One Bad Apple

 

In 2006, Felps, Mitchell, and Byington published a paper in the journal Research in Organizational Behavior with the catchy title, "How, When, and Why Bad Apples Spoil the Barrel: Negative Group Members and Dysfunctional Groups."

The truth they discovered still rings true almost 20 years later.

They divided students into teams of four and gave them 45 minutes to solve management problems. The best team would receive a monetary reward.

What the students didn’t know was that some groups included a “plant” — an actor instructed to play one of three specific roles:

• The Slacker – lounged back, feet on the table, glued to their phone.
• The Cynic – interrupted with cutting sarcasm: “Are you serious?” or “You’ve clearly never managed anyone before.”
• The Pessimist – muttering that the task was hopeless and the team couldn’t possibly succeed.

What they found was that even when the other three members were capable and motivated, the negative behavior of just one person dragged down the group’s overall performance by 30–40%.

Their conclusion was striking: a team’s effectiveness depends less on how many strong performers it has — and more on whether it carries even a single toxic presence.

The LinkedIn post I learned this from had some words to say to HR departments and corporate executives, but I would like to encourage you to think about the implications for your local church community.

And more specifically, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you whether you might be a slacker, cynic, or pessimist, and pray for a transformation to happen.

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Truth is...one bad apple really can spoil the whole bunch. But that sounds kind of pessimistic. Let's all strive to be good apples: fresh, growing, and contributing to the health of the group we are in.