Culture Clinic: The One Person You Can't Afford to Lose

In this episode of A Curious Space, Kate and Maddy open up the Culture Clinic for the first time, responding to a letter from a listener we are calling Rowan. Rowan runs a business where two years of deliberate culture-building is being undermined by one person: a commercial director who brings in more revenue than anyone else and makes working life harder for almost everyone around them.

 

The question Rowan is sitting with is one that will be familiar to many leaders: can I afford to lose this person? Kate and Maddy turn that question around. Have you properly costed what it is to keep them?

 

What we cover in this episode

The tension between visible and invisible costs in organisations, and why the financial impact of difficult behaviour rarely makes it onto a balance sheet.

 

Research by Pearson and Porath (2005) on workplace incivility, including findings that 50% of people lose significant work time managing around a difficult colleague, 70% vent outside the organisation, and one in eight eventually leave.

 

Why tolerating behaviour sends a louder signal than any values statement.

 

How to approach a genuinely different kind of conversation with a high performer whose behaviour is causing damage, one that is curious about what is driving it rather than just addressing the symptom.

 

The role of reward structures and performance expectations in either reinforcing or shifting the problem.

 

What support for this kind of conversation can look like, including for the leader having it.

 

Research referenced

Pearson, C. and Porath, C. (2005). On the nature, consequences and remedies of workplace incivility: No time for "nice"? Think again. Academy of Management Perspectives, 19(1), 7-18.

 

About the hosts

Kate Nicholroy is a systemic team coach and facilitator working with senior leadership teams across the UK to help them think and work better together. She is founder of the Good Ideas Agency (www.goodideasagency.com) and holds executive coaching accreditations with the EMCC and ICF.

Maddie Fox is a senior HR leader and executive coach working with individuals, teams and organisations, who want to develop authentic, conscious leadership skills, navigate challenging change and build foundations to become more resilient. She is the founder of MadFox Group (www.madfoxgroup.com).

 

Listen and connect

Find all episodes of A Curious Space at www.acuriousspacepodcast.com.

 

Get in touch with a cultural conundrum, a question, or to find out how Kate and Maddy can support your organisation: hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com.

 

Credits

A Curious Space is produced by Tim Fox with music by Richard Flindell.