INNERGISE!

Sport regularly highlights team and organisational challenges that businesses face on a daily basis, albeit typically in a low profile and less newsworthy environment.

Here are a couple from recent times from the world of sport:

Situation 1

Two British heavy weight boxers this weekend had a fight in the post- fight conference after a world heavy weight fight in Munich (in which only of them was actually fighting!). A very public and televised ding dong has led to a massive outcry about disgraceful behaviour which has brought the sport into disrepute.

Situation 2

A top footballer, accused of racism, refused to shake the hand of the person he allegedly racially abused, despite having told his manager and club he would do so. Again a massive outcry, with people raging about role models not showing appropriate behaviour and calls for the player to be sacked.

Situation 3 (Part 1)

Again in football, another top footballer who was on the substitutes’ bench refuses to play when asked by his manager (unheard of at this level). He is fined, and his manager says he won’t play for the club again. The good news is that the team are really doing well and are on course to win the league

Situation 3 (Part 2) Fast forward a couple of months later…

The team’s performance dips and the player is encouraged to come back and play despite the fact he has not apologised.

In each of the scenarios, people are faced with a moral dilemma involving whether it is appropriate to be associated with people who behave inappropriately and what to do about it. The dilemma is that if they decide to distance themselves from these individuals there will be implications and consequences which might include loss of success, loss of revenue and/or profit and reduced team performance.

When faced with such situations in the business world, managers and leaders have similar dilemmas. If someone is not buying into the values of the team or the business and yet is contributing financially or making a real difference, what should you do about it?

Let’s take a scenario: you have a strong culture, clear values and a harmonious team. You take on a salesman who is soon in the top 10 % of performers in the business, yet ignores the business values of ‘respect for others’ and ‘teamwork’ and winds others up as a result. What do we do about it? As a manager or business leader, the consequences of keeping such an individual and accepting the way they are has significant consequences:

• Your leadership is  undermined and you lose the respect of others and they become less engaged
• Others start paying lipservice to the values and they become just words
• There is increased conflict within the team
• Good people leave because there are no clear ground rules or a sense of belonging
• New people sense a disruptive and in-cohesive atmosphere

If the individual was in the bottom 25% of performers, it wouldn’t be a dilemma. The message would be get on board or get off the bus.

Yet the power of collective performance and team work in a supportive, harmonious environment over a bunch of self-focused individuals (however talented) is evident in all walks of life and can be observed in all great organisations. The question should not be about whether or not they stay (assuming after effective management and feedback they still don’t buy in), but by when and how they are exited from the business.