The Most Expensive Employee Is the Toxic One You Refuse to Fire

Over the course of my career, I’ve worked with brilliant executives, gifted operators, and rainmakers who could bend markets with a phone call. I’ve seen companies scale fast, attract capital, and assemble extraordinary teams.

And I’ve seen all of that jeopardized by one person.

Not because they lacked talent.

Because they were tolerated.

The most expensive employee in any organization is not the one with the highest salary. It’s the toxic high-performer leadership refuses to confront.

At first, it’s easy to rationalize.

“They deliver.”

“They’re intense.”

“That’s just their style.”

“They’re hard on people because they care.”

But toxicity doesn’t sit quietly in a corner. It spreads.

It shows up in meetings where others stop contributing.

It shows up in hallway conversations where good employees whisper, “Why does he get away with that?”

It shows up when your best people disengage — not dramatically, but incrementally.

And it rarely travels upward. Toxic employees are often skilled at managing up. The damage flows sideways and down.

I’ve watched strong contributors walk out the door because leadership chose short-term performance over long-term health. I’ve seen trust evaporate in teams that once collaborated seamlessly. I’ve seen compliance risks ignored because people were afraid to challenge a “star.”

The erosion is subtle. That’s what makes it dangerous.

You don’t see the cost immediately on a P&L.

You see it in turnover.

You see it in stalled innovation.

You see it in the absence of dissent.

You see it when meetings get quieter.

Culture isn’t destroyed by incompetence. Incompetence is usually obvious and dealt with. Culture is destroyed by tolerated behavior.

The moment employees believe that results excuse misconduct, your values become optional. And once values are optional, loyalty is too.

The strongest leaders I’ve worked with understood something simple but hard: protecting culture requires discomfort. It requires confronting revenue producers. It requires consistency. It requires holding everyone — including the top performer — to the same standards.

Because no matter how talented someone is, if they poison trust, they are not an asset.

They are a liability with a bonus structure.

And in the long run, they are the most expensive employee you will ever keep.