The Hardest Thing
Warning; This is going to be uncomfortable.
Many think the hardest thing to do is fire someone. I disagree. If you have clearly explained to someone, and they understand, that what they are doing isn’t meeting expectations prior to their exit it shouldn’t be the hardest thing you do. Besides, if the person is not pulling their weight it can be a relief to their coworkers, the business, and management.
Of course, you are a miserable human being if it feels good to fire someone. It just isn’t hard once you reach a certain point.
The hardest thing you have to do as a manager is to tell someone they aren’t meeting expectations. Necessary, but flat-out no fun. It is your duty as a manager to be upfront with your people about how they are performing; good or bad. An article about Jack Welch sums it up in this Wall Street Journal article from February, 11th 2006.
Mr. Welch seems frequently to get razzed about “rank and yank”, a term popularized by Enron. But he tells audiences that GE’s method of systematically evaluating and weeding out employees involved a lot more coaching, and never involved dropping the hammer unexpectedly. OK, but was he really comfortable having those conversations in which he had to tell the laggards they weren’t making the grade? “Totally,” he says emphatically – “because I never surprised them.”
He maintains that a real manager has to be comfortable having such conversation, but too many aren’t because of a misguided sensitivity to their underlings’ feelings. “That’s the cruelest form of management,” he continues. “You carry these people along. They get to be 50 years old. You have a recession. You say let’s cut cost 10% and you walk down the hall, ‘Holman, you’re going home.’ ‘Why me?’ ‘Because you weren’t very good, Holman.’ And Holman’s reaction is: ‘I’ve been here 25 years. Why didn’t you tell me?’”
If your people are doing a good job, tell them. If they aren’t performing up to expectations tell them.
It may be uncomfortable, but it is the right thing to do.
Many think the hardest thing to do is fire someone. I disagree. If you have clearly explained to someone, and they understand, that what they are doing isn’t meeting expectations prior to their exit it shouldn’t be the hardest thing you do. Besides, if the person is not pulling their weight it can be a relief to their coworkers, the business, and management.
Of course, you are a miserable human being if it feels good to fire someone. It just isn’t hard once you reach a certain point.
The hardest thing you have to do as a manager is to tell someone they aren’t meeting expectations. Necessary, but flat-out no fun. It is your duty as a manager to be upfront with your people about how they are performing; good or bad. An article about Jack Welch sums it up in this Wall Street Journal article from February, 11th 2006.
Mr. Welch seems frequently to get razzed about “rank and yank”, a term popularized by Enron. But he tells audiences that GE’s method of systematically evaluating and weeding out employees involved a lot more coaching, and never involved dropping the hammer unexpectedly. OK, but was he really comfortable having those conversations in which he had to tell the laggards they weren’t making the grade? “Totally,” he says emphatically – “because I never surprised them.”
He maintains that a real manager has to be comfortable having such conversation, but too many aren’t because of a misguided sensitivity to their underlings’ feelings. “That’s the cruelest form of management,” he continues. “You carry these people along. They get to be 50 years old. You have a recession. You say let’s cut cost 10% and you walk down the hall, ‘Holman, you’re going home.’ ‘Why me?’ ‘Because you weren’t very good, Holman.’ And Holman’s reaction is: ‘I’ve been here 25 years. Why didn’t you tell me?’”
If your people are doing a good job, tell them. If they aren’t performing up to expectations tell them.
It may be uncomfortable, but it is the right thing to do.
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