How do you deal with these toxic employees? If you're the business owner, first and foremost, I want you to realize it's your fault that you hired them. It's my fault if they're here in my company because we allowed them to be here. That's why your hiring process is so important.

The hiring process is super important because that's how you weed out difficult, potentially difficult and potentially toxic employees who will not fit your culture, who will do more damage than help you. See, you're hiring people in order to have a better team, in order for them to help you with the workload, to think with you or to think for you.

Always explain to them why you do certain things. It is not that pleasant when we go through the airport and have to go through so many checks. We have to take off our shoes, our belts, and our socks. You do all these things and you don't understand why you need to do them because it's not explained to you and it doesn't feel pleasant, doesn't it?

Also, with difficult people, put systems and processes in place that would curb their behavior, that would allow them to change their behavior. There has to be penalties. There has to be sanctions.

You see, difficult employees have bad behaviors, they're bad fruits because of the roots. If the roots are wrong, then the fruits will be wrong also. So you have to tackle the root, not the symptoms, not the fruits, you tackle the roots. You explain why and you make sure that you give that certain nutrition and certain fertilizer in telling them, "This is why we do things. This is why you should do that. This is why we follow these guidelines." So that their fruit will be changed into good behavior.

Now, for toxic employees, my advice is you pray for them. It's impossible to change the heart of a person. We cannot do it. It's not our job as human beings. Only God can do that. So if you really want to keep a toxic employee, you pray for that person night and day and allow God to work His magic.

But my advice to you, from a business owner to another business owner, if you have a toxic person in your team, warn them once, warn them about their behavior. "I will warn you once. And then we have to part ways because there is no way that we're going to not agree on things and not commit on things and still work together. There is no way we can do that."

So my advice for you, if you have a toxic employee, as soon as possible, let them go. As soon as legally possible. You warn them once and then that's it. Every single day that you're keeping that toxic employee, always remember they're influencing someone in your team. Somewhere in your company, they're influencing that person for the worse. That's their nature. That's why we call them toxic, because they're poison and they will spread that poison and virus to other people in your company.

Difficult people, you can still change. Difficult people, you can still mentor, you can still teach. But toxic people, I don't think it's our job anymore to change their hearts. It is the Lord's job. It's God's job. And they need to experience certain God-sized moments in their lives in order for them to change for the better. It's not your job. I don't think you need to redeem them. As a business owner, be responsible, protect your people and let the toxic people go.

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