Fix Your Team

Chapter 3 TOXIC PERSONALITIES: One Bad Apple can rot the whole barrel

SYMPTOMS

• Someone in the team (the Bad Apple) often bails you up in the tearoom with a tale of woe or injustice. They talk about how terrible a recent managerial decision was, or describe an ‘unfair’ situation in minute detail, offering no solutions and making no attempt to understand the situation better.
• The Bad Apple often tries to get you to agree with them and take their side. You feel manipulated and wonder what their agenda is.
• One person commonly makes negative and sarcastic comments in meetings, such as ‘I can’t see how that is going to work’ or ‘Yet more management-speak’.
• Eye-rolling, sighing and folded arms — the Bad Apple’s body language screams disrespect, defiance and negativity.
• Even when a manager is genuinely trying to effect changes that will support the work quality, client or customer experience, team functioning or innovation, and doing so skilfully, the Bad Apple tries to undermine their efforts.

Note: We are not referring in this chapter to people suffering from a mental health condition or a personal crisis that temporarily affects how they behave at work. Those situations are examined in the following chapter.

WHAT’S GOING ON

We’ve all been in a situation — in our family, friendship group or workplace — where one person seems to undermine everyone’s enjoyment of good things that are going on, and exploits any opportunity to dampen the mood. They are the Bad Apple that ...