Have you ever felt like your business is being held hostage by one employee?
You know the person.
They’re smart, capable and critical to the business.
But they don’t play well with others, they resist accountability, and they only work on what they want to work on.
I recently helped a leadership team facing exactly this situation.
The team felt stuck.
They worried about what would happen if they let the individual go.
Would projects stall? Would clients be impacted? Would they lose business?
So the issue kept coming up… quarter after quarter.
Instead of forcing a quick decision, we stepped back and built a risk mitigation plan.
We asked:
– What would actually break if this person left?
– What knowledge needed to be transferred?
– What systems or backups needed to be in place?
Once the real risks were identified and addressed, the decision became much clearer. The plan was executed and the individual was let go (after being given ample opportunity to change their behaviour).
Several months later, the impact has been far-reaching:
– Meetings run smoother.
– Projects move faster.
– Energy across the team is noticeably higher.
One of the tools that helped the leadership team get clarity was the EOS People Analyzer. It helped diagnose the real issue: they weren’t a bad person, they just weren’t a right fit.
What’s one people decision you delayed and what changed when you finally made it?
