I am trying to locate a study (or correct citation for same) that I
heard about third-hand about a couple of years ago. The gist of this
study was that getting rid of the worst performer on a team might
actually hurt the team performance rather than help; the worst
performer provides some intangible benefits, such as making others
feel better about themselves by comparison. This is all the
information I have, which is why it's a difficult search problem. I
heard about the study more than a year ago, I believe, but I have no
clue what the actual date of the study was.

I have not been able to find a study on this interesting topic, but it
reminds me of the old saying "No man is completely worthless; he can
always serve as a bad example."

Back in the 1980s, Forbes magazine published an article on this
subject that I believe was entitled "Strengthened by the Weakest
Link." Unfortunately, I have not been able to find the article online.

> I have not been able to find the article online

Even an incomplete citation is fine, if I can get the article (offline
even) and verify it's the one (I've been looking for this a long
time). Any clues that might narrow it down before I hunch over 10
years of microfiched Forbes? I couldn't find any online issue index
for Forbes, nor could I find any online references to this article
title (of course, if it was 1980's, that's to be expected). Was this
title just pulled from memory, or did you have a more specific
reference that might provide other clues?

The article that I mentioned seeing in Forbes was indeed "pulled from
memory." I believe I read the article in 1985 or 1986, but have no
further information beyond my recollection of the title. Although I
used to have a mind like a steel trap, it is increasingly resembling a
steel sieve these days.

The title "Strengthened by the Weakest Link" stayed with me, but other
details, unfortunately, did not.

Excellent! I will trundle on down to the nearest mortar-and-bricks
Google (library) and see if I can micro-fish it out :-). I assume you
are a "Researcher"? If so, and if I find the sought-for article, I
will let you know so that you can post it as an "Answer" and we can
complete the transaction. Either way, thanks for your help, as I have
come upon no new clues in my search for this piece in quite a long
time!

I am indeed a "Researcher." Since my memory of the article is so vague
and unsupported, I decided to post it as a freebie "Comment" rather
than as an inadequate $20 "Answer."

I hope your micro-fishing expedition helps you to locate the article.
Wish I could remember more, but, like many folks my age, I am battling
a case of Hardening of the Smarteries.

~pinkfreud

This won’t help you find that quote, but may add some extra knowledge
in a similar sense. According to certain schools in social psychology,
a person would not be the “worst performer” in a group just by h. own
merits, but also because the other members of the group assign h.,
subconsciously, that role, in order to keep their own weaknesses
comfortably away. Get rid of that person, and sooner than later
someone else would take that place. In the meantime, some anxiety
would be generated by the fear of “am I gonna be the looser, once the
looser is gone?” All this would have a negative impact in a team’s
effectiveness. From this point of view, the most recommendable way to
handle it by the leader, is to help every one to be aware of their own
good and bad aspects, try to improve the good ones, encourage
cooperation, and avoid fixed roles as the “best” and the “worst”.

Typo: loser.

The library computers came back up and I was able to do a database
search instead of the hard way. Alas, searches on Forbes from 1980 to
present came up empty. I also tried a variety of more general searches
(portions of the title, full-text instead of title only, etc.) and
still came up blank. The title sounds compelling however, so it's very
tantalizing. Any other publications you deem a possibility for having
read this title in? This is starting to feel like a really boring
episode of X-files :-). I know that sucker is out there somewhere!

Hi guillermo-ga (why are all you people from Georgia? :-),

Thanks for the note; I'm aware mostly of the work of Belbin in the
area of roles and teams, but haven't been able to find the exact thing
I'm looking for in his work (so far). The person I heard about this
study from worked as a programmer at H-P at the time, so I figured
this was (at the time, anyway) a fairly widely circulated
study/article, something to generate a lot of watercooler discussion
in businesses. A chapter in a book I'm writing is about the psychology
of competence, and I just *know* that after it's published, people
will come out of the woodwork and ask me how I could have overlooked
this thing that I can't even find; that's my obsession with this
particular citation, though I am interested in the psychology of
(in)competence in general.

Thanks again for the note!