“The most important decisions that businesspeople make are not what decisions, but who decisions.” - Jim Collins, “Good to Great”
In the entire Charlie Sheen saga that has been playing out over the past several weeks we really are seeing what can go wrong with mismanagement of top talent who make the company a lot of money.
Past obvious self-medication, Sheen appears notably high on a number of negative personality factors and has shown no signs of what we term as “coachability”. He comes across as narcissistic (arrogant, high sense of entitlement), histrionic (theatrical, excessive emotionality), and overly imaginative (magical thinking). Any one of these would normally derail anyone, even absent the drugs. Self-references to tiger’s blood, Adonis DNA, and being a warlock notwithstanding… I have to wonder:
If you hired the star knowing of his antics, how did you think you would ever be fully prepared for the inevitable derailment?”
Leadership Lessons learned:
1 Superstar implosion can derail an entire company - no matter how talented, if a powerful enough leader representing your company implodes, they can impact everything from stock price to the loss of other very talented people.
Business example:
- Holland & Knight, a law firm with 1,300 attorneys out of Florida had a “no jerk” rule; however, once it was reported that a particular partner who had many incidents of sexual harassment was promoted, all credibility was lost.
Coachability is a critical competency – Not everyone who is talented is perfect – every diamond has a rough spot. However, some are willing to be polished, some are not. As you assess your talent and in whom you should invest, consider willingness to grow and change as well as ability to influence others using relationship skills rather than mere technical know-how. Our case study on Assessing Coachability outlines the behavioral items needed to truly evaluate if someone is coachable.
Business example:
- A senior leader who was very driven, unfortunately appeared as a bully when challenged. The chief operating officer intervened and required change in the leader’s style. If change did not occur, the operating officer and the head of human resources made it quite clear that the behavior would not be tolerated and they would be relieved of a leadership role. The leader took the feedback seriously, sought coaching, and dramatically improved in a very short period of time.
It is never just about the money - Just because someone makes the organization a lot of money, it does not mean they are the right fit. The downside of derailment typically outweighs the upside.
Business examples:
- Abusive behavior in the workplace makes a business vulnerable to negative recruiting, high turnover, increased onboarding costs, and lower productivity from discretionary efforts.
- TV and movie studios take out insurance to cover the costs of delays or abandoned productions. Stars, like Lohan or Sheen, with personal problems force insurance rates higher.
- Personal injury lawsuits due to a sexual harassment case drive up a company’s insurance.
There are always clues – Someone imploding always has previous incidents. Harvard Business Review published “More Trouble than They’re Worth” outlining that it is typically a gradual decline rather than 1 incident. A star performer on your team who is given a “pass” when they are behaving poorly is not being done any favors.
Business example:
- A day trader eventually let go for harassment, had a history of “near misses” with other incidents. However he made a lot of money, so was allowed to continue his path of destruction.
You cannot coach ethics – If someone breaks the law, do not coach them. Fire them.
Business example:
- Société Générale, one of France’s largest banks, lost 4.9 billion euros when a mid-level employee Jérôme Kerviel evaded multiple layers of computer controls and audits for as long as a year.
Smart is not enough – Being brilliant is not enough if someone is not interested in playing by the rules. Unfortunately, we see rules not being enforced because of the fear that someone will leave, can still leave you open to risk.
Business example:
- Barings Bank was imploded by someone that was very technically skilled that broke the rules. However, many rules were also ignored by the bank. For example, the individual in question, Leeson, was sent to Singapore only after he couldn’t get a broker's license in the U.K. because of fraud on his application. Neither Leeson nor Barings disclosed this denial when Leeson applied for his license in Singapore. Additionally, Barings Bank also allowed Leeson to remain Chief Trader while also being responsible for settling his trades. This is normally done by two different people to prevent fraud.
Companies that invest in top technical talent should consider the non-technical derailers. There is talk now about replacing Sheen with another comedian. I wonder if Warner Bros. regrets not looking for a replacement last year when he was already imploding.
So, do you have any “Charlie Sheens” in your organization?
thank you. i love to read this type of information posts. again thank you...
Posted by: kiralık devremülkler | 03/26/2011 at 05:00 PM