“And I knew exactly what to do. But in a much more real sense, I had no idea what to do.” – Michael Scott, The Office

Perhaps one of the hardest situations any leader has to deal with is letting one of their team members go…especially when they are a high performer, so here are 4 things to think through when you get to that point

1) Have you set them up for success?….do they know what they are supposed to do, and have the training and tools to do it (and get feedback along the way)…

2) Have you given them feedback and instruction along the way (document this!)

3) Try to get some objectivity around the situation

a. Is this a one time occurrence or a pattern?

b. What is keeping them costing your organization? Your time and effort, that of your other team members? Vendors or Customers?

c. If this position was vacant and your were hiring for this position…would you hire them

d. Play the tape forward….Is it the right person wrong seat?

4) Don’t wait too long….keeping them around is costing your organization, and all of their coworkers know they aren’t working and are looking to you to fix it.