I just promoted an employee and thought she was perfect for her new position. She has done several things that were outside of her authority and is currently not doing what I expect of her. I think I made a big mistake and since I filled her old position I think I must fire her. What should I do?
Filed under: Promoting | Tagged: mistakes in promoting, promoting an employee
As a former CEO and now Executive coach to senior executives I have seen this question quite a few times. That said, every circumstance is different. Let me share with you a recent exchange with one of my clients.
A senior executive (Mr. Jones) created a new position within his team and promoted one of his top senior managers (Ms. Smith) to fill this mission-critical position. One month later, Mr. Jones mentioned to me that he made a mistake by selecting Ms. Smith and was having second thoughts about her.
Goal Clarification:
After processing the above situation further, Mr. Jones realized that he never really figured out exactly what he wanted from the position. Worse, Ms. Smith had not been transitioned out of her old role, which still took up 80% to 90% of her time. In the end, Mr. Jones’ new goal was to maximize the effectiveness of the new position.
Possible Actions:
There were several possible actions:
• Fire Ms. Smith
• Keep Ms. Smith in her old position and find someone else to fill the new position
• Clearly define the goals of the new position
• Do everything possible to help Ms. Smith succeed in the new position
• Allow Ms. Smith to relinquish her old role 100%
• Ask Ms. Smith what she thinks needs to be done in the new role
• Leave things alone, and see what happens
• And others
Mr. Jones decided to be 100% committed to providing an environment that would be conducive to Ms. Smith’s success.
Action Plan, Visualization, and Commitment:
After considering different plans to of action, the following was decided:
1. Ms. Smith would be 100% out of her old role within 15 days.
2. Mr. Jones and Ms. Smith would have a planning meeting to define very specific and measurable goals.
3. Ms. Smith would be asked to submit for review by Mr. Jones a 12-month action plan to achieve the goals established in step 2. The deadline for the action plan would be one week after the planning meeting.
4. Mr. Jones would approve the action plan and establish weekly meetings (if necessary) to discuss progress and to serve as her coach.
5. After 90 days from approval of the plan, Mr. Jones would evaluate Ms. Smith’s performance against the plan’s goals to determine if she is a fit for the job.
Good luck to you!