“I won’t hang onto a marginal salesperson when the economy is bad and I shouldn’t do that even when the economy is good.” ~ Carrie Davenport, Century Personnel Inc., Carmel, Ind in WSJ 03/02/2010
In pre-collapse economics, when businesses made money by accident, staying true to sound economic and business strategies were put on hold. After all, they were so busy making money, what was the problem? Now, businesses can only make money by design and must continually focus on strategies, tactics, and behaviors that will make and keep their businesses healthy. What a difference a few years makes.
The lessons to be taken from this quote is that business owners have an obligation to hire, develop, and hold accountable their entire team to clearly defined performance expectations. Building a healthy, vibrant, and sustainable business requires an entire team operating as a unit to accomplish great things. There is no room for marginal performers at any level in an organization. When there is a performance problem, it must be corrected or eliminated. And the appropriate action must be timely and decisive.
Keep in mind that simply deciding a team member is not the only role for ownership or leadership in a business:
- Leadership is accountable for hiring, development, and clearly defining expectations and metrics. If there is a disconnect in the effectiveness and consistency of this process, the talent of the leaders need to be called into question.
- The team is accountable for their collaborative, supportive, and mentoring roles with their teammates, as well. A divided or selfish team is not sufficiently in sync and will inhibit the growth of the business. Notwithstanding the functional differences of various roles, every team member must be on the same page as to where the business is going and their respective roles as team members to make certain the business gets there.
- Underperformers deserve the opportunity to get it right or get out. However, it is the role of leadership to provide the motivation and support necessary to give an underperformer a reasonable opportunity to improve.
Today, successful businesses are built on the framework of a sound strategy, a solid community, and a high level of accountability. In the past, it was acceptable to look the other way at underperformers or divisive behaviors. That is not true today. When something is out of place, corrective action must be taken and taken immediately.
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