A board member once told me to fire my best salesperson

About five years ago, during a tough quarter, a board member pulled me aside after a meeting. He said the top performer on my team was 'disruptive' and that I should let him go to improve team morale. I ignored the advice, choosing instead to have a direct talk with the salesperson about his style. We worked on his communication, and he ended up training three other reps who all hit their goals. Has anyone else been given leadership advice that felt completely off base?

2 comments

2 Comments

sam_anderson6d ago

What's the worst advice you've ever gotten from someone who was supposed to know better?

the_mia6d ago

Fire the board member. Kidding, sort of. @sam_anderson, the worst advice is always from people who don't have to deal with the fallout. That "disruptive" energy is often what drives real results, and managing it is the actual job. Trying to cut out your best performer to make things quiet is a sure way to end up with a team that does nothing interesting.