By Robert H. Halleck
Good People Don't Like Working With Bad People
Previously, we've talked about bad loans, balance sheet blunders, bad branches and portfolio management. I wasn't sure I even needed to include this one because it is so obvious; however, it took me a long time to learn my lessons and a lot of my co-workers suffered needlessly while I was learning. Think about it. In your shop I expect you can see the results of glowing appraisals of deadbeats, poor hiring practices, indifferent supervision, etc. A's hire A's, and B's hire C's. Either someone can do the job or he or she can't. A department or a branch quickly sinks down to the level of the poorest supervisor or co-worker.
Your job as a leader is to get the wrong people off the bus, the right people on the bus, and the right people in the right seats. In my long career, I rarely terminated anyone who was surprised and, frequently, I was asked, "What took you so long?"
Nothing I have said here relieves you of the responsibility to effectively manage and grow your people. It merely means that ineffective employees, no matter what the cause, need to work somewhere else. After a lifetime of reading books on management, my list of favorites is short. You get preached to on Sunday so I won't bore you. I do recommend Leadership Is an Art by Max de Pree and the rather obvious The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker.
Robert H. Halleck, who retired in 2002 from a 35-year financial services career, remains vicariously involved in the industry through his wife, a credit union CEO.
Read Lesson 6.
