“I hired a Cultural Terrorist,” my client announced to me last week.
“A cultural terrorist?” I repeated.
“Yes,” my client lamented. “She was our top salesperson by a lot of money, but we simply couldn’t keep her anymore. She made everyone’s life here miserable, including mine. I lost a few key performers over her. So finally, I fired her. “
“What happened next?” I asked, wide-eyed.
“You wouldn’t believe it! First of all, just the energy around here is lighter. People laugh more. There is more talking in the bullpen. But also, the second layer of salespeople have totally stepped up and in the 6 weeks since I fired her, the next four salespeople have almost made up the difference,” she said. “It’s as if everyone knew what a trainwreck she was, and the awful stories that I am hearing about her… well, it was the right thing to do, and I should have done it months ago.”
Like my client, when you hire an employee like this, it has a few effects. They only care about themselves. They use up resources. They are nasty to other employees. This is called a cultural terrorist. That ONE employee can ruin your business, your reputation with your clients, and your ability to keep your people working for you. They aren’t worth the money that they make for you, and it is time to let them go.
POWER THOUGHT: Don’t sacrifice the whole staff for ONE cultural terrorist. Cut bait and move on.