Good leaders will wisely assess
the situation and find the courage to take action following a firing or round
of layoffs.
At one time or another, every one of us will
experience the aggravation of working with someone who should be fired. Often,
the people in question are managers or co-workers who are apathetic and
unmotivated, or perhaps they erode the culture through gossip or
dishonesty.
They complain instead of finding solutions.
They refuse to learn and don’t take direction well. They have anger issues.
They aren’t team players. They are always part of the problem, and never the
solution.
Some of these people are likable at times,
and may even have friends at work. But they are poison to a company’s culture;
they sink morale and curb results. When new executives or managers arrive, this
“people problem” will need to be fixed as soon as possible.
As a leader, sooner or later you will oversee
a restructuring. When that occurs, the first people to go are usually the ones
described above.
Good leaders will wisely assess the situation
and find the courage to take action. But what about those who stay? Here are a
few actions you can take to rebuild the team and ensure positive momentum after
restructuring:
1. Go back to Leadership 101.
Simple works. Begin by focusing on
relationships and building trust. Ensure that everyone on the team understands
the mission of the organization, its purpose and objectives, and why these are
important. Listen more than you speak. What does this company contribute to the
world?
2. Affirm and spend time with the top
performers.
The team members who add the most value often
don’t have the biggest titles. These are the sometimes “invisible” players who,
nonetheless, influence company culture significantly. You’ve just let go of bad
performers, so now is the time to determine if others need more visible
leadership -- or a promotion.
There is no shortcut to spending time with
your team. It’s vital to find out what they care about. As a leader, you can
ensure a win/win outcome: that team members achieve their aspirations and, at
the same time, fulfill the company’s mission.
Give clear and specific feedback about what
you value in these top performers. Is it their collaborative approach to
problems? Their willingness to help, or to go above and beyond their job
description?
Ask how you can better support them, and
demonstrate that you value their responses.
3. Communicate often.
Communicate beyond your usual comfort zone.
Establish and continue to reaffirm the organization’s vision. Clearly define
your expectations. Use a variety of communications that involve some face time
-- invite them to contact you on Skype or Google Hangouts, if necessary.
4. Ask a lot of questions.
Ask your employees for their ideas on what
has worked and what hasn’t in the past. What are the most persistent problems,
and what is their opinion on how to solve them?
“The best innovators are learners, not
knowers. The same can be said about innovative cultures; they are learning
cultures. The leaders who have built these cultures, either through intuition
or experience, know that in order to discover, they must eagerly seek out
things they don’t understand and jump right into the deep end of the pool. They
must fail fearlessly and quickly and then learn and share their lessons with
the team.” – G. Michael Maddock and Raphael Louis Vitón
5. Establish regular check-ins.
Make it clear that you welcome questions,
opinions, and alternative points of view. Spend time listening to them.
6. Have some fun, soon and often.
Plan team-building activities, or even a
simple happy hour, where you can get to know your employees in a casual
setting. Spending time with them outside of work is invaluable to demonstrating
that their opinions will be heard. Encourage your team to take initiative and
make their work fun.
Remember: most, if not all, of your
colleagues will be relieved by your decision to fire their underperforming
co-workers. They’re smart, and they view this as a mark of good leadership.
They may even ask why it took you so long!
Don’t second-guess your firing decisions.
Research shows that your earliest impressions are generally accurate. It’s hard
to fire people, and it should be! (If it’s too easy, you may need to check
yourself.)
It takes courage and clarity to let people
go. It can and should be done with grace.
I’ve found that for those who are fired, it
can be a turning point in their lives -- the wake-up call they need to do a
self-assessment on their purpose, strengths and weaknesses. It often compels
them to gain clarity on their goals and helps them take responsibility for
their self-limiting beliefs and actions. As painful as firing decisions are,
these experiences can teach and transform.
As you rebuild your team,
here are some additional tips on how to hire well. I love Patrick Lencioni’s
ideas on building a great corporate culture. Even if you aren’t a senior
executive, you can “lead up” and recommend these action steps whenever people
are let go from your organization.
Written By: Caren Merrick
Credit: Entrepreneur.com
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