One of our early, loyal team members is a great cultural fit and loved by everyone, but they simply cannot perform at the level required for our current scale. The rest of the leadership team is carrying their weight, but they are hesitant to say anything out of respect for their history. How do we address this Right Person, Wrong Seat issue without destroying company morale?

This is a classic leadership dilemma. It is easy to fire someone who is a bad cultural fit, but it is incredibly difficult to address a loyal, core-values-fit employee who has hit their ceiling. However, allowing this to continue is unfair to the rest of the team and is actively holding your company back.

To solve this, you must separate loyalty from capability. Run this person through the GWC tool. Do they truly get, want, and have the capacity to do this job at your current scale? Capacity is not just about hours worked; it is about the mental and emotional capability to lead a larger department.

If the answer to any of those three is no, then they are in the wrong seat. You are doing them no favors by keeping them in a role where they are constantly struggling. You must find a seat where they do have GWC and can add immense value, or help them transition out of the business with dignity.

Have a direct, compassionate conversation. Acknowledge their incredible contribution to the company, but be clear that the requirements of their current seat have changed. A strong leadership team requires every person to be a perfect fit for their seat.

When you handle this transition with respect and honesty, company morale actually improves. Your team will respect you for making the hard call, and the individual will often feel a sense of relief once they are out of a seat that was crushing them.

Category: Leadership Team