How to Save 8 of 10 Toxic Bosses

Are you watching the new TV show "Undercover Boss?" It will be interesting to find how many toxic bosses are uncovered.

You know they are out there. During the last 15 years I've coached almost 1,000 examples of derailed executives. Well over 100 would fall into the highest category of derailed executive, the worst case scenario known as the toxic boss.

The good news I have to share is that although their plight is the extreme, my experience is that with proper coaching at least 8 out of 10 toxic bosses can make a comeback. Which is good news for all managers who want to recover executives too painful to keep but too valuable to let go.

So, why can 80 percent of toxic bosses be saved?

Because these are individuals who are extremely successful. Many of these executives could be compared to an elite athlete. They are highly skilled, talented, and energetic. They have passion for what they do and love the companies they're working for. They feel a sense pride in their work, have an insatiable curiosity, and want to learn more.

Unfortunately, many of them have never had coaching or any sort of leadership development. They were put into a leadership role because they were good at a technical task, and they've always wanted someone to sit down with them and mentor them. As a result, many of them are ripe to learn some of these skills.

There are many parallels between executive coaching and sports coaching, just as there are many parallels between business and sports in general. One of these metaphors is when we look at elite athletes.

To illustrate my point let me share an example from my book, The Prodigal Executive. This is the tale of two derailed baseball pitchers that played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sandy Koufax and Tommy John.

Sandy Koufax put together one of the most dominating stretches of pitching in baseball history. Over a five-year span, he threw four no-hitters, led the National League in earned run average five times and compiled a 111-34 record. However, elbow problems forced him to retire at age 30 after the 1966 World Series, one of the saddest days in history for Dodgers fans like me. Inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1972, Koufax became the youngest person ever to receive the honor.

In 1974, Tommy John was having one of his best seasons as a pitcher for the Dodgers with a 13-3 record when a ligament was torn in his pitching arm. John learned from his surgeon, Dr. Frank Jobe, that if he wanted to pitch again he would have to undergo a revolutionary surgical operation that no pitcher had ever undergone.

The operation, widely known today as Tommy John surgery, replaced the ligament in the elbow of his pitching arm with a tendon from his right forearm. The surgery was performed by Dr. Frank Jobe on Sept. 25, 1974. John spent the entire 1975 season recovering from the surgery, and surprised fans and players alike by returning to the Dodgers rotation in 1976.

John went on to pitch until 1989 and earned 164 of his 288 victories after his surgery.

"People with a torn ligament were sent back to the farm or wherever they came from," Jobe told USA Today. "But Tommy didn't want to go."

According to The New York Times, “the surgery has become so reliable, with a success rate of 80 to 85 percent, that it has prolonged the careers of hundreds of major leaguers. About one in seven pitchers in the major leagues this season has had the surgery.”

So how does this relate to derailed executives?

The moral of the story is this: We should not think of toxic bosses as incompetents. Rather, think of them as star athletes who need to rehab and make a comeback. What is needed is a radical intervention (coaching, not surgery) to rehabilitate the derailed executive. The productivity gains for the company make it well worth the effort.