5. Stop rewarding the toxic performers in your team, and here's how to spot them.

In this episode, I discuss how to spot the bad apples or toxic individuals in your team, and most importantly, identify the A players to recognise and retain in the business. Over the past five years, I have applied the Performance Culture Matrix in every organisation I have been involved with.

The matrix allows me to recruit or hire people more effectively by understanding what behaviours are values resemble, and to identify high risk personnel that risk ruining the environment for those who genuinely wish to be in the organisation and contribute to the growth for everyone's benefit.

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Transcript

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If I asked you to identify the toxic people in your organization, odds are you'd be able to identify them, and the reason is all of us just know who those bad apples are in any team. Assuming one of us is not the one being pointed out. So how do we apply a structure in identifying those bad apples in any organization, and also how do we recognize those that are truly A players to ensure that they don't leave our organizations and our teams? In this episode of Candid, I'll be sharing more around how to use the performance culture matrix. This particular matrix I've been using for more than five years. And in support of other elements, it's really helped me just understand the mix of people that we have in any organization that I've been a part of. So to jump straight into it, if you think about any individual in an organization, if we define them and identify them as toxic beyond intuition, we need to have some level of structure for that and to just fast forward. The irony here when it comes to identifying bad apples in any organization is that a lot of them are high performers in terms of creating tangible financial value for the organization. But everyone still identifies them as being toxic or a bad apple. And the worst case scenario here is when, which is often the case, you start promoting those bad apples, those high performing toxic individuals in an organization. Because when you start promoting people, especially in management positions, what tends to happen is they then start recruiting people that are aligned to their particular values, which are, in this case, misaligned to the organization or the team. And this creates a complete pervasive effect where all of a sudden you hired one bad apple, but now you've got seven across departments, across particular divisions or teams. I. And this is when it really becomes costly financially to the organization. Um, and it's almost, in the many cases, a very hidden cost until it's not necessarily too late, but way into the journey. So today what I want to share then is how I apply the performance culture matrix. And this performance culture matrix looks at the relationship between the performance of an individual and an organization, as well as then the cultural alignment, how aligned they are to the actual culture. I. But before I go into this, a quick disclaimer. This performance cultural matrix is seen through the eyes of the organization, as in we're looking at, through this, through the perspective, um, as in what is in the best interest of the team. And so why I say this is because if we identify someone as toxic or a bad apple and what I reference in future as well, it doesn't mean the person is a terrible person, doesn't mean that that person, you know, deserves to just be completely isolated. What it means is that in the context of this organization, right, we need to make sure, um, that people aligned to this organization's culture. Because every organization has a different culture. There may be similarities to many different organizations, but every single, um, organization has, uh, a distinct culture. And so the question is, is a toxic person in an organization is that person, toxic person as a, just a human being? And I, I completely argue. That they are not. And every one of us deserves to, uh, find an organization and a team that treats us with dignity and every one of us deserves then to be able to contribute to the value that we actually have the potential to contribute for. So just note going forward now how I describe or use the term, uh, toxic or, or, or the phrase bad apple. It's not saying that the actual person, per se, is a terrible person. So if we look at the first intersection of the per performance culture matrix for A players, that's when they're aligned to the culture and they are high performing. So A players, we wanna recognize them and ultimately we wanna retain them. And so how we retain a players in an organization is naturally financially through increased salaries, uh, uh, more participation in bonus pools. Um, Also then on a more non-financial side, uh, say it's their, um, three year anniversary at the organization. Send them on a holiday. Like treat them in a way where they truly understand that it's even far beyond a transaction or an employment contract, that we really do value their contribution and we really wanna recognize them beyond just, um, you know, financially through experiences as well. Um, Of course you've got a promotion that you can do, but just note that a lot of the times A players, you don't need to promote them in order for them to actually feel recognized. Because if they're aligned to the culture, right, beyond the high performance, but if they're aligned to the culture, it means that they want more. And so just pay attention to that. And how I personally make sure that we try and be as proactive as possible is being intentional about meeting with them on a monthly basis. But that meeting doesn't have to be formal. It can also be informal through lunch or through anything like that. So just understand