GUEST COMMENT: The City Prima Donna has had his day

The City has always attracted people who have a talent for making money, who can handle (or hope they can handle) risk and the associated stress that goes with it.

Historically, this has bred a macho attitude, with certain personality aspects overlooked for the sake of high performance. The tide, however, is turning.

When we conducted some research alongside Cass business school, we asked senior managers in financial services to describe the traits and behaviours of various managers they knew. We heard about the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.

There were portrayals of people who ruled by fear, who were dishonest and devious with their teams and who tended to be opinionated and arrogant.

Some were quick to blame their staff. Others grabbed all the credit when the team performance was good, and there were those who made poisonous remarks either to the CEO or behind his or her back to derail them. On the other hand, the managers who were admired were described, among other things, as consultative, able to delegate, straightforward, honest, open minded, confident and resilient.

A short time ago, we were invited to discuss a coaching contract at a large investment bank. We went to take a brief from the head of department to see what objectives he was looking to cover for his highly qualified 'star' team.

"They are a nightmare to manage" he admitted. "They are all very capable but they squabble like children, are rude to female staff and make inappropriate remarks."

He had recruited his department based almost exclusively on their previous performance and their ability to make money. However, it was dawning on him that his department had the reputation of being a pretty unhappy and stressful place to work.

We're finding that banks are becoming far less tolerant of individuals who are considered disruptive or not team-orientated, even if they are highly capable from an intellectual standpoint.

Egotistical, unreasonable, irritable, self-congratulatory people with a ridiculously high opinion of themselves and their abilities are no longer welcome. HR are having to control these behaviours because people are both more choosy about where they work, and more litigious. Organisations who don't tackle them will find their staff will vote with their feet.