Stop Defending Underperforming Leadership Hires: It's Bad For Business

As a founder or executive, the people you bring onto your leadership team are pivotal to the success of your company. These individuals are often chosen for their expertise, vision, and ability to help drive the business forward. However, what happens when a key hire fails to meet expectations, yet you find yourself making excuses for their performance? This scenario is more common than you might think and can have serious repercussions for your organization.

Why Do Leaders Defend Underperforming Hires?

1. Emotional Investment:

Hiring a leader is often a deeply personal decision. You may have spent months searching for the right person, invested significant resources in their onboarding, and believed wholeheartedly in their potential. When they fail to perform, it can feel like a personal failure, making it difficult to admit that the hire was a mistake.

2. Fear of Disruption:

Changing out a key leader can be disruptive to the team and the company. The fear of creating instability, losing momentum, or sending the wrong message to the rest of the team can lead you to tolerate underperformance longer than you should.

3. Hope for Improvement:

Leaders are naturally optimistic. You may hope that with more time, the underperforming leader will eventually rise to the occasion. Without action, this hope can allow the problem to grow and become even more of a problem.

4. Loyalty and Relationships:

If you’ve developed a close personal or professional relationship with the underperforming leader, it can be difficult to take a step back and objectively evaluate their performance. Loyalty can cloud judgment, leading to rationalizations and excuses.

5. Reputation and Ego:

Admitting that a key hire is not working out can feel like a blow to your reputation and ego. It’s a public acknowledgment that a decision you made was flawed, which can be difficult for leaders to accept, especially in high-stakes environments.

The Consequences of Defending Underperformance

1. Team Morale and Trust:

When the rest of the team sees that underperformance is tolerated, it can lead to frustration, resentment, and a decline in morale. High-performing team members may lose trust in leadership, feel demotivated, or even consider leaving the organization.

2. Stagnation and Missed Opportunities:

An underperforming leader can act as a bottleneck, slowing down decision-making, innovation, and overall progress. Opportunities for growth and improvement may be missed, and the company may struggle to adapt to changing market conditions.

3. Cultural Deterioration:

Tolerating underperformance can set a dangerous precedent and erode the company culture. It can lead to a culture of complacency, where mediocrity is accepted, and accountability is diminished.

4. Wasted Resources:

Continuing to invest time, money, and energy into a leader who is not delivering can drain valuable resources that could be better spent elsewhere. It also prevents you from bringing in a new leader who might be a better fit for the role and the company.

What Leaders Should Be Doing Instead

1. Assess Objectively and Early:

Regularly assess the performance of your leadership hires using clear, objective criteria. Don’t wait until annual performance reviews or until the issues become severe before addressing them. Early intervention can prevent minor issues from becoming major problems.

2. Seek Honest Feedback:

Encourage honest feedback from other team members, peers, and even the leader in question. This can provide you with a fuller picture of the situation and help you make a more informed decision.

3. Separate Emotions from Decisions:

Recognize when your personal feelings or ego might be clouding your judgment. Try to separate your emotions from the decision-making process. Remember, your primary responsibility is to the organization as a whole, not to any one individual.

4. Focus on the Bigger Picture:

Consider the long-term impact of keeping an underperforming leader in place. While removing them might cause short-term disruption, the long-term benefits of having the right person in the role far outweigh the temporary challenges.

5. Provide Clear Expectations and Support:

If you believe there is potential for improvement, clearly communicate your expectations and provide the necessary support for the leader to succeed. Set measurable goals and a timeline for improvement, and be prepared to make tough decisions if progress is not made.

6. Don’t Be Afraid to Make a Change:

If, after giving it a fair chance, it becomes clear that the leader is not a good fit, don’t hesitate to make a change. It’s better to address the issue head-on than to let it fester and negatively impact the entire organization.

7. Learn from the Experience:

Reflect on what went wrong in the hiring process and what you can learn from the experience. Were there red flags that were overlooked? Did you fail to assess cultural fit adequately? Use these insights to improve your future hiring decisions.

It's Time For Action

Leaders who find themselves defending underperforming hires must recognize the broader impact this can have on their organization. By taking a more objective, proactive approach, you can address issues before they become major problems, ensure that your leadership team is aligned with the company’s goals, and maintain a high-performance culture. Remember, making tough decisions is a hallmark of strong leadership, and sometimes the best decision you can make for your company is to let go of what isn’t working.