One Poison Apple

We have all experienced leadership styles that have a negative impact on working climate. To put it mildly.

The impact of one bad leader on team morale, retention and performance is profound. Even if they are swimming in a sea of great leaders, and if the company culture overall is a healthy and thriving one, the individual impact of that one bad manager upwards, horizontally and downwards can be catastrophic.

The higher up the food chain that manager is, the more negative impact she will have. Inevitably that person is managed out. Unfortunately, the more senior that person is, the longer it can take. Usually most of her team have left before she does and some great people are lost to the department or sadly, the company.

Fortunately, tolerance for bad management is usually low and that individual will often be moved on. They are in a position of leadership – visible to all and influential. Eventually there is nowhere to hide.

But what about that one person in the team itself who is never happy, who constantly demeans management decisions in the ‘meeting after the meeting’? Their impact is less transparent, but it exists and can have the same effect.

For several years, I led my own marketing agency. It was bijoux but extremely effective, We produced some great work. I contracted excellent freelancers and partnered with a developer agency in India. We were agile and, compared to the big players, we combined affordability with high quality. The model worked and I rewarded the teams well.

However, there was a phase where I noticed the attitude of my team changing. Meetings seemed quieter, and questions began to be asked about rates we were paying. I later found out that one individual had an issue. Gradually and insidiously their opinion was shared, under the radar, rather than directly to me.

The truth is that the rest of the team were actually thriving and happy with their deal. We were all ‘in it together’ and the business served all our purposes. But that one person was determined to disrupt the team rather than voice their concerns openly.

I’ve seen this team dynamic play out in organisations of all sizes. It’s like a poison that can spread, disrupting team morale and performance, under the radar and over time. It’s also a form of ‘upwards bullying’. How can managers best address this?

• Create a culture of psychological safety: Encourage the team to speak up and be open with ideas and be constructively critical of you as a manager but also each other. Challenge is beneficial. However, the word constructive is imperative here. Open platforms can be counter-productive if one individual is continually negative in an unconstructive, unhelpful and sometimes even snide manner.
• Identify the ‘poison apple’: Sometimes this is glaringly obvious, in other cases, like for my team, it was intentionally covert. As managers, we have a hunch - the key factor is not to ignore that hunch and call it out straight away. In the end, deep 1-to-1s with all the team confirmed the source of the negativity and also helped me address their concerns.
• Address the issue directly with that person - and fast: A direct and open dialogue may be enough to alleviate, reassure and address that person’s issues. However, this doesn’t always work: a bad fit is a bad fit, and in the case of my company, that person had to move on.

And this has to happen as quickly as possible, after efforts have been made to help, coach and understand that person. I have witnessed this dynamic going on for years in some companies! I have also witnessed the immediate positive impact on a team when that one person leaves.

It’s like a collective sigh of relief.

Ultimately, it is better for that person’s wellbeing and development and for the team as a whole.