Qualityworld

• Knowledge portal
• FAQs
• Information
• Qualityworld
  • Current issue
  • Editorial comment
  • Free Qualityworld
  • Past articles
  • Advertisers
  • Subscribe to Qualityworld
  • Advertise in Qualityworld
• Journal of Quality
• Jobs
• Press
• Links

Helpdesk

The problem

I have a talented new member of staff in a team of five. He is keen and creative in his approach to problem solving. However, he rarely works 'by the book' which is causing difficulties. How do I harness his talent without clipping his wings?

Over to the expert

This problem reminds me of the apocryphal story of Sir Matt Busby and George Best. Prior to Best joining Manchester United, Busby had very strict rules for his team. They were expected to turn up to training on time, look smart for matches and act as representatives of the club. Then came Best - a spectacularly talented player who raised the game on the pitch but who was a maverick who didn't do things 'by the book'.

Legend has it that he frequently missed training, turned up to matches drunk and, of course, his exploits off the field were legendary in the tabloids. And yet Busby let him get away with it. In the first season of Best's ascendancy to the team it won the league. The second year it was relegated, even with Best's talent.

I think this story makes some very telling points about how to win - whether at football games or at work. Ultimately, it's about the team, not about the individuals in it. I know how easy it is to get hooked on the talented people and allow them leeway that we wouldn't give to others. While that can work for a short time, the whole reason you have a team in the first place is because the job is too big for one person. If it could be done by one individual then you wouldn't have a team. Your job as the manager is to ensure that the job gets done and that means team work - not individual glory.

So here is your real challenge: to decide between the merits of short-term gain or long-term pain. From my own experience, making exceptions for talented individuals causes more trouble in the long run than benefit in the now.

I don't believe you should make exceptions for this individual, no matter how good he is, unless you are going to allow the whole team to break the rules. It will appear like favouritism and could damage the team integrity. What would you do with someone who was breaking the rules and who was an average performer? You would probably go down the discipline route at some point. You simply must do the same for this particular individual. At the end of the day, he is not indispensable - there are lots of talented and creative people out there who can work within the system. If you end up losing him, which you will eventually anyway, you will find someone to replace him. Before it gets that bad:

• acknowledge his performance and skill
• remind him of the rules and why they exist
• explain why the rules matter
• explain the consequences to the team and the task of breaking or circumventing them
• explain to him that you can't make exceptions for him because that's divisive for the rest of the team
• tell him the consequences (ie going down the discipline route and potentially being dismissed) for not complying
• ask him what it would take for him to continue to be creative and enthusiastic but within the confines of the boundaries that have been set
• ask him what help and support he needs from you to follow the rules
• then it's over to him

If that doesn't work, then you need to bite the bullet and let him go. The team integrity has to come first

Debra Tyler is chief executive of the Directory of Social Change and author of It's Tough at the Top.