Thanks for sharing your story. As someone once told me, there are three sides to every story: in this case yours, Rick’s and the truth. Some people work better in isolation, while others prefer collaborative team styled settings. This is where dynamic management and proactive leadership comes into play. It all starts from the top. We don’t know why Rick went into isolation as you said. What if he was dealing with office bullying? Or sabotage that your leadership was not aware of? Worse yet, what if the leadership themselves were working to isolate him? Where there clear expectations set on his role within the organization? Did your leadership have weekly catch-up sessions with him to keep him on track, versus having a meeting only after things went south? How was he allowed to get to that “toxic” point you described in the first place, especially if he started off doing well? There has to have been a catalyst that sent him into isolation which is not clear from your article… Rick himself would have to explain what that catalyst was. This sounds like a leadership and culture problem, not necessarily an issue with an “arrogant” star performer. With that being said, I do like the line you had about mutual respect. This article is talking about and taking shots at a guy who is not here to speak for himself, so without hearing “Rick’s” side of the story, will have to take your assessment/article with a grain of salt. Also don’t think its cool that you think its ok to write about poor Rick on a public blog, seems a bit below the belt and passive aggressive.
