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Your Questions Megret, a Manager at a California-based insurance company asked:
I am the Manager of a company with 20 employees. We sell insurance. We work in teams with a Producer, Account Manager and Assistant on each team. There are also some general support staff. Here is my situation and question:
I have a Producer who really fits the bill as a Prima Dona. He is a vital asset to the company because he is a very creative thinker and an excellent salesman. And, here is the ‘but’, he is not a very good team player. He has an excuse for everything from poorly filled out applications to telling falsehoods to his team. It is so bad that his team doesn’t believe anything he says, has confronted him on this, and his answer is “that’s just the way I am and I’m not going to change”.
The morale of his team members is very low. They want to do the most professional job they can (both have over 25 years of insurance experience) but cannot because they cannot get proper or timely information from him. We all had a meeting (the owner was there, too). The Prima Dona just wrote it all off in a snide way and was incapable of apologizing for his behavior. The meeting started with the other team members having lots of enthusiasm but ended with one on the verge of tears and the other totally mentally and emotionally checked out.
I have been told by the owner that he does not want to fire the producer and he doesn’t want to be in the middle of this. So, I come to you for advice. I am making the ‘Prima Dona’ my main focus for the next 6 months.
Do you have suggestions for how I can make a team player out of a self focused Prima Dona? Thanks very much Jim.
Jim's Reply:
Hello Megret. Your problem is an interesting one and one I have seen many times before. Obviously, without speaking with you, your colleague and the people his behaviour if affecting, it is impossible to be too specific. So, here are a few general points; based around the initial email (above) and also those which followed.
Your question was essentially, how do you make someone a team-player who is clearly not interested in being a team player? Quite simply; YOU CAN'T! All change comes from within and whilst you can hope to provide the catalyst that encourages the person to change, you are unable to change that person from self-focused to team-focused! However, I feel you have a far deeper problem here and this is why I picked your question out - as I know from experience that it is a problem that impacts many organizations (yes - it's a problem not a challenge!)
This chap has admitted to lying to his colleagues and also to not doing the job you are paying him for, PLUS he has refused point blank to improve his behaviour. To make maters worse, your boss seems to be supporting him; by refusing to ‘get in the middle of this’ or fire him. In short, the 'Prima Dona' does not want to change and the boss is certainly not going to make him change. Little wonder your colleagues left the meeting feeling so de-motivated and undervalued.
Firstly, there is no ‘middle’ here! The boss is not caught between the people who are trying to do their job properly and the person who is not. The boss is at the head of the company and thus deals with each situation from the top down. As the boss, it is impossible to be in the middle of ANY dispute between any of his employees. The boss has an obligation to the board of directors or the company’s shareholders; to always be on the side of what is best for the company.
Secondly, it was clear from your initial question and follow-up emails that his chap’s dreadful behaviour is only being tolerated by your boss, because he is the second best performing salesperson / producer in the company. Has anyone looked at the actual cost of this chap’s behaviour – against the value of the sales he is making? This may show a clearer picture of just how 'vital an asset' he actually is to the company.
For example, look at the cost of the low morale his behaviour is causing! When there is a low morale problem within a business, everyone suffers – not just the employees but the clients too! Low morale brings with it increased absenteeism, low productivity and high staff turnover. What about the cost of having you spend 6 months of your time an energy trying to change someone who has no intention of changing?
Perhaps most costly of all - by allowing this chap to openly lie and neglect the duties he is paid for, your boss is setting a very dangerous precedent for what is acceptable behaviour within the company! His authority is also being openly undermined. The cost of retaining the status quo within your company could be massive!
The bottom line here is that neither you or your boss can change your Prima Dona’s behaviour - HE alone has the power to alter his attitudes. If, as he has told you, he is not interested in changing his behaviour, he will remain as he is and the problem will snowball until a change is forced.
Important point: You did not state in your email if this chap had always been like this or if this was a recent development. If his unacceptable behaviour is something that has only recently started, it is almost certainly because of a certain event in this person’s life. If this is the case and only if this is the case, I would recommend investing in the services of a specialist; to help him work through his issue.
However, if this chap’s behaviour has just slowly deteriorated as he has become more ‘valuable’ to the company, I would put you in mind of one of the oldest sayings in business; “If the people won’t change – change the people!” I hope this helps Megret – all the best!
What do you think about Megret’s situation? I know I have hundreds of readers who work in recruitment and many who work within training – let me know what you think and I will post your ideas here!!
To email me with your feedback, click here and remember to tell me your name, industry and city/country. Please keep your answer as brief as possible.
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