Letter to a Young Leader

I know this sucks. You have to let someone go and they really need this job. I've been there. It never gets easier.

The fact that you're struggling with this tells me you're the right kind of person to be a manager.

You care.

That matters.

But here's the thing…caring doesn't mean keeping someone who can't do the job.

Some people think being nice meant avoiding hard conversations. That’s wrong. Dead wrong.

When you keep someone who's not working out, you're not being kind.

You're being unfair to everyone else.

Your good people start wondering why they're busting their ass when mediocre is apparently fine. They get frustrated. They leave. The people who stay start caring less.

Meanwhile, the person who's struggling knows they're not cutting it. They're probably miserable too. Maybe this job isn't right for them. Maybe they'd be amazing somewhere else. But they'll never find out if you keep them here out of guilt.

This is the job.

Managing isn't just the good stuff!

Coaching people up, celebrating wins, building team culture. 

It's also making decisions that feel terrible but are necessary.

If you can't do this part, you can't be a manager.

I'm not trying to be an ass here.

I'm telling you the reality. Management means making calls that affect people's lives.

Sometimes those calls hurt.

But what's worse?

Letting one person go now, or watching your whole team slowly fall apart because standards don't matter anymore?

The best thing you can do is be direct and honest. Don't drag it out. Don't give false hope.

Tell them why this isn't working and help them move on with dignity.

Then get back to taking care of the people who are doing great work. They're counting on you to protect what you've all built together.

This is hard, but you can do hard things. That's why you're here.

Yallah Habibi,

Jon