Our Moral Responsibility to Solve People Issues

I recently met with a client who had fired a “bad apple” that needed to go. They’d talked about this issue for a year before taking action. We met just days after the termination, and they were already feeling lighter- and kicking themselves for waiting so long. I often find people issues to be the ones we have the most difficulty confronting. As we go through our weekly, quarterly, and annual meetings, issues smoke themselves out. Frequently we feel people issues deeper than other issues, because relationships can bring us just as much pain as they can joy. When you have a people issue, it tends to create issues in every area of the organization.

How do we define people issues? Simple – any person who isn’t a right person in the right seat. First popularized by Jim Collins, this concept tells us that right people for our business are right people: people who share our core values, value them, and also want to exemplify them. But they’re also people in the right seat, meaning when we look at their roles and responsibilities, they understand them, want to do that work, and show up every day with what it takes to do the job. We call this GWCTM – they get it, they want it, and they have the capacity to do it. When someone is a wrong person for the organization, or in the wrong seat, other issues will rear their heads until we solve the core issue here: the people issue.

While we teach prioritizing the most important issues and addressing those first, I believe we as leaders have a moral responsibility to address people issues quickly, honestly, and kindly. Leaving these issues alone isn’t in the interest of the greater good of the organization, nor does it benefit any person in the organization.

1. We owe it to our direct reports to be honest with them. Have you ever attended an event and found yourself looking in the mirror in the restroom finding food stuck in your teeth or a smudge of some sort on your face? If so, your first thought was like embarrassment, followed by “I wish someone had told me!” We often avoid uncomfortable discussions for fear of our own embarrassment, or to save/protect the other person.
   Our directs deserve clear, straight communication from us. If they’re not hitting the bar, they need to know why so they can correct it or move on.
2. The rest of the organization deserves right people in the right seats. EOS is all about harnessing human energy. The magic really starts to happen here when we have a full organization with a clear shared vision, all rowing the same direction. When someone isn’t the right person in the right seat, tension ensues. It’s simply not possible to get everyone rowing in the same direction and creating traction until we have right people in the right seats.
3. What stands in the way becomes the way. We often avoid hard conversations for our own personal comfort. When we do this, we set a pattern and a standard that spreads through the organization like a cancer. When we allow folks who are below the bar to stay in the organization, all of your “rockstars” or A-players will start to see that there’s no reason to excel if others aren’t held to the same standards. We have a moral responsibility to confront issues, for the greater good of the organization.

As an encouragement to all of us, I refer back to a Brené Brown quote I use often: “Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.” Shielding folks from hard conversations to protect them does just the opposite. Instead, we leave them in the dark on issues, and we build frustration and resentment. As a leader, focus on providing clear, kind feedback and solving your people issues, and watch as traction increases.