Thursday, April 03, 2008

What I’m Hearing – Tolerating Poor Performance

If you follow basketball, you know that the New York Knicks have not been doing too well the past few years. Between numerous losses and the Anucha Browne-Sanders sexual harassment case, it’s been rough for the team and the fans.

Yesterday, the Knicks’ owners announced that Donnie Walsh will take over Isiah Thomas’ role as President of basketball operations for the team. Word on the street says that Mr. Walsh will also become Head Coach, ending Isiah Thomas’ tenure.

Undoubtedly in our own organizations we have an “Isiah Thomas,” someone whose attitude or poor performance drags down the department or the organization as a whole. Should we allow these individuals to stay on in their roles long after it has become obvious that the employment relationship isn’t working to everyone’s advantage?

Watson Wyatt has conducted research showing that top performing organizations terminate employees who perform unacceptably. Certainly, losing an employee can put additional strain on the remaining group. However, in many cases the team works more effectively after removing negativity and ineffective relationships. Why then do we tolerate poor performance?

Let’s hope the Knicks fare better next season, and that we use their experiences to better our own organizations.

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