When to Fire Someone, Or Coach Them
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Coach or fire? How to make the toughest call in leadership.
One of the most challenging responsibilities leaders face is dealing with someone on their team who just isn’t performing, or worse, is actively toxic. It could be an attitude issue, poor performance, or a behavior patterns that are dragging things down. Whatever it is, the question that often comes up is: Should I coach this person, or is it time to let them go?
There’s no 100% correct answer for every situation, but here’s a practical framework that might help.
“If this person didn’t already work here, would I hire them for this job today, knowing everything I know about how they show up?”
Start with the hard question.
If you’re wrestling with what to do, or whether the situation warrants doing something at all, start by asking yourself this brutally honest question:
If this person didn’t already work here, would I hire them for this job today, knowing everything I know about how they show up?
If the answer is “no,” then you have a responsibility as a leader or company to do something about that. And that doesn’t mean firing someone on the spot. But it does mean that the situation can’t continue to stay the same. Love it or hate it, leadership comes with confronting reality and doing what needs to be done, even the uncomfortable stuff.
Because no one else can do it.
“Clarity is kindness. People deserve to know where they stand and what’s at stake.”
Coaching comes first.
It is always best and ideal to coach first. Coaching is leadership in action — it’s where you lean in, give clear feedback, set expectations, and give the person an opportunity to grow, change, improve, etc.
And coaching means sitting down and having a clear, kind, direct conversation like:
“This is what I’m seeing from you. Here’s what it needs to look like instead. If that doesn’t happen, then your job is going to be at stake. How can I support you to help you get there?”
It’s so hard to have direct, candid conversations like this but they are a must. It’s not cruel — it’s clarity, and clarity is kindness. People deserve to know where they stand and what’s at stake.
Document, document, document.
If you’re entering this territory, and in reality, far before it, everything needs to be documented. Every feedback conversation, every goal set, every follow-up.
“Sometimes leaders pour months or years into trying to “fix” or deal with someone who simply will not step up to table and be accountable. That costs more than time; it drains team morale, collective productivity, and emotional bandwidth.”
You can’t just wake up one day and decide it’s not working. If someone’s been underperforming for six months or a year, there needs to be a paper trail. It’s not just for HR compliance and to protect the company — although that is 100% critically important — it’s also about fairness, consistency, and accountability. People have short memories, and like any HR person will tell you, if it’s not documented, it’s not real.
Consider the cost of inaction.
Sometimes leaders pour months or years into trying to “fix” or deal with someone who simply will not step up to table and be accountable. That costs more than time; it drains team morale, collective productivity, and emotional bandwidth. Additionally, it signals to your top performers and everyone else that standards don’t matter and that leadership either doesn’t care, or doesn’t have the courage to do anything about it.
What you allow, you endorse.
At some point, you have to come to grips with the question: Is this worth it? Is this person’s contributions on the team a net negative, not just for performance but for culture and other employees? Do the hours and salaries wasted on dealing with this person’s issues make any sense at all? Is there any universe where you would hire this person now if they weren’t already employed?
If the answer is no, then it’s time to do something. Especially if you’ve had several (or more) conversations with this person. At some point if you have been clear with someone and they just refuse to row, then they need to get off the boat.
“You don’t owe someone who is making things worse for everyone a paycheck. Sometimes, the best thing for everyone involved is a good goodbye.”
The reality is that some people are just miserable in their jobs. And you don’t owe someone who is making things worse for everyone a paycheck. Sometimes, the best thing for everyone involved is a good goodbye.
Often, people who struggle in one environment thrive somewhere else. Letting someone go if that’s what needs to happen isn’t a moral failure. It can be the kindest and most constructive thing you do for them, and your team.
Final thoughts: Lead with courage.
Making the decision to take action, and having these conversations requires courage. Courage to be honest and direct, and to act in the best interest of the team, even and especially when it’s hard. That’s the job.
Always try to coach and do everything in your power to bring someone up and get them to where they need to be. But if coaching doesn’t work then you have to have the courage to make the call.
Related Blogs:
Dealing with Problem Employees
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This article was created by Galen Emanuele for the #culturedrop. Free leadership and team culture content in less than 5 minutes a week. Check out the rest of this month's content and subscribe to the Culture Drop at https://bit.ly/culturedrop
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