The Real Cost of Keeping a Toxic High Performer (And Why Leaders Avoid the Truth)

Every leader eventually faces a dilemma that keeps them up at 3:00 AM, staring at the ceiling and weighing the numbers against their people. They have a high performer who drives revenue and closes deals but poisons the culture.

I’ve had toxic employees before, and I’ll be honest, it’s not always easy to spot them right away. On the surface, they look like your greatest asset, closing deals and bringing in money. They are the superstars you can’t afford to lose. But what you don’t see at first is that they are quietly draining the lifeblood from your business, which is often more damaging than anything they could ever produce.

What I didn’t see early in my career, and what many leaders miss, is just how much damage is caused by protecting this one person. While you’re rewarding the results, your good people are absorbing the disrespect, the conflict, and the constant bending of rules. Eventually, they reach a breaking point. You think you’re being a pragmatic leader by keeping them. In reality, you’re being a negligent one.

The Most Dangerous Kind of Toxic Employee

The worst kind of toxic employee is the two-faced one, not the person who is openly mean to everyone. Those are easier to spot and easier to remove. The real danger lies in the two-faced performer.

To their boss, they are a dream come true. They are full of compliments, eager to please, and quick to smile. You know the type. They are master manipulators when it comes to influencing management. They know how to play the game, making leadership believe they’re all-in and creating a curated version of themselves that only exists in your office.

Behind the scenes, it’s an entirely different story. The moment your back is turned, the mask slips. They trash-talk the company, leadership, and even their own teammates. They stir drama, pit people against each other, and subtly make others feel like the rules only apply to “everyone else.” They put their own interests, or ego, ahead of the company.

The rest of your team sees it clearly, while leadership is often left blind.

That’s the part I didn’t see soon enough, and I’ve had managers under me who didn’t see it either. By protecting that one two-faced performer, we were quietly eroding the very foundation of the business.

The Damage You Don’t See on a Spreadsheet

Here’s what happens when you keep a toxic high performer:

Your loyal employees, the ones who genuinely care about the company, start to grow tired. They spend more energy navigating the toxic person’s moods and cleaning up relational messes than they do driving the business forward.

Your B+ and A- players start to realize that character doesn’t matter as much as numbers. They stop sharing ideas or going the extra mile. They show up, do the bare minimum to avoid getting fired, and go home. They’re still present, but their investment fades.

Eventually, some of your best people, those with the most options, disengage and leave. They choose to walk away rather than stay in an environment where disrespect is tolerated for the sake of revenue. When they leave, they take their talent and commitment elsewhere.

These are often the very people you should be protecting the most. Meanwhile, it can feel like you’re holding onto a critical asset, when in reality, you’re slowly giving up the future of the company.

I’ve Seen It From Both Sides of a Broken Culture

I’ve lived through this dynamic from both sides of the desk.

As a business owner, I’ve made this mistake myself. I held onto toxic high performers longer than I should have because I was afraid of the short-term impact on revenue. I convinced myself their numbers justified the behavior.

They didn’t. And the cost took time to repair. I learned that by protecting one toxic person, I was unintentionally pushing good people out.

I’ve also lived this as an employee.

I’ve been in environments where leadership continued to protect toxic behavior while the rest of us carried the weight. It was draining. It created resentment. It made me question my value and the integrity of leaders I once trusted.

That resentment became a catalyst. It was one of the reasons I started Drive Her Forward. I wanted to build something that wasn’t poisoned by excuses or tolerance for behavior that destroys culture. I wanted to build a platform rooted in radical collaboration and genuine support, both of which cannot exist in the presence of toxicity.

Sustained high performance simply doesn’t survive in environments where toxicity is tolerated.

The Hard Truth Every Leader Must Face

One toxic employee is never worth the cost of a disengaged team.

Culture isn’t a fad or a trend. It’s not an HR perk or a Friday happy hour. Culture is the engine that drives your business. If there’s salt in the gas tank, the car won’t run, no matter how expensive the tires are.

By protecting the wrong person, you’re silently telling your loyal people that their effort and integrity don’t matter. Once that message sinks in, the damage is done.

Letting go of a toxic high performer can feel like taking a short-term financial hit. You might lose a client or have a slow month. But the moment that person walks out the door, the relief is almost immediate. The team breathes again. They re-engage. They trust leadership to protect them. And that collective buy-in drives far more sustainable growth than one destructive employee ever could.

Final Thought: What Is This Toxic Employee Really Costing You?

If you’re holding onto someone who performs but poisons the culture, it’s worth asking yourself an honest question:

What is this actually costing me?

Add the cost of the people who quit. Add the cost of mistakes made by distracted teammates. Add the cost of everyone’s stress. It adds up quickly.

That one person is replaceable. But the trust of an entire team that believes in you is one of the few things in business that is truly irreplaceable.

Why Drive Her Forward Exists

This is one of the many reasons I built Drive Her Forward.

I want to help women in leadership cut through the noise, recognize the silent costs in their businesses and lives, and take control of their leadership path without compromise. You shouldn’t have to choose between success and sanity.

👉 If you’re ready to lead with clarity, standards, and integrity, apply to the Drive Her Forward membership.

This is a curated community for women who value strong culture, intentional leadership, and growth done the right way.

It’s time to stop protecting the poison and start protecting the people.