You’re The Boss And The Executioner

The toughest reality of leadership and an opportunity to message your team

“I’m above the rest of you and I’m too important to deal with this - good luck.”
 
Would that message inspire you? Would you trust an organization to successfully navigate the next challenge, if you were given that message in response to an organizational crisis?

 

Of course not. Yet, that is exactly the message most leaders communicate when facing many of the inevitable, difficult people decisions that eventually show up in every organization. Think of that chronically under-performing manager, who hangs around because he also happens to be the boss’s friend. Even worse, think about that team of hard-working people who may need to go, because of an economic downturn or because their product or department is no longer necessary.  
 
So whose job is it to be the executioner when that difficult day comes? Of equal importance, when terminating people (or teams of people), what message do you want your organization to retain going forward? And what distinguishes success from failure when communicating such a gut-wrenching decision to your organization?
 
Early in my entrepreneur’s journey, once my board and I digested the full impact of the recession that was ravaging our national economy, I faced the horrible task of closing a regional office that employed 50 people. Our rapid growth consumed cash and our financial survival required that conserving cash became my new top priority. I had traveled the CEO’s road for a few years and unfortunately gained experience in terminating underperforming employees. At the time, however, this was new. I had never terminated 50 people. Making matters worse, these 50 people were not underperforming. They had done nothing wrong.
 
Fortunately for me, my VP of human resources was a superstar. She had deep experience dealing with the good, the bad and the horrible, like the job of terminating 50 people. As we prepared for that dark day, she walked me through the form of termination letter she would deliver; she explained the out-placement services we would provide; she summarized our severance policy and helped me understand the window of time each terminated employee would have to find a new job, that frightening runway that every family dreads before they run out of money and face real hardship.
 
I marveled at her composure, her preparedness and her ability to lead this difficult process. As I listened to her, I thought to myself, “this is why she is here, this is her job.” Moreover, we employed hundreds of people- perhaps I should stay at headquarters and focus on those hundreds of employees who would remain with the organization. Besides, I was the CEO. If I stayed back at headquarters I would better prepare to address the media and our key customers.
 
This decision as to whose job it is to assume the role of executioner is where most leaders fail, missing a critical opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to the Mission while falling victim to their selfish need to “delegate” and avoid the painful experience of taking ownership of the human crisis. When leaders delegate this task they unwittingly communicate the message that “I am above the rest of you” or “this is your problem” or, even worse, “my needs come first and my underlings merely show up on Monday morning to make me more powerful and more wealthy.”
 
On the other hand, when a Fusion Leader assumes responsibility for terminating under-performing or unnecessary personnel, they communicate the message “we are all responsible (to some degree)” and “we are in this together” and, most importantly “I (as the leader) am handling this crisis because this is necessary to achieve our Mission.”
 
When I ultimately decided to get on the plane and deliver the news myself, I did not appreciate the powerful moment I was about to experience in my own leadership development. I did not realize that my team and I would move through this crisis and ultimately build one of the ten largest companies in the United States fiber-based telecommunications industry, Integra Telecom.
 
The internal struggle as to whose job title includes the role of executioner is one of many opportunities leaders have to “fuse” their teams together around a shared Mission, a leadership process I came to describe as Fusion Leadership. Fusion Leaders obsess over the question as to how to inspire the following of others, how to earn the loyalties of an organization and ultimately how to motivate teams of people to manifest an organization’s Mission.
 
When leaders fall victim to their selfish ego needs, like delegating the act of terminating employees, they drive a wedge between their team and the organization’s mission. They provide evidence to their team that their personal needs are more important that the organization’s Mission. That is demotivating. People want to work toward a Cause or Mission. People are repelled by the notion of working toward simply fulfilling their boss’ ego needs.
 
Fusion Leaders look for every opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to the Mission. Consider the question- when you conduct a meeting, who becomes the smartest person in the room? Or, whom do you prioritize on your calendar when you allocate your precious time? Or, how much do you pay yourself compared to how much you pay others who are also working to realize the Mission?
 
Next time your organization must terminate one or many employees, ask yourself “is this an opportunity to demonstrate my commitment to our Mission” and “whose job is it to become the executioner?”