In my initial Leader’s Let-Go, I shared that the hardest Employee or Leader to fire is “The High-Performer” and “The High- Potential”. “The High-Performer” brings in revenue, numbers, closes deals, or fixes big problems or the smaller problems that lead to big problems for “BIG People”; but they don’t follow the rules, may be back-stabbing, liars, cheaters, insubordinate, and lack interest in being The 3P’s: Positive, Passionate, & Productive! In contrast, “The High-Potential” struggles to perform; but we see ourselves in them, have hope, hold on to hope… but due to capacity, ability, or interest they never seem to clear the hurdle! Does either one sound familiar? Yes, I’ve shared the issue… beyond your disciplinary protocol, what’s your Leadership Process for retaining or letting go of a difficult or insubordinate, but beneficial Employee?
The Terrell Owens Effect!
Yes, an Employee that’s problematic (by your definition) can still be beneficial… and because of that, this is a perfect place to start! In no way am I’m knocking Terrell Owens as a person… he’s many things: a Person, a Father, a Son, a Friend, and I’m sure many more roles and a fantastic light to so many o his family, friends, and beyond. However, as a former NFL Football Player, he had quite the reputation. He was undoubtedly one of the most talented wide receivers of all time and being added to your team made you better… it made your Team a Contender and a Media-Megalodon! For how great he was on the field, he became equally destructive in the locker room… splitting the Team and Players, overly concerned with personal disputes, engaging in such conversations and antics with the media instead of keeping issues in-house.
This happens in organizations too. There’s someone that’s great at their job, destructive to the culture, but you don’t have the time… or emotional bandwidth to really address the situation like a Leader… and the antics are building up, the splitting of Leaders, Teams, and Employees are getting deeper roots, sides are separating, and resentment is beginning bubble over!
Perhaps you have a hard and fast rule regarding not following the company’s Mission Statement, Vision & Vision Factors, Expectations, and Rules… that’s great, but most likely there’s a process to follow before termination. Therefore, let’s first evaluate the Strengths & Weaknesses of this individual? Hopefully, they’re GREAT at the thing we’ve hired them to do… or at least really good! This doesn’t excuse rule-breaking or insubordination; however, it’s a fact and a double edge-sword. I’ve worked in Mental Health, Sales, and other fields where a person was SOOOO good their negative behavior was ignored for seasons and reasons. However, the worst companies I ever worked for ignored the behavior forever; losing team morale, great workers, and a great culture… and still kept the person!
So, what do they do SOOOO great, that you think cannot be replaced? Are you correct? Do their negatives chip away or counter their BIG Positive? How could you, your Team, new additions, new systems, trainings, processes, or reallocation of their talent within the organization to help create wins for the company, Teams, Coworkers, and You?
Your Disciplinary Process!
When someone is bad at their job, that’s frustrating; when someone is intentionally insubordinate, that’s infuriating… there’s a difference! First thing’s first… when someone is bad at their job in skill or inappropriate company behavior, the question is… WHY?
Were they hired that way, or did they become that way? When you knew they were that way, what training can be provided to enhance skills? Will you do the training, is it in the Employee Handbook? Are there outside trainings to attend? Will you provide them with 1-on-1 Coaching? At the minimum, are you prepared, willing, and ready to have a tough conversation regarding what the expectations are, why the acts are occurring, a solution to the issue, and documenting the conversation. Remember, an undocumented conversation never happened!
Insubordination is a HUGE word professionally! Through COVID and ever since, my wife and I have worked from together… her on one floor and me on another. One day, she came to my office to vent about an email response she received from an Employee and said, “Who does he think he’s speaking to?”. I responded, “He might not know!”. I’m not defending the curt tone of the man’s email… my point was and is… insubordination may not always be intentional. With the amount of Hybrid and Remote Work… your People really may not know who everyone is, how high someone is ranked, your title, or the chain of command.
On the other hand, intentional insubordination tends to stem from one of two places… the person feels entitled, frustrated, or angry due to a possible plethora of reasons: they don’t like the person giving the order, they feel disrespected by the Higher-Up, the order given is unsafe or illegal, they’re about to retire and no longer care… I could go on, but you get my point!
I remember a time I was in a Leadership Position at a Mental Health Facility. I was out a few weeks off due to surgery and recently returned to work. My scars were still fresh and healing… I know TMI (Too Much Info), but it’s a crucial part of the story, Lol! My Supervisor entered my office and asked if I could stand in the hallway as our Patients alternated classes; as my presence would be beneficial. The building had become quite hostile over the past few months with near riot concerns. I then had a choice… agree or be insubordinate!
