As we consider the UR quadrant, think about your company in terms of a medieval society. This high-performance warrior is indispensable against your enemy but you never know when he’ll abandon the cause, switch sides or kill you. Yet for today’s battle, he’s critically important.
An interesting person to have in the organization; on the plus side, typically the egos and capabilities are so high you’ll get top-notch work when their attention is on the subject at hand. He’ll dazzle customers, investors, and sometimes other employees with his skill. Don’t make the common mistake. Look out for your own interests; you owe this person nothing other than the specific compensation which they earn each day. You can’t ever fully trust him. With trust, you have a Star Performer; without trust, nothing he does can be accepted without checks and balances. Your job is therefore much harder. Not only are you responsible for the end result, you’re also the means by which you get there.
Treat him like a Mercenary. Recognize his loyalties may be anywhere, but for sure are highly vested internally. He might be with you totally on the next battle; but who knows? Double-check sources for any critical decisions or implementations; at the same time, reap the benefit of his skill. Keep him in the job while you privately look for his replacement.
The day the replacement is hired, fire the Mercenary without any empathy or severance other than what will fulfill your contractual obligation. He played you, you play him. It’s all fair.
Here are some examples. These individuals worked for me in a previous company. One of the engineering team leaders, Fred worked for several weeks to come up with an idea that would solve the company’s massive technology problem.
Without going into details, Fred gave us a plan that would give the company cutting-edge technology and a low-cost production facility. It answered formerly unsolvable problems in an efficient and time-sensitive manner. So he was a key person, he created the idea, an idea with details, that allowed this to happen. He’s a keeper, someone to reward. Right??
Well, I also spent a couple hours each week fixing problems he created. He was unbelievably abusive to the rest of the team, including hydrogen peroxide savvy engineers with the experience and knowledge to carry out the project. Sometimes he created problems on purpose. The havoc not only distracted the rest of the team but also raised issues that were not constructive and that took up the management team’s time and attention.
A less obvious mercenary was George, the Division's business manager. George had an MBA from a top-ranked program, and was very smart. He had joined the company directly out of school.
He caught the concept of the business and helped develop the winning strategy. He was very popular and a leader. He was able to make folks gather around him and got the most from them even when they didn’t report to him. He could get employees to put out more than they thought they could…not to make him successful but to further his business cause, which had the same result.
However, George always had his resume out. I learned from others that he had frequent interviews. He was smart enough not to be flagrant. He never flaunted his appeal to other employers but it was obvious that his career, whether with his current employer or not, was his principal and only objective.
Since he was constantly poised to jump ship, we really had no stability in that position. Would he leave in the middle of the night? Even if he gave notice, what if the organization had a critical need for that position to be filled at that moment? Despite his fantastic performance, how much of his attention was being siphoned off by the constant search? How well was it known that his company interests were shared with his next-step career interests?
Those who are really performing but whom you can’t trust may be an enigma to the organization. Typically there won’t be a strong or shared opinion on whether the individual should be booted or retained. More likely, some individuals will have a strong opinion for one option and others will hold an equally strong opinion for the opposite.
While it’s not the primary objective, you mitigate these mixed emotions by not pulling the plug until you have a replacement. Those who thought the individual was a valuable asset know that at least you quickly brought in a replacement. Those who thought the individual was a liability know you’ve taken action.
No matter what, get rid of Mercenaries. Reap the benefits while they’re there but pull the plug on your own time scale, before there is real damage.
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