There’s something about a locker room that’s hard to bullshit.
Coaches can be fooled. Parents can be fooled. Fans definitely get fooled.
The locker room usually doesn’t. Players know who works.
They know who was there in the offseason. They know who finished conditioning. They know who found a reason to miss the workout. They know who skips practice when something hurts but somehow feels pretty damn good when Friday night rolls around.
They know who sprints when the coach is watching and who jogs when he turns his back.
They know.
And one of the quickest ways to lose a locker room is to keep praising a player who refuses to pay the same price everyone else is paying.
Talent doesn’t change that.
Actually, talent might make it worse.
Because now you have a locker room full of kids watching one guy get the attention, the praise, the reps and maybe even the starting spot while everyone else is dragging their asses through workouts, showing up when they don’t feel like it, practicing when they’re sore and doing everything the coach told them mattered.
Then they watch someone else skip all of it and still get rewarded.
You think they don’t notice? Come on. They notice everything.
And eventually they stop being pissed at the player.
They get pissed at the coach.
Sound familiar?
Because we do the exact same shit in business. Different locker room. Same problem.
Every company has its version of the talented player. Maybe it’s the salesperson who brings in revenue but treats everyone around them like shit. Maybe it’s the manager who gets results but burns through people doing it.
Maybe it’s the CFO who is constantly late, never works 40 hours, suspect behavior, unprofessional in meetings, refuses to work with the team and somehow keeps getting praised because they’re really good at the one thing the owner happens to notice.
Meanwhile, the people doing everything right are watching.
They know who comes prepared. They know who stays late when something needs finished. They know who helps without being asked. They know who carries somebody else when they’re buried.
They know who actually lives the values hanging on the wall. They know who works to create and sustain a strong culture.
And they sure as hell know who doesn’t.
Leadership sometimes makes the mistake of believing employees don’t see the whole picture.
They see more than you think. They may not know the revenue numbers. They may not know everyone’s salary. They may not sit in the executive meetings.
But they know who’s working.
They know who’s full of shit.
And most importantly, they know who leadership allows to get away with it.
That’s where culture gets dangerous.
Because eventually your best employees stop being angry at the shitty employee.
They start being angry at you.
You allowed it. You rewarded it. You praised it. You might have even promoted it and overpaid them.
Then you walked into the next company meeting talking about accountability, teamwork, communication and culture.
Give me a break.
You can’t hang ACCOUNTABILITY on the wall and ignore the flags around a top exec.
You can’t demand discipline from the bottom of the organization while negotiating it with the top performers.
Standards aren’t standards when they’re selectively enforced.
They’re suggestions.
And people figure that out pretty damn quickly. This doesn’t mean leadership should let employees run the company any more than a coach should let players run the football program.
The coach still coaches.
The leader still leads.
But you better listen to your locker room.
When good employees who normally don’t complain start complaining about the same person, pay attention.
When your hardest workers stop helping, pay attention. When engaged people suddenly become quiet, pay attention. When the people who used to give you extra start doing exactly what’s required and nothing more, really pay attention.
Check the engine lately?
They might be telling you the standard isn’t real anymore. And sometimes leadership’s first instinct is to blame them.
They’re jealous.
They’re negative.
They’re emotional.
They’re resistant to change.
They’re not team players.
Maybe.
Or maybe they’re fucking tired of watching you reward somebody who refuses to do what you’re asking everyone else to do.
Talent matters.
Production matters.
Results matter.
But none of those should purchase immunity from the standard.
Your best salesperson can be your best salesperson.
Your best welder can be your best welder.
Your best manager can be your best manager.
Your best football player can be your best football player.
Praise them.
Reward them.
Promote them.
Play them.
But they better pay the bill too.
Because culture isn’t what leadership says during the meeting. Culture is what everyone watches leadership tolerate after the meeting.
And once the people doing everything right realize doing everything right doesn’t actually matter, you’ve got a much bigger problem than one difficult employee.
You’ve taught the entire locker room that the standard is negotiable.
And good luck getting that back.