1. KEEPING PEOPLE PAST THEIR EXPIRATION DATE. I’m what you call an eternal optimist. My first instinct is to see the best in people and work to bring it out in the open. I’ve sent people to conferences, personally mentored them, invested time and resources into their development only to be disappointed.
Dismissing a person is never easy, sometimes it’s inevitable. From experience, I’ve learned that the first person you fire is ALWAYS the most difficult. Before I replace someone, I ask myself: "Does the person really need to be replaced?"
A sharper focus can be gained by asking:
1. Is the person’s ineffectiveness, poor leadership, or example blocking the progress of the ministry?
2. How much harm is being done?
3. What if the position goes vacant for a while (one of my favorite questions)?
4. What standard am I using to measure job effectiveness? Sometimes we measure people against impossible standards. We must distinguish between someone who cannot do a job from someone who can but lacks the necessary skills.
The right people
don’t need to be managed–they just need to be pointed in the right direction.
Jim Collins said, "If the person came to tell you that he or she is leaving to
pursue an exciting new opportunity, would you feel terribly disappointed or
secretly relieved?" If you’d be relieved, it’s time for them to go.
