The high performing toxic star

Every organisation I’ve worked with has one: the person who hits every number and leaves a trail of resignations or disengagements in their wake.

Harvard Business School researchers tracked 50,000 employees across 11 companies and found that avoiding a toxic worker delivers nearly double the value of hiring a star performer. The toxic ones aren’t underperforming – they’re often faster than everyone else. Yet what I see time and again is that it’s the people around them who pay; peers of a toxic worker are 54% more likely to quit.

Protecting a toxic star isn’t a talent decision, it’s a culture one, and everyone watching already knows it.