Deciding which staffers to bank on and which to let go is one of the great leadership nightmares. So lets take a quick quiz.
Q1: You have one employee with no experience and one with a lot of experience, both resulting in the same level and quality of output. You need to cut back on staff and invest in your core skill-base. Who do you fire and who do you invest in?
a) The first with no experience
b) The second with lots of experience
If you answered a) you were wrong. If both are resulting in the same level of output, then the guy with lots of experience is under-performing. Take the one with no experience, give him a boost in training and gradually assign him more responsibilities till he feels his experience growing along with his confidence. In the long run, that staffer will be a much great asset to you than the second.
Q2: You have a troublesome employee that often talks back to you, but when it comes down to it does his work well, supports his team members and has a passion for the company’s vision. You have a second that is the nicest guy anyone is likely to meet, but cannot get behind the company’s vision. Who do you fire?
a) The troublesome one
b) The nice one
If you picked a) you were wrong. Never have employees that cannot passionately get behind the vision of the company. Its better to have an unpleasant employee passionate about the growth of the company’s vision than a pleasant one that does not believe in it.
Q3: You promote a hardworking person to a higher level and a long time manager opposes that employee’s ascension despite himself not performing his mangerial duties to acceptable standards. You suspect the opposition to be borne out of jealousy or personal reasons. Who do you fire?
a) Keep the manager and fire the employee
b) Fire the manager
If you picked a) you were wrong. If managerial staff are opposed to those below them getting promotions because they feel threatened, their petty personal reasons are getting in the way of their focus on what is best for the company. Always reward those that work the hardest and deliver the best results more than those that don’t, regardless of rank.
