Published on Mar 21, 2007

I just learned of another NBA player who has been accused of domestic violence. This is the third or fourth time that this player has had off-court problems which are in addition to numerous on-court issues. I am waiting to hear the lame excuse his team officials are going to use to defend this guy.

Oh, did I mention he is an all star?

This guy is a cancer on his team and is going to negatively affect it. It never fails…there will be an inevitable implosion sometime down the road and the team owners and coaches will bang their heads and think “we should have kicked him off the team a long time ago”.

I am amazed at how many business leaders have these same kinds of characters working for them, being protected because they are “all stars” (i.e. leading producers) whom they protect because of their production, turning their back on their negative behavior.

They are holding the company hostage. And it happens every day.

The best companies attract good people. They don’t want people who are characters, they want people of character.

The people in companies who are the characters are the ones who are slowly corroding the company from the inside. As if outside forces such as competition, strategic decisions, hiring and recruiting decisions, and our friends at the government(s) weren’t enough, these characters eat at the guts of the company by actions such as not enthusiastically participating in team meetings, constantly questioning management decisions, and calling other employees and complaining about everything that they can’t control. The creep moves slowly but it can be a powerful negative force. Exposure to new employees can be disastrous.

Does this sound like one of your employees? If so, what can you do?

Here are a couple of things that should be done and soon.

First of all, senior management needs to confront the situation head on. The character in question must be made aware of how the negative consequences of his or her actions can impact the culture of the company and ask if they would be willing to watch their actions. It is possible that the person in question is simply not aware of how they are affecting the company and they will be glad to cooperate.

If the actions continue in spite of the request of management, the character must be removed. This can be done with compassion and kindness, but it must be done.

Otherwise, the culture of the company will continue to be one of ambivalence as other employees observe the behavior in question and rationalize that either that behavior is acceptable or that it is only acceptable behavior for the company top producers. Either way, this is bad.

Additionally, and predictably, the negative behavior which is quietly being approved by management reaches the point of intolerance and action has to be taken swiftly. This usually becomes uncomfortable, stressful, and internal company headline news.

Early positive action is the better choice. Remember…great teams are built with character, not characters.