{"id":595368,"date":"2022-08-10T10:59:18","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T14:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joangarry.com\/?p=595368"},"modified":"2022-09-07T09:45:32","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T13:45:32","slug":"how-to-fire-an-employee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joangarry.com\/how-to-fire-an-employee\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Fire a Nonprofit Employee (Gracefully)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You might think this story is about you. And it might be about you. But it\u2019s also possible it\u2019s not. It\u2019s just such a common story that I hear it all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You are an internal candidate to lead the organization and lucky you! You were hired!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, your colleague was not \u2014 and Colleague<\/em> does not like it. Not one little bit. So to appease Colleague<\/em>, you give Colleague<\/em> more responsibilities, maybe even a spiffier title (aren\u2019t you nice?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This gives Colleague<\/em> a sense of power. Colleague<\/em> misuses it. Colleague<\/em> undermines you and talks smack about you to your staff and board behind your back. Oh, and Colleague<\/em> begins to illustrate why they were not hired. Colleague<\/em> misses deadlines, drops balls, and begins to show poor performance overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a perfect ugly storm \u2014 a dose of sacred cow meets a newfound kind of power in undermining you and with a new title that feels promotion-like. Colleague<\/em> feels entitled and untouchable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colleague<\/em> needs to go\u2026 but for a whole host of reasons, you can\u2019t get rid of \u2018em. So it drags on. And the collateral damage begins:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh no! Your best employee is leaving? Best Employee<\/em> tells you it\u2019s because of Colleague<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh no! You are doing so much extra work! You\u2019re not fundraising, stewarding board members, or writing that speech. You\u2019re too busy doing Colleague\u2019s<\/em> work as a cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh yes. I hear a version of this story in many sessions I have as an executive coach<\/a>. I hear all the reasons it\u2019s not quite the right time. The most common reason (excuse) is that Colleague<\/em> has the keys to something you don\u2019t have and the second most common one is insufficient documentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might be asking why this is different from the challenges anyone has in moving a staff member out. Couldn\u2019t this scenario be equally true in the private sector? Yup. No manager in any universe has ever said \u201cI should have waited longer to fire that person.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is something special about nonprofit leaders that makes this a much bigger problem in our sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are pleasers<\/strong><\/a>. We are really<\/em> nice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today I am going to offer you some advice on how to fire someone. With grace. And how nice that can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

See It Coming<\/strong>
I think most people know right away. Actually, they often know during the interview. The flag on the field might not be red but it definitely isn\u2019t white. You see it but hire anyway. You need a butt in a seat. Before you make that hire, can I suggest you bookmark this post and re-read the first few paragraphs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create A Definition of 30-Day Success<\/strong>
Give a new employee a week to get bearings. Then a meeting. Together. Answer these questions and the answers need to be specific and value-based. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How will you know? How will the employee know? Here are some examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n