Signs You Need to Replace Someone on Your Team * Incedo Group

Signs You Need to Replace Someone on Your Team

As you think about your team, how well is it functioning?

It’s easy to shrug your shoulders and simply say “it’s fine”, but is it really? Are you spending more time than should be necessary to handle drama, have repeated conversations about direction, performance, or something else? Is there a team member that has and continues to be a thorn in your side for as long as you can remember but you simply put up with them?

Perhaps it’s time to reconsider your team and if it’s time to make changes. While most leaders dread the idea of replacing a team member or reorganizing the team, there are a number of signs that will tell you it’s time to replace someone on your team.

What are the signs that indicate you need to replace someone on your team?

1. Drama, drama, and more drama. When you find yourself constantly dealing with drama from a team member ask yourself how much time you are spending dealing with them versus the value you are receiving from their work. Maybe they repeatedly show up late or leave early and they always have an explanation. Or their work is continually late, subpar or not even what you wanted, and once again their excuse includes why it’s not their fault. Ask yourself how much time you are spending on this person and how could your time be better spent?

2. Drama with other team members. Do you have a line at your door, literally or figuratively, with other team members complaining about your problem child? Are you constantly hearing complaints such as “he’s not holding up his end and it’s causing me to be behind” or “you can’t count on him for anything” or “why is he always leaving early and coming in late but no one else can”? How much time is spent talking to other team members, taking them away from their work and you from yours? And if they are talking to you they have already spent a lot of time gossiping with other team members taking them away from work also.

3. Constantly managing team interactions in meetings. In meetings do you find yourself spending more time moderating interactions than discussing details and making decisions? Do you have a team member who is always disagreeing, naysaying, and arguing with others? At the end of the meeting are you exhausted?

4. Turnover is a problem. How many people have you lost to other teams or have left the company altogether because they got tired of dealing with this one person? Are you losing your best people?

5. The team has entered a state of resignation. Has the team moved from believing anything is possible, excited about the future to a state of resignation? Have meetings become a monologue? You speak but no one else says anything? As you look at their faces and body language are you seeing excitement, or resentment?

6. You’ve moved this person from role to role or they’ve been moved from team to team. When you continually have an individual who gets shuffled around it’s most often because other managers have determined they aren’t useful, and maybe even a negative. Do you find yourself looking for a role this person can do because they haven’t succeeded in previous roles?

7. Are you avoiding conversations with them? If you are avoiding conversations with a team member it’s probably time to replace them. Be honest. Have you delayed responding to their emails for longer than normal because you can’t face interacting with them? And what about avoiding phone calls or meetings with them until you have exhausted all your excuses. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.

8. Where is your return on investment? What ultimately matters is whatever you are giving up (your time, time of others, number of redos, etc., etc.) worth whatever this person brings to the table? Are you tolerating their poor performance or behavior because it seems easier? If you can’t show yourself why keeping this person is necessary, maybe it’s time they go.

Managers do what is seemingly easier. It’s easier to keep a low performance or a malcontent on the team than deal with the issue, which includes ultimately replacing them. You think to yourself: maybe they aren’t that bad, I’ll have to spend all this time finding a replacement and training them and what if they aren’t any better than what I’ve got. I know all the rational and irrational reasons managers subject themselves to the status quo.

But before you convince yourself that the status quo is better, I’m asking you to take ten minutes and calculate the cost of continuing with this person on the team and accepting the status quo. How many hours a week do you spend dealing with this person directly (emails, conversations…), how many hours a week or month do you spend with other team members because of this one person?

What does it cost you (direct and indirectly) each time work has to be redone or is late? How many people have you lost and what was their value to you and the rest of the team? Are you requesting other team members to handle work that was assigned to your problem employee originally? Take the time to consider the costs to you, direct and indirect by keeping one soul on the team that should go.

When you get past your own discomfort or resistance you’ll see that the numbers don’t lie. And there is a ‘pain in the ass’ cost we can’t ignore. Add it all up and see what comes up for you. Maybe the number is big enough for you to get past whatever is keeping you stuck relative to this one person.

Great teams don’t just happen. They come together when you have great leadership, stellar communication, and clearly defined goals. It all starts though with having the right people.