How to Lead as the Business Outgrows Productive Teammates

Do These Five Things to Grow and Scale Your Team

John was a very hard worker. He loved the business and was loyal to me, and our team.

Everyone liked John. His character was above reproach. In the early days, he saved our business with his leadership and devotion.

He was also my partner and a true friend. John would do most anything for me. I felt that way toward him too. I admired him.

Unfortunately, he was also a growth lid on our business.

The business grew past John’s abilities

We had grown significantly in the previous few years. John was a catalyst to that growth and a key member of our team.

Now, we had stalled. John did not have the leadership skills to lead his team into new challenges.

The situation wrenched my gut. I was not sleeping well. I kept delaying the tough decision — the one that leaders must make for the good of the team.

Insecurity held me back

I needed to remove John and install another leader so the team could continue to grow. People on John’s team had already grown past him. They needed strong leadership or they would eventually leave.

How would John react? Would he hate me? Was it even possible to “fire” a friend and business partner?

The terrible truth was that I knew I would hurt John by removing him from the position.

I was afraid of what he would think of me and what I would lose. My personal fear was winning over my leadership responsibility to put the team’s agenda ahead of my own.

As a young leader, I was face-to-face with one of the most difficult decisions any leader confronts ever — removing a great teammate who can no longer perform the job.

I eventually rallied my courage and did what I needed to do for the health of my team.

Here is what happened and what I learned:

1) Things are dead long before they stink

By the time you smell the dead squirrel in your attic, it has been dead for a long time. Likewise, by the time I noticed the John’s leadership deficiencies, the team had been floundering for months.

John and I discussed the problem. I asked him to take a role with less responsibility. He graciously stepped down.

But, that was the beginning of the end of our business relationship. He did his best to adapt to the new role, but it never worked. He quit the business about six months later.

The unexpected and fascinating result was that there was an immediate performance increase on John’s old team.

Teammates stepped up and showed leadership skills for the first time. Sales increased. The team’s energy level exploded. The bottom line results jumped up.

This all happened because a more effective leader took over. The team responded and began to perform at record levels.

2) The replacement has to be an obvious upgrade

John’s replacement was far more talented for this role. The team recognized this immediately. There was no question about the new leader’s ability.

Since John was so well liked, I knew disappointed teammates would not understand John’s demotion. It was important for them to see the contrast in leadership effectiveness.

If the new leader had not been a clear improvement, the residual people issues would have killed the decision.

3) Demoting to “save” the relationship almost never works

John moved to another role on the team. He did his characteristic best. He was the same honest, devoted teammate as before.

But, John was never the same. We were never the same. There was always a palpable tension when we talked.  Yes, he cared about the business as much as ever, but there was a daily reminder of what he lost.

Furthermore, John’s frustration with his new role leaked onto other teammates. They fed off his negative energy.  He didn’t intend this.  He tried to soldier on.

Within six months, John quit the business. It took about three years before our friendship healed.

4) Teammates with you at the start are rarely with you at the end

One of the most difficult aspects that I had to accept in my decision was that John would not be there as we grew the business.

For years I had assumed he would be with me as we grew and did great things together. This was an important lesson that I have learned again and again.

As teams grow, not all teammates grow at the same rate. This talent gap demands removing once productive employees and replacing them with more capable ones.

Also, team priorities shift. Goals change. This causes a skills mismatch between the worker and the team’s new direction.

5) Keep asking the question: “Who or what is a growth lid on my team?”

Your business is either growing or dying. There is no such thing as “stable state” in today’s fast-paced world.

You are either growing or becoming a lid on your team’s growth. There is no neutral resting place for long.

The sudden performance increase when I removed John was a surprise. I had not yet experienced that in my young leadership journey.

This taught me that there is always something or someone constricting the team’s growth.

My job as the leader is to tirelessly search for the barriers and remove them, even if that person is me.  We all have that responsibility, whether you are a titled leader or not.