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QuintEssentials: A Weekly Look at Leadership |
Author says firings can lift a firms' morale ASHEVILLE – Most employees want to do work that makes their companies and communities better, and they want their low-performing co-workers fired, according to Quint Studer, a leading business consultant. Studer spoke to a packed house at the Diana Wortham Theatre on Wednesday morning, offering practical leadership advice on the need to get rid of negative workers who drag down a company and how to “hard-wire” good habits into an organization. The workshop was underwritten by the Asheville Citizen-Times and Mission Health and Hospital “People want to work at great places,” Studer said. “The best thing you can do for Asheville is to make Asheville the best place to work in the world.” Studer got his start as a special-education teacher before going into the health care field. As a hospital administrator, he learned that many of that industry’s best practices for motivating and measuring people could be applied to other businesses. To spread his message, he founded a leadership consultancy called The Studer Group. His 2004 book “Hardwiring Excellence” sold more than 300,000 copies, and he followed that up the next year with “101 Answers to Questions Leaders Ask.” His latest work, “Results That Last,” became a Wall Street Journal best-seller after its publication in October. Studer’s advice focuses on prescriptions for success. Leaders don’t need another buzzword or program, he explained: “As a CEO, I always knew what I wanted to do and why I wanted to do it, but I needed to know how.” Studer said his approach offers practical tips on retaining the best employees, training managers for consistency and improving customer service. While low performers typically make up only about 8 percent of any organization — compared with 34 percent high performers and 58 percent middle performers — Studer said leaders often spend a disproportionate amount of time dealing with those difficult employees. While high and middle performers deserve praise and reassurance that they are critical to a company’s success, firing the low-performing workers who don’t improve can boost staff morale, Studer said. “We call it subtraction equals addition.” Leaders need to pay more compliments to their staff, constantly circulating in the workplace to see what’s working and where problems need to be addressed. Tiffany Myers, a dental hygienist who recently joined Great Beginnings pediatric dentist practice, liked Studer’s approach to meeting with each employee. “We have a fairly large office with about 40 workers,” she said. “People should know where they stand and, if they have any gumption, how they can improve their work.” # # #
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