that that's the case. So that's the A player. Then we move into B players. And the B player then is the intersection between them being aligned to the culture and then not necessarily performing to the expectations of the organization. And so often what you'll find, just a quick tangent, often what you'll find here is that B players, if you look closer, They are possibly surrounding and serving A players. And so what that means is that a lot of the times what you'll notice is your B players, if they've been, you know, in the role for quite some time or in organization, say six to 12 months, you'll pick up that they're actually prioritizing their fellow team members. And as a consequence, their individual performance is lacking. But because they're so aligned with helping their team members, it's enabling a players to actually. Um, you know, be, be in the, be in the team. And so, take note that a lot of the time, B players are the untitled team members. So they're the people that aren't necessarily in a management position. They aren't necessarily, um, in a role where there's supposed power associated with it. And so, as a consequence, just come in when you do, um, identify them, just try, ask more questions around them. And what you'll probably find, and what I personally found is that. A lot of the times then B players or individuals that actually need to be moved into a different role. So they're, they're the, the right person for the team. Uh, they may just need to move into a different role. And so it's just through asking more questions for understanding, I. Instead of just assuming that we will identify possible opportunities to ultimately train the players to move towards that a player position. And when I say train, so this is more on the technical side. So, um, it's really around making sure whether it be courses online, um, you know, any particular seminars that are coming up. Um, even put it to them, Hey listen, I see there's a big opportunity here. Are you still interested in this particular growth pass? Growth pass? Are you interested in this particular growth path? Uh, specifically, yes. Okay, great. Well, what do you think that you could start equipping yourself with? And I wanna back you, I wanna really go and make sure that you can get that, so just pay attention to that as well. And then lastly, on B players, remember that the majority of your recruits, your new recruits that enter your team, they're going to be B players, right? Assuming you're high and correct from a technical point of view. Um, you wanna get that, that, um, that hiring right when it comes to aligning to culture. But no matter how skilled they are, they still need to ramp up when it comes to what systems you're using, what tools you're using, um, you know, what processes are involved at any particular point in time. And so this then just reinforces how important onboarding is and how important it is to really. Accelerate the rate at which someone can really contribute from a performance point of view, assuming that, of course they're gonna be aligned. So just know that most of, I would say, all of your new recruits are gonna be B players and we wanna move them as quickly as possible to that a player front, because it's motivating for them. They can inspired by seeing everyone else around them. And then that just creates a very good, um, positive momentum. Now moving on to C players. In my opinion, these are the highest risk type of person in an organization because they're performing well, but they're not aligned to the culture. And if they're not aligned to the culture, what that means is that financially us as human beings, we always like to measure things, and if quantitatively you're able to see that someone is contributing, that normally kind of creates the cover for us to actually move to. Not taking an enter or not taking into account the fact that culturally speaking, are we paying attention to anything that is, um, misaligned or what misbehavior is there? So in this case, what I would recommend with C players, and hence, you know, on, on the intersection now between high performance and misalignment of culture, you'll see that it's about coaching. Now the coaching, as I say, is we're attempting to coach, um, C players in understanding the culture and recognizing their role in moving more beyond just themselves and, and the performance, but actually around the team. I haven't seen one example in my experience thus far where c c player actually moves to, um, being an A player and, um, I'm happy to be proven wrong, but. Most of the time when this is the case and they misaligned to the, the culture, it's, it's something that's very difficult and most of the time, and like I say, in my personal experience all of the time, I haven't seen that C player move to an A player. So just understand that also that. We, we cannot be naive here. We cannot, um, you know, hold onto this as long as we possibly can because what it will create is a tremendous amount of, um, you know, collateral damage across the team. Because you will probably note when that person does leave, um, you'll probably note that literally a lot of their financial contribution came at the cost of everyone else in the team's contribution. So, um, just be mindful of that as well. And again, just to note around C players is yes, we could define them as as, um, a bad apple, right? But it doesn't mean that they are actual. Bad people within any instance. So it's just in the context of the business context of the organization and the alignment of the culture to the organization. Um, that individual has an opportunity, of course, to, at other companies and then really find themselves completely aligned and contributing in the way that they, um, are capable to do. And. In any recruitment environment, whenever you are trying to hire people, you're