Procrastination Could Cost You Your Left Hand

Ask a business leader with a few decades under their belt this question: “If you could go back and do it all over again, what would you do different within your company?”

The overwhelming answer in study after study is, “I would have fired people sooner.”

I’ve seen the same theme in my many years of coaching entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Whether I’m at a conference to learn or I’m in my role as a business coach, the common theme is procrastination.

Entrepreneurs, CEOs, Managers, Team Leaders; if they are engaged with their teams as they should be, know when a person on their team isn’t a good fit.

They might be constantly late, not pulling their weight, or just have a negative attitude. But if they are uncoachable and failing to support and raise up the rest of the team, the person in charge likely knows it long before they act on it.

All managers have dealt with such an individual in some way shape or form.

What most people don’t realize, is that the underlying issue isn’t with the employee, it’s with the leader.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in last 12 years is the truth of the famous Martin Luther King Jr quote, “The time is always right to do what is right.”

Firing someone isn’t fun. Even when it’s the right thing to do. It’s usually painful for both employee and leader alike. So, even though the leader might know it’s the right thing to do, they get blocked; mired down in all the reasons why it can’t be done today.

Which ultimately comes from a place of cowardice and selfishness; it lacks integrity. Those conversations may be difficult, but they need to be had.

A leader doesn’t have the luxury of putting off doing what’s right because it’s unpleasant.

The reality is, that when you have a person on the wrong bus or in the wrong seat, going the wrong direction, that manifests as pain for the individual, the leader, and the team.

The longer you keep that person on the team, the more you’re putting everyone in pain. The more you are inhibiting everyone’s ability to thrive. Including the employee you’re avoiding firing.

And if they are surprised when you break the news – that’s a poor reflection on you as a leader.

An employee who is dragging the rest of the team down, unless they’re exceptionally oblivious, isn’t going to be feeling happy and successful in their role. They’re in pain.

And so is your team, who is wondering why aren’t you acting.

Like so many things in life, the longer you let it go, the more far reaching and damaging the consequences.

Eventually, the rest of your team’s behavior will start to sink to their level. A and B players will start either acting like C and D players or leaving your organization altogether because they don’t want to be surrounded by C and D players and they’ve lost faith in your leadership.

We all know the adage that one bad apple can spoil the bunch.

It is equally true that one C player, left to own devices, can singlehandedly destroy a team.

Everyone, including your very best players, will have bad weeks or struggles or outright failure from time to time. And it’s up to you to know the difference between a bad month and a bad fit for your team.

As a leader, it’s your responsibility to be vigilant, to have coaching conversations with your team; to assist them and support them in every way you can.

It’s also your responsibility to act on it when you know it’s just not a good fit.

The success of a company is directly and inextricably tied to the ability of its leadership to build an elite team remarkable people who are either A players or B players who aspire to be A players.

The demise of company usually doesn’t stem from a degradation of service or product – while that often happens, it’s usually a symptom, not a cause. The fall usually comes from within – from leadership allowing a few C players to corrode their entire team.

A poor team fit is often compared to a cancer. I hear business leaders use this analogy all the time.

But even then, many of them still fail to act in a timely fashion.

If your doctor finds cancer on the tip of your pinky finger, you aren’t going to put off having it cut out because you know that every day you leave it, you risk losing more of your finger, your hand, your arm, and so on until you’ve lost your life.

In the words of Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, "I'd rather have a hole in the squad than an asshole."

The underlying message is much like the finger. Removing a tumor may be painful and it will certainly leave a hole, but it can’t even start to heal until the cancer is gone.

I get it. I know that as an entrepreneur, the fear of having an empty seat, an unfilled role, for any amount of time is very real.

You might lose some productivity. You might have to work some longer hours. Your team may have to take on extra work for a while. But the cost of keeping that person far outweighs the small benefit of avoiding that temporary inconvenience.

In my 23 years in a leadership role, every time I’ve had to terminate someone, the message was very clear as to why. And every time, the rest of my team has rallied in support and affirmation of the decision, lifting everyone’s spirits and stepping up to fill the gap until we find the right fit.

Hopefully, this blog helps you get unstuck, and see the potential consequence of leaving the cancer in your finger.

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