MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Good morning (at least for me it’s morning).

Something caught my eye while drinking my coffee and surfing the internet. Something that Guy and I will research and argue about ’til the cows come home but something you might want to chew on.

The question raised is “Who has the most impact on group success? The leader or someone else?”  I will go with leader, only because the leader gets to choose his or her worst employee. However, on a daily basis, I suspect the worst employee has the greatest impact on group success.

What got me thinking about this was something Henry Abbott mentioned in an article posted this morning.

Another part of the story mentions that in some research, across many industries, the best predictor of a team’s success came from assessing the worst person on the team. As in, that person has a bigger effect than the leader or an average player.

Now, there’s something to consider. Your business’ success may be more affected by the quality of your worst employee than by the quality of your leadership skills.

Although the author is referring to a sports team, the observation probably holds true for a business. The weak link, non-performing, lazy employee is going to drag everyone down.  The negative pull will be stronger than the positive pull of the leader.

Taking this thought further, the observation supports why Guy and I preach the need for creating a company culture that rejects poor performers. A culture where mutual accountability is found in every corner. A culture where the leader isn’t the only one who steps up and confronts employees who aren’t behaving correctly, working hard, and pulling for each other.

Stay tuned. I’m sure we’ll have more on this soon.

We pray you and your family have a safe and happy holiday week.

Your friends,

Ron & Guy