Dear Jason, How do I deal with a star performer who bends the rules?

I get this question on a semi-regular basis, generally in relation to “sales guys.” As I was with 100+ “sales guys” last weekend, as well as a handful of their managers and executives, this question came up a few times.

Typically, I find that star performers bend rules. It’s what they do. It’s not that rule-bending makes them stars, it’s that stars generally have an authority problem baked into their DNA. Partly, it’s what drives their desire to perform at the top. But partly, it causes them to disregard others’ authority.

Before you bring your star to heel, consider that in doing so, you may be neutering the very trait that drives all that great performance. Here is a 4-step way to determine how to handle a high-performing rule-bender:

1. If the rule-bending is an administrative/compliance matter: If a rule is getting in the way of sales performance, why does it exist? Is the rule there to make the salesperson’s life easier… or someone else’s? Many policies are the results of management teams trying to police what could be rather than dealing with what is. Many others are the result of people trying to delegate their own work. Ask yourself, how many additional sales would be made if the rule were taken away, and what would the cost be? Using temp labor, this is an easy experiment to run.
2. If the rule-bending is an ethical matter: Why are we even asking the question in this case? If it’s a line-in-the-sand issue for your company, then the answer is no. Where is your courage?
3. If the rule-bending is a strategic matter: Some rules are put in place to enable strategic positioning, such as rules that alter SKU-based compensation to motivate sales growth in a particular area. In which case… is the deal big enough or important enough or needed enough to merit an exception? I understand the power of focus. I also understand the power of cash flow. Run the numbers.
4. If the rule-bending is a cultural matter: Good bye. Culture issue do not get better in time, they get toxic, and when they do, they get very, very expensive to fix. Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish.

If the star performer is a good fit and approaches his/her work ethically, then my advice is… find a way to work through it.

By the way: welcome to management!

Jason Seiden is Co-founder and CEO of Ajax Social Media, a training company that shows professionals how use social media to work more effectively.