Tag: values

Dismissals

FabrizioLeave a comment

There is one important thing to keep in mind when someone in the team has to be dismissed: the impact on those remaining.

For what I have seen so far, there are two reasons why a team member is let go.

The first one is behavioural. The person does not get along well with the rest of the team, is not in line with the company’s culture, generally speaking does not fit well with the work environment. Sometimes, the person is openly toxic and is poisoning the atmosphere for everybody.

The second one is operational. The person is not performing up to the standards, they are not doing their job, they are taking other people’s time in the attempt to catch up. Sometimes, the person is openly slacking, not delivering on their promise and failing to meet even the most basic expectations.

Behavioural dismissal is usually more accepted from those remaining in the team, mostly because the team has felt on their own skin that the relationship was not going well. Operational dismissal is usually more prone to objections, and in most cases it leaves a bitter taste and a sense of fear (“who will be next?”) in those remaining.

On way or the other, there are few things you have to do as a leader to try to mitigate the impact of a dismissal.

First, you have to be crystal clear in setting goals. What is expected of the person, how you are going to measure that, and what are the check points that you’ll go through together. This is valid both for behaviour and performance, and yet I argue that particularly for employees in new situations, the way they relate to others in the team and in the company should be on top of the list of goals.

Second, ask a lot how you can help and make sure to follow up on that. You are the leader, you own the failure and the missteps of your team members. There’s no one in the world that can simply start a new job or a new role and be ready to walk on their own. And this can be extended to all changes that happen in a company or a group.

Third, give ample warnings. If numbers and facts show that the person is not meeting the goals you have set together, despite your continuous and genuine help, be open and tell that. Be direct when you do that, deliver the seriousness of the situation, elaborate a plan together to get past it (you can start from point one and point two), and eventually make sure the person is aware of where they stand.

If you do that confidently, at the very least the dismissal will not come as a surprise. Of course, you cannot be open to the ones remaining regarding the reasons for the dismissal, and yet they will trust that there’s a reason (because you are following a process) and that they are not in danger (because you are going through the same process with them too).

Consider future costs

FabrizioLeave a comment

Everything you do is a trade-off.

When you are lucky, it’s between two options. More often than not, it involves multiple options, some of which are equally appealing.

If you go to the movie, you cannot stay home with your family or spend time reading a book. If you buy a new car, you’ll have to refrain from other big expenses for a while. If you accept that offer, you won’t be able to pursue your dream of being a freelancer or a full-time YouTuber.

It’s self-evident, I know. And yet, there are two things about trade-offs that is worth keeping in mind and reminding when appropriate.

First of all, the nature of a trade-off is that you leave some stuff behind. Regrets, while natural, are kind of pointless, as you know you would still be missing something, one of the options, would you have made another choice. It’s intrinsic to the idea of decision-making.

Nonetheless, and this is point number two, that does not mean you cannot change your mind. Even if the other options are no longer available, the fact you invested (time, energy, commitment) into your choice, does not mean you have to stick with it even in front of clear evidence it is not working. What you have to keep in mind is not what you put into the option you’ve pursued, but what you will put into it from now on. Is it better putting that bit into something that is not worth it anymore, or in something new, perhaps something you still have to discover yourself?

This second one, of course, is the basic idea of sunk cost. One of the easiest economic concepts to understand, one of the most complicated to put into practice.

Begin with listening

FabrizioLeave a comment

An important reminder by Bernadette Jiwa.

If you want to be listened, begin with listening.

If you want to be heard, begin with hearing.

If you want to lead, begin with opening to the people you want to lead.

If you want to sell something, begin with understanding the people you want to sell to.

It is that easy.

The illusion

FabrizioLeave a comment

The first time I was in a leadership role, I struggled very much to understand the unwanted consequences of what a leader says and does.

The illusion is often that you can still behave like a peer, or a friend.

Yet people will look for direction, not for jokes. They will look for reassurance, not for stress. They will look for development, not for undirected and generic feedback.

Grasp this soon when you become a leader, and understand that your words and actions are now under a different type of scrutiny. The whole team will benefit from it.

Growing managers

Fabrizio1 Comment

There’s a fairly common practice in growing start-ups.

When the headcount ramps up and a more complicated structure is needed, the natural tendency is to promote founders or early stage employees into managerial roles. This happens only marginally because people making or vetting the decision believe those employees are the best for the job. Most of the time, the promotion is seen as a reward: after all, the person has been with the company when things were getting started, typically a difficult moment to be in.

There’s a problem with that, though. The skills needed to do your job are considerably different from the skills needed to have others do their jobs.

In this [new] capacity you have plenty of work to do yourself: setting strategy, hiring and firing, coaching and development, obtaining necessary resources, making certain decisions while delegating others, and embodying the culture you wish to foster.

Ed Batista

Most growing companies ignore this problem, and end up in a situation in which a hiatus develops between managers and employees. Managers are not willing to find the time to do what they are supposed to do, employees are left alone and in the blind. Eventually, one of two things will happen: growth will flatline, as managers factually act as bottlenecks; or value will be destroyed, as negative working culture spreads (think Uber).

Founders and early stage employees can (and should) still be rewarded, but if it is decided to promote them into managerial roles, the company should at least make sure they understand their new responsibilities and get appropriate training and mentoring to deliver on the expectations of their newly formed teams.