I’ve had a few mentors in my life, but one stood out above the rest. He was the CEO of a telecom company back before the MCI WorldCom industry implosion. One day, I was blindsided when an assistant I had grown to like was suddenly let go.
She and I had built a great working relationship—helping each other lighten our workloads, sharing lunches, and navigating the day-to-day together. So when she was fired, it felt abrupt. Unfair, even.
I went straight to the CEO and asked, Why?
His response?
- It wasn’t sudden. We had been having ongoing conversations about job performance for months.
- We had to make the decision to let her go.
Still, I pushed back—Wasn’t she owed more time?
That’s when he said something that has stuck with me ever since:
Slow to Hire. Quick to Fire.
He explained that his company had a rigorous hiring process—deliberate, thoughtful, and designed to ensure a strong cultural and skill fit. By the time someone joined the team, leadership was over 75% confident they were the right person.
But in the rare cases where they got it wrong? The clarifying conversations started immediately—documenting performance issues, setting clear expectations, and providing a defined timeframe for improvement (30 to 90 days).
At the time, I struggled with this approach. But now, as the CEO of my own enterprise, I understand it completely.
Why Leaders Must Fire Fast and Hire Slow
A careful hiring process is just as costly as a termination process. But keeping the wrong person is even more expensive—not just financially, but in culture, morale, and leadership credibility. If you ignore toxic behaviors or poor performance, you aren’t just tolerating the problem—you’re inviting more of it. It’s like leaving a leech on your skin and lying down, waiting for more to join.
5 reasons why leaders must take swift action:
- Underperformers often don’t realize the severity of the issue—and without urgency, change rarely happens.
- Your team is watching. If poor performance goes unaddressed, resentment builds, engagement drops, and others may start underperforming too.
- It defines your culture. What you allow signals what you accept. Are you creating a high-performance culture or a complacent one?
- It protects your bottom line. Whether in the corporate or nonprofit world, wasted resources mean missed opportunities for impact.
- It sharpens your leadership. Hard conversations get easier with practice. And the higher you rise in leadership, the more essential this skill becomes.
Your Team Already Knows, They’re Waiting on You.
As an executive coach, I see too many great leaders sabotage themselves by avoiding the tough calls. They let fear, discomfort, or misplaced loyalty keep them from making the decisions their team desperately needs them to make. By the time they elicit my help, the damage is already done.
And here’s the truth: If someone isn’t performing, your team already knows. They’re watching. They’re waiting. They need you to lead.
Leadership isn’t just about inspiring—it’s about setting the standard. It’s about making the right decisions, even when they’re hard.
So ask yourself: Am I leading with fairness, clarity, and courage? Or am I silently allowing my team to suffer because I’m avoiding the inevitable?
🔹 Slow to Hire. Quick to Fire. 🔹 Your team—and your organization—deserve nothing less.
#standupteam #leadership #greatleaders #leadershiptoolbelt #managerskills
