Winning - Jack Welch [44]
The question, of course, is why do bosses allow the Dead Man Walking effect to occur? One reason is that firing is so tough that no one likes to do it, and so the event often gets delayed. But with the Dead Man situation, something more subtle is often going on. Bosses let an employee twist in the wind because they want the victim’s peers to see—and, figuratively speaking, sign off on—the necessity of the firing decision. In a way it’s cruel, but most bosses would rather be known as careful than quick-triggered.
Richard, Gail, and Steve are examples of how firing goes wrong. How can you get it right?
FIRST, NO SURPRISES
You can take the surprise out of economic downturn layoffs with lots of financial information. But how do you take the surprise out of gray-area nonperformance firings?
We’ve actually already dealt with that question in the chapters preceding this one—in those discussing candor, differentiation, and good people management practices. In particular, the answer lies in using a rigorous evaluation system, with its regular formal and informal reviews. Very simply, a good performance evaluation process informs and prepares people in the fairest, most open way I know.
If people know where they stand, in fact, a firing actually never happens. Instead, when things are not working out, eventually there is a mutual understanding that it’s time to part ways.
In this kind of environment, where the employee is doing OK but not quite what you want, it can take a couple of years for the endgame to be clear to everyone. Over that time period, there will be many candid conversations about performance and career goals. The possibility of parting ways will have been raised and discussed openly.
In the ideal situation, the last conversation will go like this:
BOSS: Well, I think you know what this meeting is about.
EMPLOYEE: Yes, I guess I do. So, what are your thoughts on timing and what’s the deal?
Moreover, as a result of this process, sometimes you get lucky, and the employee will come to you first:
EMPLOYEE: I’ve got a great job offer, and I think I’m going to go for it. What do you think?
BOSS: What a great career move for you. I think you should take it.
These kinds of partings are rarely acrimonious, and surprise is the last thing anyone feels.
Cases like Richard, Gail, and Steve can never be eliminated entirely, but with candid and consistent evaluation processes in place, they can become less and less common every year.
SECOND, MINIMIZE HUMILIATION
To take the stinging embarrassment out of a firing, you first have to understand the emotional timeline of the experience.
For the boss, the timeline begins long before the actual event. In preparing for it, you feel nervous, frustrated, and anguished. Unless you are a complete jerk, you dread the whole thing, especially the conversation itself. For weeks, you lose sleep, rehearsing how it will go. You talk to your spouse or best friend about the situation to help get your nerve up.
Meanwhile, your employee is scared, but from my experience, usually optimistic until the end. Denial is the operative emotion. Most people walk into termination meetings hoping against hope this isn’t the day, a feeling usually mixed with gut-wrenching fear.
So, the day finally comes, and you sit down.
You deliver the bad news, and suddenly you feel relieved; the anxiety flows out of you. It’s over, you think. I did it kindly, I said nice things. The package is fair. Phew. At last I can get on to other work, including hiring someone great to fill the soon-to-be-vacant spot. You go home feeling that a terrible weight is finally off your shoulders. Dinner that night tastes better than it has in a while.*
Your employee is in another emotional time zone, to put it mildly.
Even if he has been well prepared by candid evaluations, he is crushed