Send OFF the Clowns
April 24, 2025
Who Are They? Where Did They Come From? Why Are They Here?
Every so often, someone shows up in your organization who just doesn’t seem to fit.
They make a lot of noise. They jump into projects they weren’t invited to. They seem oddly persuasive with leadership – perhaps they put leaders or owners in a trance with buzzwords, a sketchy background and a spinning bow tie—but it’s baffling to everyone else how they have management under their spell.
They insert themselves into meetings, agendas, and initiatives like a magician who pulled their own job title out of a hat.
No one can say what they do. No one can say who hired them. But somehow… they’re still here.
These are the organizational clowns—and not the fun kind.
More Than Harmless Distractions
Let’s be clear: these aren’t your creative misfits or quirky innovators. The real clown in the workplace is a different breed entirely. Think of them as agents of chaos cloaked in (what they see as their own brand of) charisma—part showman, part saboteur, always disruptive.
They tend to be:
- Mischievous: They meddle where they shouldn’t.
- Malicious or creepy: Their behavior can cross lines—socially, ethically, or emotionally.
- Mysterious: Nobody can pinpoint their purpose or contribution.
- Magically persuasive: They somehow enjoy cover from leadership, despite being a mystery to everyone else.
- Everywhere and nowhere: They appear in every strategic conversation but vanish when outcomes are due. Known for “pulling the pin, and throwing the grenades over the wall.”
They stick their fingers in everyone’s pies, diluting focus and derailing execution—not because they’re productive, but because they’re nefariously mischievous. And they pop up in different contexts in the organization – like whack-a-mole.
From “Send In the Clowns” to “Send Them Off”
In Send in the Clowns, Judy Collins captures a melancholic moment: the right people didn’t show up, and now the wrong ones are stealing the stage. In many organizations, this metaphor comes painfully to life—not in love, but in organizational leadership.
The clowns are already here. They’ve stolen the mic. And they’re turning your workplace into a circus.
But unlike Judy’s song, this isn’t about wistful regret. This is about active organizational self-sabotage—and it can be stopped.
Enter another Collins: Jim Collins: The Bus vs. the Clown Car
In Good to Great, Jim Collins offers one of the most powerful frameworks in business:
“Get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats.”
The idea is simple: who you hire and retain matters more than where you’re going. Get your team right, and the destination will follow.
But when you ignore this? When you fill the bus with the wrong people—often because they talk a good game, seem politically untouchable, or just “showed up”?
You don’t get a bus anymore. You get a clown car.
The Clown Car Organization
- Overstuffed with egos and oddballs
- Driving in chaotic loops
- Loud, erratic, performative
- Headed nowhere, but very energetically
It’s the illusion of motion without direction. It’s activity without impact. It’s burnout without achievement.
The Real Cost of Clown Culture
Here’s what happens when clowns are allowed to linger:
1. They Drain Energy
People spend more time managing clown behavior than doing real work.
2. They Distract from Strategy
Important initiatives get sidetracked by drama, detours, or vanity projects.
3. They Dismantle Trust
When clowns are protected or promoted, high performers begin to question the integrity of leadership.
4. They Pollute the Culture
Others begin to mimic clown behavior, learning that visibility matters more than value.
How to Send Off the Clowns (and Get Back to Great)
You don’t fix a clown car by upgrading the wheels—you change the riders.
1. Expose the Act
Start asking the uncomfortable questions: What is this person’s actual contribution? Who is impacted by their presence? What happens if they leave?
2. Return to Jim Collins’ Discipline
Audit your team through three lenses:
- Right people on the bus
- Wrong people off the bus
- Right people in the right seats
You may find that some clowns need re-seating. Others? An exit plan.
3. Reinforce Accountability
Hold every role to clear, measurable outputs. Vague charters and fuzzy responsibilities are clown magnets.
4. Reward Builders, Not Performers
Stop elevating those who self-promote but don’t deliver. Recognize the quiet achievers and culture carriers.
5. Make Leadership Immune to Manipulation
Clowns often survive by charming up the org chart. Equip leaders to see through the smokescreen and act with backbone.
Closing Act: Rewriting the Script
In Judy Collins’ bittersweet song, the clowns were sent in too late, too wrongly, too tragically. It’s a song of resignation.
In your organization, the story can end differently.
You can:
- Close the curtain on distraction.
- Cast real contributors in the lead roles.
- Chart a course guided by clarity, not charisma.
But it requires courage. And it begins with a decision:
Stop letting clowns take the stage. And start building a team that delivers the performance that truly matters.
#qorval #qorvalpartners #Leadership #OrganizationalCulture #JimCollins #JudyCollins #WorkplacePerformance #Accountability #CultureChange #PeopleStrategy #GoodToGreat #SendOffTheClowns
Paul Fioravanti, MBA, MPA, CTP, is the CEO & Managing Partner of QORVAL Partners, LLC, a FL-based advisory firm (founded 1996 by Jim Malone, six-time Fortune 100/500 CEO) Qorval is a US-based turnaround, restructuring, business optimization and interim management firm. Fioravanti is a proven turnaround CEO with experience in more than 90 situations in more than 40 industries. He earned his MBA and MPA from the University of Rhode Island and completed advanced post-master’s research in finance and marketing at Bryant University. He is a Certified Turnaround Professional and member of the Turnaround Management Association, the Private Directors Association, Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), Association of Merger & Acquisition Advisors (AM&MA), the American Bankruptcy Institute, and IMCUSA. Copyright 2025, Qorval Partners LLC and/or Paul Fioravanti, MBA, MPA, CTP. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution without permission.
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