Even listed at #1 it should be even higher. This is currently going on in my group now. Team member knows quite a bit and is very technical and efficient. Rubs everyone the wrong way and is abrasive. I know no one likes them.
I agree that you can’t have the person who can’t get along with others and play nice... no matter how good they may be at what they do, they are TOXIC.
Had to fire a guy like that, arrogant jackass... was capable, but not nearly as awesome as he thought he was, and alienated everyone, no one wanted to work with him and would go out of their way to avoid doing so.
Took a few cycles to get rid of him because of Corporate HR BS... I would have fired him much faster. Look on his face was priceless when I finally sat him down and let him go. True to form his ego just couldn’t handle what I was telling him. Been telling him for more than 6 months he needed to work on his soft skills, and that he was going to limit his career long term with his behavior.
I don’t think the kid (late 20s) had ever heard anything other than how great he was in his life before me.
One of the critical jobs of managers is to persuade that “abrasive” employee that the team concept makes sense—and that all members of the team have something to contribute.
Of course—that better be true because otherwise the technically skilled employee will not be persuaded to change their ways.
One of the “tricks” to mitigate the abrasive personality is to put them in charge of a tough sub project. Let them pick their own sub team members and make it work.
Make sure the sub team duties are a little outside the area of expertise of the team leader so they are totally dependent on other team members.
The only way they can succeed is if the sub team works together.
Some of our most wonderful “impossible” process improvements were in areas where none of us were experts—we all had to learn from scratch—together.