A VC in Vacationland

Every company has energy vampires.  You know, the people that are always negative or subtlety thwart activities that help a company grow and prosper. They tend to suck the creative juices out of your people and spread a bad atmosphere around the office.

Energy vampires can be particularly dangerous in start ups. I recently served a stint (9 months) as the interim CEO of one of my portfolio companies. One of the senior executives was a particularly destructive energy vampire, spreading ill will among the troops, refusing to get on the bandwagon and resisting efforts to cure broken processes.  He was not a bad person, just someone stuck in his own paradigm about how things should happen.  He was unwilling to discuss change and engaged in active resistance.  And, trust me, we really needed to change the way we were doing business.

I thought that I could reform him.  I should have known better.  I worked with him to help him see how we might be more successful.  He spent the day telling other executives that I made his life hell.  I should have counseled him out immediately.  My reform attempts were foolhardy at best.  Things only got worse.  So much for being a nice guy.  My delay costs us dearly in the market.

What can you do to mitigate the impacts of energy vampires?

1. Fire Them–Perhaps my drastic response is colored by my recent experience.  However, other experiences with energy vampires in my life have confirmed my belief that a quick exit is generally the best solution for the most egregious vampires.
2. Reform Them–You get the hero’s award if you can pull this off without hurting the rest of your company.  I had people quit because I put up with the energy vampires in my past.  However, if you are committed to this course of action, don’t be an enabler.  Avoid empathizing with the negativity of the vampire.  Be brutally honest about how their behavior is affecting other people. If they continue not to get it and morale is falling, see 1. above.
3. Isolate Them–OK, so you have an energy vampire that you simply cannot fire or reform.  First, ask yourself if it is really true that 1. or 2. is not possible.  Assuming you must keep them–perhaps they are key to a product introduction, then isolate them.  I had one energy vampire telecommute during a critical phase of a consulting project because the client hated him, but he had critical knowledge about the potential solutions to their issues.  Needless to say, the person was counseled out after the engagement.

The important message here is that you should not put up with energy vampire behavior.  Period.  You will seriously regret leaving them in mainstream of your company, project or life.