Tolerating Bad Employees Destroys Your Culture
Do not tolerate bad employees by Andreas von der Heydt

Tolerating Bad Employees Destroys Your Culture

Dear Life Amplifiers,

Do you remember that one colleague? The one who never pulled their weight, drained the energy from the room, or constantly let the team down?

And do you remember how it made you feel when leadership did nothing about it? Frustrated? Demotivated? Maybe even questioning why you were giving your best while they got a free pass?

Nothing makes great employees disengage faster than seeing bad behavior tolerated.

Based on what I′ve observed in great companies, leadership should do the following:

  • Set the bar high; then defend it relentlessly: Never let mediocrity slip through the cracks, because what you tolerate becomes your culture.
  • Make accountability non-negotiable: If someone drags the team down, address it fast. Before your best people start looking for the exit.
  • Reward impact, not noise: Don’t let charisma or politics outrank real contributions; nothing frustrates top performers more than watching empty effort get rewarded.
  • Cut the cord when necessary: A tough decision today is always better than a slow, painful cultural decay tomorrow.
  • Lead like trust is your currency: Great employees stay when they trust leadership to protect the standards that make excellence possible.

Because at some point, your good employees stop blaming the bad colleague and start blaming you as their leader who lets the poor one stay.

Then it is you letting the rest of the team down.

What do you think?

Best,

Andreas von der Heydt

If you want to create an environment of high-impact leadership or become a high-impact leader yourself, you can find more information here: https://maven.com/avdhcoachingandconsulting/leading-and-coaching-for-high-impact-in-a-new-era

#leader #leadership #impact #performance #job #success #career #growth #growthmindset


Annette Thiele

Coaching für Menschen in Führung, die am Limit sind | Mehr Kraft und Lebensfreude. | Resilienz durch SelfCare | Mit Klarheit und Fokus zu gesunder Balance, innerer Zufriedenheit und ?u?erem Erfolg. ??

10 小时前

Mich st?rt die Unterscheidung von "gutem" vs. "schlechtem" Mitarbeiter. Eine solche Bewertung ist in meinen Augen unzureichend, unzutreffend und wird einem Menschen nicht gerecht. Worum es dir hier geht, ist ja wohl die Leistung. Die kann sehr wohl unzureichend oder schlecht sein. In dem Punkt gebe ich dir recht.

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Stefano Malpangotti

Head of Section State Secretariat for Migration. Founder and CEO Self Awareness Liberty Publishing

15 小时前

Totally agree, Andreas. The vital role of leadership in upholding standards and fostering team morale lies in setting clear expectations, leading by example, and creating an environment where employees feel valued, motivated, and supported to succeed. It underscores a critical yet often overlooked point: tolerating mediocrity or poor behavior can disengage top performers and erode a team's effectiveness. It starts with leadership itself, as toxic leadership sets the tone for a negative workplace culture and hinders team growth and morale. The focus on trust as the cornerstone of effective leadership is particularly striking, serving as a powerful reminder that true leadership extends beyond strategy. It's about fostering a culture that prioritizes loyalty, engagement, and the collective success of organizations and their stakeholders by committing to meaningful actions that serve a greater purpose.

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Absolutely agree on this, allowing or tolerating low standards permeates through an organisation. I have seen first hand how allowing staff get away with not pulling their weight or not conforming to the standards required has a knock on effect. Part of this is often because people don't want to have difficult discussions, or struggle to move people on and that can be a culture that has been entrenched for a long time. I have never had an issue about moving people on.

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Spot on, Andreas! Eventually, it creeps beyond the walls of the organization and impacts the customer experience and the bottom line in big ways.

Troy West

Sr. Quality Engineer at Veeva Systems

1 天前

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