Most managers are unaware that a toxic employee is on their team. Toxic employees can be wily creatures. They are always nice to management and only act out when the boss is not around. They may even be super nice to someone’s face, but the minute their back is turned that person can be subjected to being derided, disrespected and having their character grilled and skewered.

It is even more difficult for a CEO to be aware of these toxic team members as they are so far removed from the front lines. Their blissful ignorance can even extend to their own executive teams.

Who are these misguided moppets? You can recognize them as they engage in the following behaviors: rudeness, bullying, bitterness, anger, being critical, having negative attitudes, and gossiping. We may think that all of us must put on our big boy or girl pants and deal with such issues from time to time. We need to reevaluate that idea.

The actions of a toxic employee are no small matter. According to an article by Christine Porath, Ph.D. for HBR, the poisonous trail they leave in their wake affects the entire organization and can foster an array of ills. This toxic waste includes:

The number one concern for organiztions in the past two years has been the exit of employees according to SHRM . Of course, as with any problem, organiztions need to get to the root of the problem. According to several sources, stop me if you’ve heard this, the number one reason people leave their jobs is because of a bad boss. Is it always the manager’s fault or does the CEO also play a role? Or maybe, we’re in a mid-life crisis. In this article, we’ll look at three reasons people leave and ways to open the curtain on prevention.

1. The Manager

• The Critical Boss: None of us like to be criticized and “constructive feedback” can still be painful. However, to dismiss remarks the boss offers would be a mistake. Rather, your opening act should be introspection. Be objective and look at ways you might improve performance, but also what traits may irk the boss or take stock of your clashing points.
• Transference: Does your boss remind you of someone from your past who was critical, bullied you, or who used to know how to push your hot buttons? Work on separating these two figures.
• Communication: There are people who, at least, initially do not communicate well. This is simply a matter of understanding each other’s behavior and communication styles and adapting.
• Is It Just You? If there are others who do work well with your boss, observe their interactions and there may be things you are or are not doing that need to change.
• Bosses: If good people are leaving your team, then you too should engage in each of the above steps.                    
  
  2. The Mid-Life Crisis

Just when you thought you had this communication system thing all figured out, along comes more wires of misunderstanding to jumble up your fuse box. We’ve all, no doubt, been plugged into many of the basics of communication such as:

• Words, tone, and language
• The sender sends a message and the receiver must decode and interpret it
• We lose understanding via mechanical devices
• Levels of listening
• Barriers to communication

Just when you thought it was safe to have a conversation, two new studies tell us we still need to bring our communication efforts up a decibel or two. First is a study by Boyle, D.M., Mahoney, D.P., Carpenter, BW., and Grambo, R.J. This study conveys the shocking news that communication is not just for conversation any more. Now, it appears, that communication can aid in your career advancement – or not. The authors posit that communication skills encompass interpersonal skills and that these two skills are “[are] essential to a smooth career progression.” The study goes even further to suggest that both workers and the firm share an obligation to pursue training these areas.

The study gives fair warning to career newbies that texting and e-mail can be viewed as “inappropriate or inadequate” even at the staff level. When you realize that many complex business issues require face-to-face communication, switching from their insulated communication system may be a shock hazard for some young people.

An executive tells me he would be conducting performance reviews this week, including an employee we’ll call Betty. I asked how Betty’s performance affected him. He replies, it doesn’t. I probe further, and as it turns out, Betty is a direct managerial report of his who, in turn, manages about 12 employees including a couple of assistant managers.

He continues this dialogue by stating that if it was up to him, he’d clean house and fire everyone because, Betty had given most of her reports a score of two but that Betty is doing a good job. I expect my head to stop spinning sometime next week. I think it’s safe to assume that this executive has no performance management program (PM) in place. What if he did? What would a PM do for him, his reports, and the organization?

Implementing a PM system can provide many benefits. An article by Aileen MacMillan serves to illustrate ow a PM benefits the organization, managers, and supervisors, and employees. For example, the article suggests such elements as accountability, performance, and productivity enjoy higher levels. Clearly, my executive friend could use these and more. So, what does a good PM system look like?