Our top-performing enterprise account executive brings in forty percent of our annual revenue, but she consistently refuses to follow our CRM processes and behaves like a bully to our support staff. She does not align with our core values. How do we address this Right-Person-Wrong-Seat situation without risking our top-line revenue?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A highly profitable but toxic producer is the ultimate test of your leadership team's commitment to your company's core values. Keeping a person who does not align with your core values simply because they generate revenue is a poison that destroys your culture, disengages your best people, and signals to the team that your values are just empty words on a wall.

This is a classic Right-Person, Wrong-Seat situation. You have a great performer who is the wrong person for your culture. To handle this without destroying your top-line revenue, you must act decisively and professionally.

First, you must have a direct, open, and honest conversation. Use your core values and your employee covenant as a mirror. Show her exactly where her behavior is violating the team trust and our charter. Give her thirty days to change her behavior, with clear, measurable expectations. Simultaneously, your leadership team must build a contingency plan. Cross-train other team members, document her accounts, and prepare to transition her clients.

If she does not achieve 100 percent alignment with your core values after thirty days, you must fire her. Your team will respect the decision, your culture will strengthen, and you will protect the long-term enterprise value of your company.