He Thanked Me...1 YR After I Fired Him

I had a General Manager that ran a multi-million-dollar store who resistant to change. He wanted to be successful so bad, but he kept getting in his own way.

I’ve told just about every leader I’ve worked with that I will commit to investing in their development and success IF they are willing to be partners in the business and are willing to listen and learn in the moments when they are stuck.

This General Manager was great with people, employees and customers…likeable. But there was a disconnect between his leadership, his strategy, and his results.

In business there can be no disconnect between people and strategy. And, there can definitely be no disconnect between strategy and results.

That equals a disconnect between you and the bottom line, you and the bank, you and your family…. you get the picture.

I spent extra time with this leader working on specific leadership competency development, time in his store side-by-side observing and engaging in customer interactions and processes, observing how his leadership showed up with his team. 

I asked lots of questions to grow his thought process. He would engage in the development and his business would get back on track. 

Then, his pride would get in the way and he would do his own thing, and the business would go backwards and he would get stuck. This became the norm.

On behalf of the employees, customers and the business…I had to fire him. 

He got angry. He got in my face. I stood firmer with presence and asked for his keys. 

About a year later he saw me out and about. And as he headed towards me, I had no idea what to think. 

But to my surprise, he hugged me, and thanked me for believing in him, investing in him, and teaching him what it means to be an effective leader. He told me he learned more from me than any leader he ever had, and he wished he’d listened but firing him was the best thing I had done for him.

No matter the situation. Let there be no disconnect between your leadership and the impact you have on other leaders.