“One bad apple spoils the whole bunch.” Proverb

In the 1736 publication of Poor Richard’s Almanac https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-02-02-0019, Benjamin Franklin provided a list of 55 pieces of advice for his readers.  One of these pearls of wisdom was “the rotten apple spoils his companion”.  The philosophy behind this statement is that something rotten will make the things around it rotten.  Intentionally removing the rotten (poison) from the bunch of good apples is the only way to keep the rottenness from spreading to the good apples.

Poison

This same philosophy is true of leading a team.  If you leave poison in place it will only damage, or destroy, the rest of the organization.  You have to be deal with it, and quickly.  Removing poison from the team isn’t easy, but it’s where leadership becomes hard.  It’s where the proverbial rubber meets the road.  This is what leaders are paid to do.

It’s easy to lead a team of high performers that are all rowing in the same direction, have the same purpose, and have a shared vision.  When leaders are blessed enough to have a group moving in the same direction they get to function more as a cheerleader than a leader.  Anyone can lead in this kind of environment.

Making Changes

It’s when the leader has to make course corrections, change game plans, assess talent, and make roster cuts that leadership becomes hard.  Part of making these adjustments is having to make assessments of the impact each person has on the team.  However, refusing to make the necessary, hard decision and hoping that the poisonous person will get better or change behavior won’t work.

However, refusing to deal with the people in the organization, or on the team, who are poisonous to the health of the organization and hoping the problem will go away or get better is nothing more than hope. While having hope is important in developing a culture, it’s not a strategy.  Hope is a sustaining fuel leading people to take the next step. However, it’s not a plan for where that next step should be taken.

Core Values

People are who they are at the core of their being.  Their personal core values are what drive them to be who they are. Simply hoping their behavior will change is unrealistic.  People change their behavior and core values only when something tears them at their core.  These moments are usually ones that are life-changing and gut-wrenching.  Typically these moments fall into the categories of near death or religious experiences.  Unless you have the ability to give them one of these moments, they will not change.

It’s in these moments you must recognize the poison for what (who) it is. You must call it out and make the necessary adjustments.  Leaving a poisonous employees in place will not only have a negative impact on the bottom line of an organization by decreased productivity. Poisonous employees can also cause the organization to lose positive, talented employees as they leave for organizations that don’t tolerate nastiness. Because you haven’t made the needed changes, departing employees will make change for you. As a result, the organization will suffer, the customer will suffer, and so will the people who remain.

“He that lives upon hope, dies farting.” Benjamin Franklin, 1736 Poor Richard’s Almanac https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-02-02-0019

Today: Take the first step of identifying the poison in your organization and begin to make a plan to remove it.