YOU'RE FIRED!
How to Fire Someone Without Starting a Fire
Remember The Apprentice Show? When Donald Trump would look people right in the eye, point at them, and say, “YOU’RE FIRED?” If you’re a leader, you have probably found yourself daydreaming about saying that to someone but trying to figure out the healthiest way to go about it. After all, as Christian leaders, we don’t have the luxury of just heartlessly firing someone, do we?
However, we also do not have the luxury of just allowing our organizations to suffer because someone on our team is incompetent, toxic, or lackadaisical. As the leader of your team, department, or organization, you are responsible for the stewardship of it. Most of the time, the word “stewardship” is viewed through a financial lens. While this is certainly applicable, we are also accountable for how we steward the people we lead. And in some ways, the two are diabolically connected. It is a pretty safe bet that the largest line on your expense report is your payroll.
As pastors we not only are shepherds to those to gather collectively to worship, but we are also responsible for shepherding those who gather on the 15th and 30th to collect a paycheck. We are responsible for doing both in a Christ-like manner. We represent the hands and feet of Jesus, but we also represent the Bride of Christ, His church.
So how do we do it then? Let me offer you three things to consider when you are faced with the challenge of firing someone.
#1 - Be Cautious
If you haven’t already fired the person, chances are you are pretty good at this one and need to move on to the other two things below. However, it is an important one to add to the list. Here are a few things questions to consider as you cautiously move forward with this process.
Have we ensured that we are not making this decision with our emotions?
Have we seen a continuous pattern in behavior that does not align with our values as an organization?
Have we met with the individual on numerous occasions with clear and concise directives and action plans to correct the behavior or performance and yet the pattern continues?
Have we sought counsel from our oversights, peers, or other leadership personnel around us? The Bible says there is wisdom in a multitude of counsel, so we have done so.
From a Human Resources perspective, it is also vital to document the behavior. Keeping a record of our meetings with the individual, the warnings, and patterns that are not acceptable. The only thing worse than a bad employee is getting sued by one after they leave.
Number two is “be quick,” but don’t be quick until you’ve been careful first!
#2 - Be Quick
I love what my good friend and brilliant leadership consultant Sam Chand always says, “hire slowly and fire quickly.” If you’re like me, many times we do the opposite. We have a vacancy that needs to be filled ASAP. So, we move as quickly as possible to fill the gap, only to turn around weeks or months later and realize we may have settled. Whereas when it comes to firing, we move SOOO slow. We question ourselves over and over, refusing to pull the trigger. We talk ourselves into giving the person “one more chance,” even though we’ve already given them 5 chances. We even pray and ask God to just move them out, so I don’t have to do a hard thing (Don’t judge me, I know I’m not the only one that has done that!). As pastors, we are in the people business. We want to see people transformed and changed, so we delay, delay, delay. Waiting to see if they might possibly change. However, in our heart of hearts, we know this is not going to work out.
Hey leader…after step one of “being cautious” BE QUICK. It will not be easier tomorrow. Dreading the moment will not make it go away. I have found that the dread of the moment rarely measures up to the moment. It will be hard, but it will not be as hard as waiting. Find the courage to be quick.
#3 - Be Caring
If you haven’t already fired the person, it’s because this last one comes most naturally to you. You are caring. Ok, I’m going to say something really strong here…are you ready? Sometimes we think not firing them is caring, but it’s actually cowardice. If we truly cared for them, we would know that God has something better for them somewhere else. How do we know that? Because their being in this organization is not good!
By never confronting it, we enable them to remain in a place where they are not thriving. Our inability to confront them might actually be holding them back from where God will truly empower them and use them.
2 ways to be caring when firing:
Care for the organization – When you make it a priority to care for the organization first, you realize that deciding quickly is critical to the health of the entire body. Imagine you went to the doctor and were told there was cancer in your body, but then the doctor said he was going to wait 3-6 months to remove it. What do we know about cancer? It spreads and it slowly kills anything it comes into contact with. An employee in your organization that is toxic spreads toxicity. An employee that does not meet expectations and keeps their job, will soon be copied by others.
Caring for your body as a whole, you would tell the doctor that you want this cancer removed as quickly as possible. Seeing the health of the entire organization as your primary role will help you gain the courage to cut out the cancer.
Yes, there is blood in surgery, and there is a healing season that follows, but it’s better to bleed quickly in surgery than to die slowly with cancer.
Last but not least, you care for the organization by being honest with the organization. In a caring, honoring way, you announce th
at John/Jane Doe has transitioned off of the team and we honor them and protect them with our words in every way. Hiding a departure from the organization creates rumors and might even be more harmful than the person remaining on the team. As a leader, trust is everything.
Care for the individual – First of all, when we walk out step number one of “being cautious” we are showing that we care for the individual. But when the time comes to let the individual go, we “care” by making sure they are “cared for.” These are real people, with real families that we must steward well in their time of transition. There are many options here to consider and you should consult with your HR department, CPA, or perhaps legal counsel. It might include things like a generous severance, insurance coverage for a period of time, or an offer to give a letter of recommendation for their next employment journey. Regardless of what you do, how you do it will be even more critical.
Be Cautious, Be Quick, and Be Caring. But, do not wait any longer. Your organization will be better because of it. And God will honor it because you were cautious, quick, and caring.
Leadership is hard. But as a leader, you do hard things. It’s what you do. So, forward this article to your leadership team. Meet in the next week and pull this trigger.
Thank you for this wisdom and insight. I'm printing it out and adding it t a binder that I keep. It's titled: "Important Things I have to Remember."
WOW!!! Every point discussed in this article is spot on and even though we are called to love and care, as you pointed out, loving and caring may be something completely different than holding on and holding out hope that things will change. I love your statement "An employee who doesn't meet expectations and still keeps their job will soon influence others to follow suit." In one of the first Zoom calls that you hosted, the topic of contentment vs complacency was brought up and I almost completely believe that the above statement directly ties into the topic of contentment vs complacency. Allowing an employee, or another leader to continuely perform below expectations does neither the company OR employee any good...both are being hurt by not calling the situation what it really is.
The people business is hard and not for the faint of heart, but we have to be willing to face hard conversations head on if it means that we are protecting the organization from crumbling and keeping everyone else healthy.
Thank you for sharing this article and your wisdom...both are much appreciated!