Gerry Czarnecki can only do so much to help an employee struggling on the job, a truth that he must constantly keep at the top of his mind.
“It’s not my job to be the success,” says Czarnecki, president and CEO at Miami-based O2 Media Inc. “If I have to do their job, then I don’t need them.”
A high-maintenance employee is a luxury that many leaders can’t afford during a recession, says the leader of the 130-employee media production company. So when the time comes to cut ties with an underperformer, how do you make the move without creating a problem with those who remain?
Czarnecki is releasing a book on April 6th titled, “Lead with Love,” that talks about dealing with emotion in the leadership realm.
Smart Business spoke with Czarnecki about how to make tough personnel moves without inciting fear in the workplace.
How do you avoid the spawning of rumors?
From the moment you’ve made the decision to do it, you need to act on it. Because once you’ve decided for certain that you’re going to turn somebody loose, almost invariably, a little clock goes off and you turn off your relationship with them. It doesn’t take long for somebody to feel that.
You have to be forthright, clear and compassionate, and you have to do it in a timely fashion. Because unfortunately, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a small or large organization. There is what we used to call in Hawaii, a coconut wireless. It was a euphemism for the rumor mill. When there are these kinds of decisions being contemplated, somehow people hear about them.
How do you reduce panic about who’s next?
The people who are remaining probably already know that person was failing.
If you have a candid, open relationship with them, they know where they stand with you. If they’re doing their job and they stand well with you, you’ve already told them. They already know and they are already secure in their own skin because you’ve interfaced with them and you’ve given them feedback on how they are doing.
Is there always going to be somebody who is going to be insecure in the organization because they see somebody terminated? Absolutely. You can’t be perfect in your relationships with people. It may be that somebody who doesn’t report to you somewhere else in the organization may conclude that they are next on the hit list. Some of that is going to happen.