I almost fired my wife one time.
Let me explain. Years ago before ministry we owned a business together. The business had a substantial payroll for over 30 full-time employees. As with many small businesses, we often struggled with cash flow. She was the one managing finances and many weeks we were left wondering if we would have the funds to pay employees, not to mention keep the doors open. There were many sleepless nights for both of us and the stress was almost more than my wife and I could handle, but it was especially hard for her. I learned that some people are just not suited for the stress that comes from being self-employed and it probably wasn’t a good fit for Cheryl from the start. To make matters worse, she had given up a good job as an accountant to pursue my dream when we bought the business. Even though she never complained, it was obvious to me she was miserable.
This difficult period of time began to affect our relationship. Working together everyday, we couldn’t talk about our work when we got home and so our communication was hindered greatly. Besides the personal strain though, as the one responsible for leading the business, I often hesitated asking her to do something at work or to assume a new role, because I knew the stress she was under already. Frankly we both avoided discussing the stress of the business, even at work. She jokingly accused me of running past her office. She and I both became scarcer around the office and would readily admit we were not giving the job our normal work ethic. (I wasn’t either most of the time and towards the end of our ownership I was the one who needed firing. I wrote about the need to fire myself HERE.)
If we had not sold the business I was going to face a difficult decision regarding Cheryl staying with the company. Cheryl is extremely loyal to me and any organization she is involved with. She would not have left on her own. I would have been forced to consider if it would be best for my wife and the company for her to leave. (Now please understand. I am not stupid. This would have been a joint decision. We were both owners of the company. ) Thankfully it never got to that point and we sold the business, but it does serve as an exaggerated example of one of the many often-difficult decisions leaders have to make. If a situation occurred like this today I would handle it sooner and more definitively.
There are times when an employee is no longer a good fit for the position and sometimes for the organization. At times like this a fine line exists between what is fair for the organization and what is fair for the employee. The bottom line is that doing the best thing for the organization often involves making hard decisions. Leaders who succeed are not held back because of the level of difficulty.
Have you been putting off a difficult decision you need to make?
