How to Handle a Toxic High Performer

It is one of the hardest situations a leader faces. Someone on the team is producing great results: top numbers, big clients, impressive output. They are also difficult to work with. They belittle colleagues, take credit, ignore the rules that apply to everyone else or make people dread coming to work. And because the results are so good, it is tempting to look the other way.

I have learned that looking the other way is never really neutral. The culture you have is the one you allow, and every day the behavior continues, the rest of the team learns what actually matters here. I wrote about that in Not The Culture You Wanted. The One You Allowed.

Why is the cost higher than it looks?

The results are easy to measure. The damage is not. Other people disengage, stop sharing ideas, avoid working with the person and quietly start looking elsewhere. SHRM research found 53% of workers who saw or experienced workplace incivility said it hurt their mental health, and those who had little support from their manager afterward were significantly more likely to look for another job.

When you add it up, one toxic high performer can cost more in lost colleagues, lost effort and lost trust than they bring in. And your best people, the ones with options, are usually the first to leave.

How do you address it?

Make how the work gets done part of performance

Many organizations unintentionally reward toxic behavior because they only measure results. If someone can hit the number while hurting the team and still get the bonus, the promotion and the praise, the message is clear. Make behavior part of how performance is evaluated and how people are promoted. When the team sees that treating people well counts, it changes what people aim for.

This is one reason I weigh the team’s view so heavily when promoting leaders. Someone who gets results but whom nobody wants to follow is not ready to lead, however good the numbers look. See How to Decide Who to Promote Into Leadership.

What if they do not change?

Give them a real, fair chance first. Some people genuinely do not realize how they come across, and a clear conversation is enough. Others change when they see the standard applies to them too. But if the behavior continues after clear expectations and support, it is time to act, even if the numbers dip for a while. In my experience, teams often perform better after a toxic person leaves, because everyone else stops spending energy protecting themselves.

Protect the people who were affected as well. Check in with them, acknowledge what happened and make sure they know it was taken seriously. That is how you rebuild trust. More on this in my culture keynote, You Are Capable of a Better Culture, and in More Talent Can Tear A Team Apart.