Toxic Rockstars: Combating Problematic Employee Behavior

Welcome back. There's some people at work. You know, they're really good at the technical aspects of their job, but their behavior can cause a very big disruption, creating a toxic atmosphere.

Joining us now to talk about these toxic rock stars and what we can do is leadership expert Beth Ridley. Good to have you back.

Good morning.

Good morning. Hello.

What a topic.

I feel like everybody's gonna be like, what?

So what is a toxic rock star?

Yeah, so it's not a mean music. I floated this out to some friends and they're like a mean musician. I'm like, no, it's someone just like you said, they're good at their job, they deliver results, but they're horrible to work with. And as soon as I said that, everybody was like, oh, yeah, like everybody's worked with at some point in their life a toxic rock star. Yeah.

It seems like the problem with a toxic rock star is they're good at their job. Yes. It's a dilemma because you speak like you sort of have to put up with it, the behavior, because you get great output from that employee. But it could be bad for business, right?

Well, it's really bad for business. And so therefore it's not just what you do, it's how you do it. And the how matters. So if you're not treating people well or decently, then you're actually not good at your job because it leads to bad morale on the team. People get frustrated, it can lead to turnover. But also, honestly, it sort of lowers the bar because if people see like, oh, they can get away with this kind of behavior, why can't I? I'm not gonna try to be my best at work for other people. And so the whole team becomes really toxic.

So why do you think leaders are hesitant to deal with this personality?

I think really there's three reasons. One is they actually may not know. So the boss or the manager of the team, they're not in the day to day work, so they see what gets done on the end result. They're not really plugged into the how. And so unless employees are speaking up, they may not know.

Great point.

Two, if they know, they may be hesitant to have the conversation. It's difficult conversations. Not all leaders are good at crucial feedback. And also they might be worried, like, oh, do I have someone to replace that can deliver the results? Maybe the work will be compromised.

Yeah.

And three, this is the worst case scenario. Sometimes the culture permits it. It is an organization where it's all about results. We don't care how you get there. And it's just known that toxic rock stars is part of who we are and we don't care. That's probably the worst scenario.

Yeah. What can people do to address the issue if they're willing to do that?

So if you're someone who has to work with a toxic rock star, I would first talk to the boss or the manager so that they know. And it's really important to focus on how the behavior is impacting the work. Right. So again, a lot of times we think, yeah, but it's just behavior that doesn't matter for the bottom line, it does. So if you are working with someone who's really difficult to work with, maybe they're demeaning towards you. That impacts your own morale, your own engagement. And you can speak to how their behavior is not enabling you to do your best job. So I think it's really important to frame it in the behavior does impact results.

Can you coach or mentor or train toxic rock stars?

I think coaching is always a good idea because there is a reason why someone is behaving in a less than professional way at work. I don't know what those underlying reasons are, but a lot of times coaching can help with that. Maybe they're very frustrated and they're not dealing with their own stress and anxiety. Maybe there's some insecurity. But I think the most important thing is to actually provide that feedback. Because a lot of people aren't self aware enough to know how they're coming across, how other people experience working with them.

It seems like it goes hand in hand. If you're a toxic rock star, you're probably very unaware.

You're very unaware. And so that's why I think 360 feedback is really good. Getting anonymous feedback not just on the work that you've done and what you've delivered, but how people experience working with you. A lot of times once people hear that feedback, they're actually shocked and surprised and then they start modifying their behavior because most people do want to be liked at work. And I think a lot of people get away with this toxic rock star behavior because they've never been told. People get away with what they think they can. But once you've been told and the impact that it has on other people, then I think people kind of take it a little bit more seriously.

So what again, can fellow employees do? Maybe it's something kind of easy, some takeaways.

Well, I think again, talk to your boss, your manager, frame it in terms of how their behavior is impacting your work. Output. The other thing is if you feel that you can have an honest conversation with the employee, you can try. That may not go well because again, they're toxic. So at that point I think you have to preserve your own resilience and well being and that might mean limit the degree to which you have to interact with someone so they're not. Boundaries. Yes, boundaries, exactly.

It's fair to say though that evaluation should be based on both results and, and behavior, right?

100%. And I think for the amount of money that you pay employees, it is not hard to find someone who's good at their job and pleasant to work with. I mean, that should be what it means to be good at your job, both what you do and what you get done. But how you do it really does matter.

Love it.

Beth, good to see you.

Wonderful to see you.

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