By HR Download – HR Consultant Cheshire | HR Consultant Manchester
Your fractional HR team from directors to administrators
Introduction
You know the type. The high performer with a dazzling CV, a legacy of results, and a presence that commands attention. They’ve been with you through the highs and lows, solving problems, winning clients, and keeping operations ticking. On paper, they’re gold.
But in reality? They’re grit in the gears.
Meetings tense up when they walk in. Ideas shrink. Credit disappears. Conflict brews. They bend rules, challenge decisions, and leave a trail of friction behind them. The numbers might look good, but the culture is quietly bleeding.
And yet, you hesitate. Because letting them go feels like pulling the plug on something vital.
Why You’re Holding On
Let’s name it. You’re not blind to the impact; they’re brilliant and difficult. But the reasons to keep them feel real:
Knowledge Capital: They know the business inside out. Losing them feels like deleting your internal hard drive.
Performance Metrics: They deliver. Consistently. And that output is hard to ignore.
Loyalty and History: You’ve been through it together. There’s emotional weight in shared battle scars.
Client Relationships: Some customers trust them more than the brand. That’s a risk.
Fear of Disruption: You’re already stretched. Removing them feels like inviting chaos.
Succession Gaps: No one’s quite ready to step up. And recruitment takes time.
Self-Doubt: What if you’re wrong? What if they change? What if the team blames you?
Financial Cost: Replacing them isn’t cheap. And the productivity dip is real.
Indispensability: They’ve made themselves the only one who knows how certain things work.
Emotional Ties: You’ve laughed, cried, built something together. It’s personal.
But here’s the truth: keeping the wrong person costs more than letting them go.
Why You Need to Let Them Go
Because while their wins are visible, their damage is silent, and it spreads.
Cultural Erosion
Toxic behaviour chips away at trust, respect, and shared values. Harvard Business Review calls toxic high performers “cyanide pills for organisational success.” They may deliver results, but they poison collaboration and morale.
Talent Drain
Your best people won’t stick around in a toxic environment. The CIPD warns that toxic cultures are a leading cause of burnout and attrition, especially among high performers who value psychological safety.
Opportunity Cost
Time spent managing drama is time stolen from growth. Jim Collins, in Good to Great, emphasises that great companies prioritise getting the right people on the bus, and removing the wrong ones quickly.
Reputation Risk
What you tolerate becomes your brand. The Institute of Directors highlights that values-based leadership is essential for building trust with stakeholders and maintaining credibility.
Loss of Moral Authority
If you reward toxicity, your values lose their voice. Stephen Covey reminds us that “trust is the glue that holds everything together” and without it, teams merely coordinate, not collaborate.
Precedent Setting
One unchecked rule-breaker invites others to follow. Harvard’s research shows that avoiding a toxic hire delivers £10,000+ in cost savings, nearly double the value of hiring a superstar.
Innovation Suppression
Psychological safety dies. Ideas shrink. Risk-taking stops. Covey’s Speed of Trust shows that low-trust environments derail even the best strategies.
Short-Term Gain, Long-Term Loss
Today’s results can’t justify tomorrow’s disengagement. Toxic employees increase turnover, reduce productivity, and damage brand reputation.
Team Misalignment
One person off-course can steer the whole ship wrong. The IoD stresses that alignment between leadership and values is essential for strategic clarity and team cohesion.
Your Own Growth
Letting go is leadership. It’s clarity. It’s courage. It’s culture protection. Jim Collins calls this the hallmark of Level 5 Leadership—humility paired with fierce resolve.
The Heroic Move
You don’t build a high-performing team by tolerating the wrong energy. You build it by protecting the culture that lets the right people thrive.
Letting go of a toxic high performer isn’t just a decision, it’s a declaration. It says:
“We value respect over results. We choose collaboration over chaos. We protect our people.”
And when you do, the shift is seismic.
Innovation returns. Engagement rises. Productivity becomes sustainable.
Your team lifts. You grow. The business moves forward, stronger, smarter, and more connected.
Is keeping the wrong person holding your team back?
At HR Download, we help leaders across Cheshire and Manchester make bold, values-led decisions. Whether you need a fractional HR team to guide the process or a trusted HR Consultant to help you navigate the tough calls, we’re here; from Directors to Administrators.
Let’s protect your culture. Let’s unlock your team’s full potential. Let’s move forward, heroically.
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