trying to hire them because you want them to, of course, align to your culture. That's what I would say is the priority is always aligning to culture first. The performance, the technical side can be trained, um, you know, in due time then you'd have the technical capacity to, of course, um, upskill. But fundamentally for me, the most important is the culture side. Um, not only there is it around the organization. Having that alignment, but it's also to not waste the person's time in coming to an organizations that they're never gonna align to.'cause then it's completely demoralizing and completely, um, demoting, uh, demotivating Azure. So it's completely, um, not in anyone's interest to hire incorrectly, actually. And before I continue, just, uh, a quick confession here in terms of my professional career thus far. I was a, well, I believe that I was a seed player when I, um, was at pick and pay when I did my articles there. And, um, you know, there were incredible people and still are incredible people at that organization. But I was, you know, completely misaligned to the culture at that point in time. It may have, of course, evolved, um, you know, uh, from, from, um, compared to, compared to then to now. But ultimately I think for me, Um, my style is very candid, so literally, I, uh, would speak to anyone no matter what your seniority was. Uh, and I would challenge, I would challenge the system. I would challenge certain things that I didn't, uh, agree with. That went against, you know, my, our own personal values. And as a consequence, even a senior executive said to me and sat me down, I said, listen, if you carry on going like this, um, you know, the, the system is gonna spit you out. And. For me, that was a big awakening and, and a realization first of all, that like if we defining an organization as just a system, then I, I didn't really agree with that. Again, this was one individual's, you know, interacting, interaction with me, but I do not regret that experience of doing my articles there, and I highly recommend it. You know, if you're watching this and you aspiring ca that you actually apply there because it's phenomenal in terms of the exposure that you gain. But for me personally, I didn't align to it. Um, but kudos to my line manager at, um, at the time or my, my, my direct report, I. Um, where she actually, uh, whether she was aware of the performance, uh, culture matrix or not, she actually got someone, a coach, uh, to then teach me around how to be more professional within a corporate environment and how to understand that I can't go, you know, to other layers within the organization and I have to focus on, you know, influencing people a little bit more subtlely and, um, Of course it didn't turn, turn out, um, to the extent that was desired. But I think the key thing here is just to note that, um, I don't believe that when someone is a C player that you actually do, that you actually can move them to an A player status. So, um, just wanted to just share that, you know, personally, because I think, again, in that particular organization, You know, I didn't line for it. And they definitely, uh, you know, shouldn't want me as a person at that point in time. But hence finding an organization like where I am now at Kins Africa. It's completely, uh, you know, aligned to who I am. And that's why I'm gonna give and continue to give my all. So now moving on to the final one, the, the D player. So that's the intersection between low performance. And, um, a misalignment. And with the players, they are an, an anchor, uh, to the progress of an organization. And the, the critical point here, of course, is the outcome that you're expect is to exit, um, the individual, um, for, for them to exit or for you to go through the process of exiting completely, legally, and also with dignity. But the, the real point here is the fact that if someone is misaligned to the culture and they're not performing, As an individual in the team, it's the most, you know, really unhappy experience to be part of. So even though the person may not see it at the time, they will appreciate it over time, um, when they find an organization that they actually truly do align with. Um, so. That's why the, the key outcome there is exit. Um, and again, to reiterate, it's not because the person is a bad person or anything like that, it's just through the lens of the business that we are needing to understand that we have to act in the best interest of the team versus, um, any individual as well. And what I've experienced though also is when the D player is actually exited, um, when they leave the organization, I. The A players actually are, um, motivated by that. So there's like this, this wave of, of, of positive momentum and energy that actually begins right afterwards because they've seen the example being set of not negotiating our values and they've seen the example being set of meritocracy. So, um, just take note of that and do not try and, um, let this go for too long. It has to be quick and it has to be, um, you know, very, very. Well structured so that if it's, um, voluntary by them to leave, then that's of course the best possible option. Um, but if there's a process of disciplinary, um, you know, structure that we have to implement, then do that as quick as possible within the legal parameters that we have. So just to recap, I highly recommend in order to identify the four different say players within any team that you apply, the performance culture matrix, it's helped me a ton. And I hope that it helps you as well. But again, I know I've repeated this a lot. This is through the lens of the organization. So we are not about judging individuals based on who they are as human beings. It's just through the business lens and acting in the best interests of the team, after all. I'll see you in the next episode. Cheers.