The focus of this quarterly newsletter will be on situations that, should you find yourself in it, could be catastrophic for your business. The problems discussed here are ones that, if unchecked, could completely derail your business, leaving you in a much worse shape. I have seen situations where the organization was never able to recover from this, either reemerging in a reduced state or eventually needing to close its doors.
The first issue has to do with enabling problem people. This can be particularly difficult at first, but problem individuals tend to have red flag behavior that helps you to quickly identify them. Here are five examples:
Consistent pattern of violating boundaries: From never taking “no” for an answer to consistently invading your personal space, these individuals will not respect boundaries, especially when it comes to getting what they want when they want it.
Emotional volatility and manipulation: These individuals can exhibit extreme mood swings or explosive anger followed by a display of intense remorse. They might choose to use guilt or threats in an attempt to control others' behavior. They might try to make you feel like you're "walking on eggshells." Another type of behavior is to love bomb you prior to cruel treatment.
Inability to accept responsibility - These individuals never admit fault, and they are always blaming others for their problems. They make excuses for harmful behavior, as well as respond to criticism with deflection or counterattacks. When they are confronted, they will try to turn themselves into the victim.
Isolating and controlling behavior - Problem individuals like this will try to limit your contact with friends or family. If possible, they might try to monitor your communications, as well as make you account for your whereabouts. These individuals might attempt to control your decisions about money, clothing, or activities.
Pattern of dishonesty - Problem people like this frequently lie about things (even small things), and they attempt to present different versions of themselves to different people. They will try to gaslight (making people question their reality/memory), and then refuse to be transparent about important matters.
Should you find yourself dealing with someone in your business exhibiting these types of behavior, document them thoroughly. An individual like this will not be careful, likely leaving a clear paper trail.
Once you have everything documented, present it to your boss. If you are the boss and are receiving this report (or have been collecting the information), make preparations to get rid of this person immediately. They are not going to change, and giving them a second chance could cause permanent damage and run off people. No trial is needed here.
This might seem harsh, but the reality is that if you do anything but remove this person, you cause incalculable damage to not only the organization but also to your reputation. From this point onward, you will be identified as an enabler. The problem person will continue to wreak havoc, poisoning your company culture and, quite possibly, destroy the brand that you have worked so hard to develop.
In conclusion, the way that you enable problem people is to let them stay. Anything short of removal is enablement. One recommendation on removing them is that you prepare for things to get very ugly. Offer no explanation other than you are going into a different direction. A problem person like this will try to turn it into a debate. Don’t let them: simply state things without explanation, thanking them for their work, and then asking them to depart.