This is called The Spillover Effect. The original study had 2 main findings. Kellogg Insight did a study across 58,000 hours in 11 companies. They found "positive spillover" & "negative spillover." 1) Positive Spillover If you sit within 25ft of a HIGH performer, your performance increases by 15%. You... are no smarter, you work no harder... and you're 15% better. These highest performers are not impacted by the low performance of their neighbors. My takeaway = the strong lift up the weak. But there was a second finding too, a much more concerning one... 2) Negative Spillover If you sit near a LOW performer... Things get bad fast. How they define “low performer” in the study is important: These are “toxic workers.” A “toxic” person = someone who ends up being fired for their behavior/performance. On average: • A toxic worker costs a co $12,800 • 2% of all workers are toxic • They infect FAST. And actually – the poison of a toxic worker spans way beyond 25ft. Researchers said, “You can see their negative imprint and negative effect across an entire floor.” So remember: Surround yourself with top performers. It's the easiest cheat code to improvement. Toxicity will poison your entire company. Cut it off before it has the opportunity.show more

Why are they being toxic tho? Do they need help? More training? A different job opportunity? Stuff going on at home? Should we figure that out or just fire them to keep the bottom line green

this is so true! Even in competition. I found when I competed against people above my skill level, I wanted to show up & represent if I came in as a heavy favorite, the lower competition also lowered my standards of my own performance- a powerful lesson Awesome post ✨📈🫡

So this is basically the law of attraction to some extent. Very interesting study.

Always surround yourself with people smarter than you

I think most of us have observed the toxic effect first hand. This is so important for managers and leaders to get a handle on.

The people you surround yourself with have a gravitational pull. Make sure they pull you up instead of down.

Spillover is why most tech startups require in-person. IT's not because they hate remote. It's because your unicorns pump your normies.

I wish more people understood this. I worked with a lot of different teams before learning you peers are either a catalyst or a sedative. 1. An environment of high standards breaks sedative people's habits. 2. Talent density is measured by the level of catalyst within a team.

Being around toxic workers is like trying to stay dry in a flood. You might survive, but everything around you gets drenched.