As our industry continues to contract, I’ve written about how there is little room left for specialists or for anyone unwilling to try things differently and get away from the way we’ve always done it curse. But, there’s another group that no longer fits in the majority of radio groups, the a-holes. If, like me, you’ve been in radio since the ‘good old days’ you have no doubt worked with plenty of people who fit that description. That’s because for years groups were willing to put up with them provided they were either a) incredibly talented, b) tied to a lot of money or c) had a name within the industry that lent credibility to the group. Now, however, with as little staff as everyone is running with, most groups are moving on from the a-holes within their operation. Here’s why that’s a good thing.
A-holes create a hostile work environment for everyone else on the team which has massive impacts. Some of those are easy to measure, but others are very hard to measure. It kills the creativity in any brainstorming session because they’re unlikely to adhere to a best idea wins philosophy. Always hurts productivity by effecting the mental health of other team members who struggle working with the constant stress of walking on eggshells around the a-hole. Inevitably they end up driving away good people within the organization. Plus, especially when they’re left unchecked, the a-hole’s behavior typically escalates to a point where the group has to end up firing them anyway. So, while holding on to them may seem smart in the short term, whatever perceived benefit they bring to the organization will ultimately be lost in the long run anyway and they’ll leave a path of destruction behind them when they do go.
Director Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, 40-Year-Old Virgin, Funny People, Superbad) famously refuses to work with a-holes on any of his sets, despite working in an industry full of people who are famously hard to work with. He puts it this way “Don’t be a jerk. Try to love everyone. Give more than you take. And do it despite the fact that you only really like about 7 out of 500 people.”
I’m happy to say that over the past few years I’ve heard more radio owners, operators and managers echo those kinds of statements and move on from problem employees that may appear on the surface to be a net positive for their stations, but anyone who works with them knows they are doing more harm than good. I hope that trend continues because as a consultant I’m contractually bound to work with anyone my clients choose to employ and ask me to coach. Which is fine with me, I’ve been doing this long enough that I have considerable experience managing hard to manage, and frankly hard to be around, people. However, it’s not something I enjoy or look forward to and it’s almost always a waste of everyone’s time and my client’s money because while I can coach anyone who wants to be coached, no one can coach someone who thinks they know everything already and have no desire to grow and evolve.
What do you think? How have you handled working with a-holes within your operations? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.
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