An Insubordinate Inner-Circle
I have a dear friend, let’s call him Stan, owns his own business. Stan is a benevolent and kind leader. So much so, he recently had several members of his inner-circle and management team take full advantage of his goodwill.
These individuals would often argue with, intimidate, and refuse to return Stan’s calls. Projects were never turned in when promised. Guaranteed new clients and revenue were never realized. All the while these individuals were receiving several hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary and benefits.
This could have been Exhibit A for eliminating remote work and decentralized staffs.
A Hard Decision
After wrestling with his decision for months, Stan finally made the hard decision to relieve these individuals from their responsibilities. He fired them much to their surprise. They rebellious staff never thought Stan had it in him to do it.
You may be wondering why this was a “hard decision” in the first place and what took so long to make it. After all, insubordination, disrespect, creating a toxic culture, and failure to deliver on stated objectives should have been a no-brainer. These are often considered zero-tolerance issues. But I repeat, Stan is kind, benevolent, and a giver of seven-times-seventy second chances.
Stan, however, made a fascinating discovery as a result of his decision. He learned the value of addition by subtraction.
The Benefits Of Hard Decisions
Obviously, the reduction in salary and benefits helped with cash flow and the money could now be used for new investments. But this is where it gets interesting.
In addition to less stress, Stan discovered his mind was no longer preoccupied with thoughts of, “Why won’t they call me back? What are they doing today? What kind of mood will they be in today? When, if ever, will their promises of new business come in? What can I possibly do to get them on my side? Are they doing work for someone else.” Once again, all the horror stories of remote work.
With Stan’s thoughts now cleared of these unnecessary distractions, his mind was freed up for big picture, creative, strategic, possibility, and bottom-line thinking. The mental energy which was being used on toxic employees was now used for growing the business. The benefit of this new-found mental margin is Stan’s thinking soared!!!
Everyone in his organization was the beneficiary. The business began launching new strategic and marketing initiatives. Existing team members have taken on additional responsibilities. Market share is growing. Morale has never been higher. The company and its culture are thriving.
Conclusion
Here is a reminder for all leaders, hard decisions are never easy. They are hard. Now to state the obvious, but that is why they are called “hard decisions.” If they were easy, you would not need a leader.
But when leaders like Stan (and you) courageously make hard decisions, the results can be better cash flow and increased financial resources for reinvestment. But an equally wonderful result is the increased mental margin which allows leaders to dream again about what their organizations could become. Stress has been dramatically lowered allowing new ideas to be generated. Creativity is unleashed.
You only have so much mental energy. Where do you want to spend it, constantly worrying about toxic employees or on new ideas for your organization?
Next time you are facing a hard decision, carry through on the decision. You, and your entire organization, will be glad you did. If you do not believe me, just ask Stan.
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