15“Oh My God! I Can’t Fire Anyone!”

IF THERE’S ONE MOMENT that lives forever in a manager’s memory, it’s the first time a direct report must be fired. It’s not a pleasant task. Firing someone can be traumatic for both parties in the drama. If you’ve done your job properly, the event will not come as a surprise to the person who is about to get the ax. But you can set the bar higher. Your goal, when dismissing an employee for poor performance, is to have him actually thank you for removing him from the position. Really. This cannot be achieved every time, but it is the goal you want to target.

Simply stated, if you have communicated openly with the employee and made her a part of the attempted performance-improvement process, it is very likely ...

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