The Unmanageable Star Performer

In this week’s article, we read about Vijay Kumar, the managing partner at Leman Highlander and Company’s Mumbai office. Vijay is a star performer, praised for his ability to attract large clients and grow the bottom line of the business. Unfortunately, he is also become known as a hothead, perfectionist and dictator and his employees are finding it very difficult to work for him, hence leading to a 34% turnover rate. If I were Stefan, I would tell the truth to Vijay and share what I learned in speaking with his team. The key aspect of any leadership role is not just about attracting the right people – more importantly, it is about keeping them. He has made it so that his employees fear him rather than respect him and he has neglected some of the most basic needs of any professional – the need for a delicate work/life balance, the need to feel motivated and inspired and the need to love what you do. I would reference the corporate values and illustrate the need to attract and keep employees. Vijay has made it so that the organization is not only losing valuable employees, but these employees are also now going to the competition with an insider’s scoop of how Leman operates. And since they have severed ties, they may be saying negative things to prospects in ongoing sales cycles, especially if they end up in a competitive sales cycle against Leman. They also may be posting things online about the organization and its work environment which could truly hinder the level of talent that they are able to attract moving forward. I would not fire Vijay as he has proven to be a valuable asset to the company. However, I would want to get an understanding from Vijay on why he is leading in such an aggressive manner. Maybe he does not actually enjoy being in leadership? If that is the case, I would request that he moves into a sales role, responsible for some of the largest, most strategic accounts and allow him just to focus on closing business. This could help yield