women, a decades-long cheating scandal that awarded unearned grades to UNC varsity athletes or just a middle manager with an unchecked God complex, when we turn a blind eye to anti-social behavior or treat rarefied skills as a get out of jail free card, we create a context in which high performers of every stripe believe themselves to be above censure . The message we’re delivering and that alpha achievers are internalizing is clear – if you’re really good, we’ll overlook the bad. That toxic employee on your payroll wasn’t born, he was created and we all share part of the blame for allowing him to develop that way.