Against my better judgment and not wanting to be insubordinate, I complied. Five minutes later, my Coworker was sucker punched in the hallway and viciously attacked two feet away from me. I instinctively jumped into action to subdue the patient and protect my friend. As the incident concluded, I looked down, and my clothes were soaked in blood, as my stitches were ripped apart! There’s so much more to this story, but that’s for another time!
Reason two, an Employee or Leader may be intentionally insubordinate because they have protection from someone in a higher position than you! In my example earlier, Terrell Owens had protection from the Team’s Owner and General Manager… his Coach never stood a chance. In my second Leadership Book, The Leader’s Toolbox, I discuss A Leader’s Rock & Hard Place; How to Lead from the Middle! As a Leader in the “Top Spot”, be sure those reporting to you are respecting and honoring the set Chain-of-Command and Org-Chart or things will get messy… first slowly and then BOOM! Remember, your People are watching what you allow, who has special passes, how to get them, what you’ll address, won’t address… leading to less and less effective Leaders under you as we’ve unintentionally stripped them of authority, provided too much free-reign to their People… and your Leaders will leave, forcing you to now promote “The Insubordinate”… and the implosion of your organization is on a countdown!
Solution-Focused!
After an Employee’s actions are deemed insubordinate… meaning they understand what is expected of them and choose to behave in a noncompliant manner and are unwilling to act on a workplace superior’s directives … we first explore “Why”. The answer to this question is a starting point, not an ending point! The goal as a Leader is to get to the ending point and this formula can help:
- What’s your policy on insubordination – At this point, you need to know it or create it and have it in your back pocket!
- Address the Concern – the person was accused of not following the directives of their boss? Why” Intentional or unintentional? Did they follow the chain-of-command? Are they being selective of what rules to follow and Leaders to follow?
- Ask their Solution – Here are a few questions… The issue here is insubordination; it’s a culture-killer, business-killer, and it’s not something we can do moving forward to maintain a respectful work environment… how can you address this differently moving forward so this is no longer an issue? Or, if you had an opportunity to do it differently, how would you? Yes, these questions may sound cheesy; they allow your People (The Offender) to step out of themselves and brainstorm solutions… People are more willing to do their alternative than yours!
- Evaluate what they brainstormed – Their self-evaluation and solution may be so great, it knocks your socks off, you have to do it! Their response may require fine-tuning. Or, they’re insubordinate, nonchalant, defensive, and rude with you… and that takes us to #5!
- Share the Policy and Consequences – Given the severity of the infraction or intention of the insubordination, share your company policy and consequences. If a warning or other disciplinary action is given, be sure to share the policy and provide it in writing for them to see, sign, and each of you keep for your professional records! The document can also include their possible brainstormed idea of how they plan to address the situation in the future. There’s nothing like showing someone their own plan when they break it… it’s no longer on you; it’s on them!
Length of Pass!
This final Key is twofold! The unfortunate truth can be… by the time you’ve addressed someone’s insubordinate behavior or checked the Supervisor for doling out illegal and unsafe directives… they’ve been doing it for a while! People are hurt, hurting, burnt-out, and some are down right pissed-off!
A real question becomes, how long do they have a pass for inexcusable and intentional insubordination? How long is a bad Leaders pass good for? How long is your pass for ignoring the problem due to our professional and personal “Busy” good for? This is not a knock on you as a Leader… they’re things that are High Priority/Handle Now’s, High Priority/Handle Later’s, Lower Priority/Handle Now’s, and Lower Priority/Handle Later’s. The point is, you must have an answer to this question and your answer will decide the culture of your organization… Be Mindful!
When a hard-line has been crossed, the discipline process has been seen to the end, and the behavior continues… The Let-Go, The Fire, The Termination MUST occur. Remember, your insubordinate employee’s 40% Effort is better than Employee B’s 20% Effort at another company. Let your insubordinate worker be an asset at another company; as you enhance your culture by opening a spot for a new Employee who will Be Positive, Passionate, Productive, and give 90% to 100% Effort to fit into the culture you desire and promote!
“Let your insubordinate worker be an asset at another company; as you enhance your culture by opening a spot for a new Employee who will Be Positive, Passionate, Productive, and give great Effort to fit into the culture you desire and promote… Be Mindful!” – Andre Young
Written by: Andre Young
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