Our technology director is incredibly capable and has built our entire proprietary platform, but they are arrogant, defensive, and toxic to our team culture. How do we address this brilliant jerk on our leadership team when our future exit valuation heavily depends on the proprietary code they created?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Keeping a brilliant jerk on your leadership team because you fear losing their technical expertise is a critical mistake. While they may deliver short-term results, their toxic behavior destroys the trust, vulnerability, and open communication your team needs to function. A fractured leadership team will instantly devalue your business during buyer due diligence.

You must address this issue head-on using your core values. Schedule a direct, one-on-one meeting outside of your Level 10 Meeting™. Use the People Analyzer tool to show them exactly where they are failing to hit your core values. Be specific, citing objective examples of their defensive or arrogant behavior and the negative impact it has on the team.

Make it clear that living the core values is non-negotiable for holding a seat on the leadership team. Give them a specific, short timeline to correct their behavior. Simultaneously, protect your business by immediately documenting their proprietary knowledge. Have them train other team members or create clear system documentation as a key quarterly Rock.

If they refuse to change, you must transition them out of the company. No single employee, no matter how talented, is worth destroying your leadership team's cohesion. Buyers look for robust systems and collaborative teams, not fragile organizations dependent on a single, toxic individual. Removing them will restore trust and send a powerful message to the entire company.