When You Have to Fire Your Highest-Performing Team Member
A story about a tough part of leadership that no one prepares you for. Not all terminations are clean-cut and that’s what makes them so hard. What do you do when your top performer breaks the rules?
Imagine this…
You have a team member who’s hands down your best performer.
They hit their targets like it’s nothing.
They bring fresh ideas to the table in every meeting.
They’re the one others go to when they’re stuck.
They care about the work, care about the customers, care about the team.
Then, you get the report that they’ve broken policy, again.
This time it’s the attendance policy. It’s the third time this month.
They’ve missed too many shifts, come in too late, or disappeared in the middle of the day without proper notice.
Whatever the specifics, it’s not a one-time thing.
It’s a pattern and it’s in direct conflict with what’s written in black and white.
You’ve already tried to help.
You had the conversation.
You offered to adjust their start time.
You explored work-from-home options.
You’ve documented, supported, redirected.
But here you are, again.
Now, it’s out of your hands.
It’s not a performance issue. It’s a policy issue.
The policy is clear: Pretty much… three strikes and you’re out.
No one prepares you for how hard this part of the job is.
Firing someone who’s struggling and performing at a low level for an extended period of time is one thing.
Firing someone who’s failing to meet a policy expectation due to an understandable circumstance is another.
Add to that the fact that you are firing someone who’s actually exceptional at getting the job done…
Now, that’s the kind of thing that sits with you for a while—and not in a good way.
You feel it when you draft the paperwork.
You feel it when you walk into that final meeting.
You feel it even after they’ve packed their things and left the building.
Because you didn’t want them to go.
They were great at their job.
You did everything you could to make it work.
Still, they couldn’t meet the baseline expectations the company requires.
This is leadership and it’s not always “fair”.
It’s complex. It’s frustrating. It’s heavy.
If you have been through something like this, just know…
You are not a bad manager because you had to let a good person go.
You are not heartless.
You are not weak for feeling the weight of it.
You’re human.
This is one of those moments that no training manual really covers—when the right decision feels wrong in your stomach. When logic and policy win, but your heart is not on board.
Sometimes, being a manager means holding people accountable even when it hurts.
Even when they are the best person on your team.
Even when you know how much they brought to the table.
You did what you could. You led with empathy. You gave chances and you followed through when it mattered most.
That’s not cold. That’s leadership.
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Did you miss last week’s issue?
Hard to Lead, Easy to Annoy: Why That One Team Member is Driving You Bananas
Managing people isn’t always hard but managing difficult people? That’ll have you questioning your whole life. Like… do I even want this job?
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