I am always trying to learn as much as I can in order to continuously improve. I’m not “there” yet, but I like to think I get better every day! For some professional development, I attended a sales management webinar recently, and really got pumped up thinking about what we need to do both for our company and for our clients.
The presenters were asked a question- one that we are often asked by clients, as well. “Should we spend time coaching A players, B players or C players?” Meaning, should you coach the bottom or the top performers? The presenters had a lot of great things to say. One said that often we think our top performers don’t need coaching because they’re rocking the house. Have you ever felt that way? Like we should leave our great team members alone because they’re doing everything RIGHT? He explained that the mistake in this way of thinking is that the people at the top are very often MORE eager, MORE coachable, and MORE able to improve their performance, which in turn earns MORE sales. All too often, the lower performing team members become the “squeaky wheels” that we spend the most time with. That said, he explained that it’s important to spend time with team members at every level. Those who can be taught to perform better and higher should be coached up, and those who can’t, should be coached out of the organization. It’s so powerful to me to always remember that people need your leadership in order to be the best for your organization (or to be part of someone else’s)!
The web duo argued over one point though, with one claiming at any point, if a top performer becomes “uncoachable,” the question is no longer IF they should be removed from your organization but WHEN, while the other believes that there are 10-15% of (sales) people who are truly top performers, and so for those, he’ll tolerate some bad behavior. That’s where the wheels fell right off for me!
From my perspective, there is so much wrong with allowing what I’m going to refer to as “jerk factor,” from ANY performer, top or otherwise. I find it to be a pretty short term strategy to allow (and thereby encourage) unacceptable behavior just because someone may be great at their individual job.
Yes, he might be the best desk agent you have; he’s always on time and his drawer is always accurate. But if everyone hates him and he rolls his eyes every time you ask him to do something extra, you’re not only allowing him to undermine you in the moment, you’re also teaching the rest of the team that you 1) don’t deserve respect, or worse, that you 2) have favorites who can get away with anything (which can hurt morale, then performance, then sales. Yes, she might be rocking the house at sales now, but if she alienates everyone in the kitchen, how soon before they stop going the extra mile to make those events go perfectly when she makes an error in communication? In my opinion, it’s so dangerous to keep a toxic team member on your staff no matter where they fall in the performance ranking.
While you might have to work that shift tonight, or you might have to pick up those sales calls while you’re trying to get someone hired, I believe making that (extremely difficult, for sure) decision can help you avoid the long term negative effects someone who doesn’t fit your values can leave on your team, your guests, and your bottom line. What do you think?
