The day I fire myself.

One of the worst activities in the world is having to fire someone from a job. I don’t care how seasoned a manager you are; it’s never easy. In fact, I told myself the day it starts becoming easy is the day I fire myself.  

See, some people think that firing someone is a way of saying, “you’re not doing a good job, you need to go.” But, for me, I believe it’s actually saying:

• We failed at recruiting, and we set you up for a job that wasn’t for you.

• We poorly managed you and did not invest the time to help you.

• We screwed up your life. We hired you into a job that may not be for you, poorly managed you, and now we’re causing a tremendous amount of stress.

Fortunately, I am privileged and blessed to work with great people. But, as I reflected on work I’ve had to do in the past, I was reminded of having to let people go and the vow to fire myself if it ever got easy.  

Great managers help the people in their charge do more of the work that matters to them. The great manager enables her team to see more in themselves, activate potential, step into possibility, and come alive.  

I hope to never have to fire myself. I also hope to be the best manager and friend I can possibly be to my most important employee - myself.