Character vs. Performance
Do you have a salesperson that steals deals from other salespeople? Do you have a dismantler that is capable of 15 cars per week, but you can't trust him to show up so you tolerate 8 cars per week? Do you have a Yard Technician that can pull 50 parts per day, but steals aftermarket radios from you? Character vs Performance: Which one is more important?
In Simon Sinek’s recent video, he discussed the relationship between Performance and Trust. Click the link and watch the video - it is short, but to the point. In this video, Simon describes an employee that has high abilities but low character as a TOXIC employee. This is a person that is always looking to ‘work’ the system or ‘cheat’ the commission pay system. A name just popped into your head - you have one of these or have had one of these employees in the past. I had one years ago. He could sell ice cubes to Eskimos. However, he would steal every single sale that he could. Every other salesperson stayed mad at him all the time. This guy forced me to rewrite our commission pay system three times. He was smart, capable, and an ultra-performer. But, his character was low. I thought I needed him and could not do without him - after all, he generated $125K in Gross Sales per month - in the early 2000’s. I tolerated his character flaws because of his abilities. However, I did not realize what his presence and actions did to my other salespeople - until he was gone. The time finally came - he crossed a line and I let him go. It turned out that my fear of losing him was false - the other team members picked up his slack. Their attitudes improved so much and their performance improved simply because they did not have to deal with the Toxic employee anymore. It was a ‘shot in the arm’ for our sales. The team went back to working together, honoring quotes, and helping one another. I was able to simplify our commission pay system and do away with ‘Split Sales’ that I had been forced to create because of stolen quotes. Headaches subsided, sales increased, and attitudes improve.
Flight of the Buffalo quote: “Change is hard because people over-estimated the value of what they have --- and under-estimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up.”
The contagious attitudes, spewing disgusts, and counterproductive actions of a toxic employee have a great effect on an operation. The actions, words, and attitudes of this type of employee influence good workers in extreme ways - ways that may not be visible to you right now. Or should I say, you have not trained yourself to look for the signs of their influence.
Stop tolerating things within your operation. It is your operation - you set the boundaries. What you tolerate says just as much about you as what you push. Share your passions and push your people to achieve those goals, but DO NOT tolerate an employee that refuses to follow your convictions.
Chad Counselman
Chad@WiseCounselGroup.com
In Simon Sinek’s recent video, he discussed the relationship between Performance and Trust. Click the link and watch the video - it is short, but to the point. In this video, Simon describes an employee that has high abilities but low character as a TOXIC employee. This is a person that is always looking to ‘work’ the system or ‘cheat’ the commission pay system. A name just popped into your head - you have one of these or have had one of these employees in the past. I had one years ago. He could sell ice cubes to Eskimos. However, he would steal every single sale that he could. Every other salesperson stayed mad at him all the time. This guy forced me to rewrite our commission pay system three times. He was smart, capable, and an ultra-performer. But, his character was low. I thought I needed him and could not do without him - after all, he generated $125K in Gross Sales per month - in the early 2000’s. I tolerated his character flaws because of his abilities. However, I did not realize what his presence and actions did to my other salespeople - until he was gone. The time finally came - he crossed a line and I let him go. It turned out that my fear of losing him was false - the other team members picked up his slack. Their attitudes improved so much and their performance improved simply because they did not have to deal with the Toxic employee anymore. It was a ‘shot in the arm’ for our sales. The team went back to working together, honoring quotes, and helping one another. I was able to simplify our commission pay system and do away with ‘Split Sales’ that I had been forced to create because of stolen quotes. Headaches subsided, sales increased, and attitudes improve.
Flight of the Buffalo quote: “Change is hard because people over-estimated the value of what they have --- and under-estimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up.”
The contagious attitudes, spewing disgusts, and counterproductive actions of a toxic employee have a great effect on an operation. The actions, words, and attitudes of this type of employee influence good workers in extreme ways - ways that may not be visible to you right now. Or should I say, you have not trained yourself to look for the signs of their influence.
Stop tolerating things within your operation. It is your operation - you set the boundaries. What you tolerate says just as much about you as what you push. Share your passions and push your people to achieve those goals, but DO NOT tolerate an employee that refuses to follow your convictions.
Chad Counselman
Chad@WiseCounselGroup.com
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