Real-Life Story: I had a client who lost 8 good people because of one wrong person. The Visionary was worried that letting the bad person go would cost them a fortune or damage their reputation, but I had to ask them: what was the cost of losing 8 people, re-hiring & re-training? And being blunt, I had to ask the whole team how much longer they would let it go on. There’s too much to lose by keeping the wrong person or someone who is in the wrong seat.
Core Values Misalignment: The Silent Killer
A values mismatch often looks like a highly capable team member who consistently hits targets but openly disregards or undermines the company’s core values. For instance, someone might consistently dismiss the importance of the company’s mission or privately express disdain for the organisation’s principles, eroding trust & team cohesion.
Over time, these actions create a toxic environment, as others begin to question the importance of the company’s principles, ultimately leading to lowered morale & weakened culture. It’s the ‘rotten apple in the barrel’ concept that I’ve talked about before.
Real-Life Story
One of my clients had a highly skilled team member who consistently met their scorecard measurables & completed their rocks. Despite their strong performance, it became evident that they were disengaged and not aligned with the team’s culture, creating tension within the group.
This set the stage for a critical conversation about their fit within the organisation and highlighted the need for a structured approach to evaluating roles and responsibilities. However, they remained disengaged from the team, frequently rolling their eyes during discussions about core values. It also became apparent that they were passive-aggressively undermining the leadership team & the Visionary to the rest of the team.
Once they left, the team experienced a noticeable sense of relief & quickly found someone who not only did the job equally well but also fitted perfectly into the team’s culture.
Sometimes, though, it’s not a values mismatch that’s the issue. You can have someone who lives & breathes the core values, but they still struggle to excel in their role.
Perhaps they understand the job & want to succeed but lack the capacity to consistently perform at the level the business needs. This can be frustrating for everyone involved, as it often means deadlines slip, critical tasks are missed, or other team members have to pick up the slack.
This is what we call a wrong seat issue, & it’s one of the key scenarios the GWC test helps identify.
The GWC Test: A Practical Tool for Letting Go
EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) uses the GWC test to ensure the right people are in the right seats:
- Get it: Do they truly understand the role?
- Want it: Do they genuinely want to do it?
- Capacity: Do they have the skills, time & mental capacity to do it well?
If someone doesn’t tick all three, it’s time to decide.
Hopefully, if they are a core values fit, we might be able to find a different role that they can do & that they love. But we need to stick to structure first & people second – it’s a. mistake to create a role for them.
And if there’s not a role that better suits them, then it’s time to have the difficult conversation.
We’re often afraid that we won’t find someone to replace the wrong person or the person in the wrong seat, particularly in a tough job market. While you may not find someone immediately, you’ll always find someone who is a better fit & often even better at the role.
And from experience, I have lots of feedback from clients who let people go, after hesitating for sometimes years & they have told me how wonderful the new person & what a huge difference it has made – they almost always say they wish they had done it earlier!
Speaking to the person who left, they too, are happier in their new role & wish they had decided to move earlier.
The Emotional Struggle: Why Leaders Hesitate
Leaders often delay letting go because they care.
But while empathy is admirable, indecision hurts everyone involved. In family businesses, it’s even tougher—emotions run deep & relationships can cloud judgment. Yet the longer you wait, the more damage occurs.
Real-Life Example: Letting Go to Grow
I worked with a family business that held on to a long-serving team member, a part of the family, who no longer fit the company’s evolving needs. Despite multiple conversations & training efforts, it became clear they didn’t GWC their role. Letting them go was hard, but within months, morale improved, efficiency increased, & the business hit new growth targets. Best of all, when I spoke to the family member some months later, they were in a new role & loving it!
The Right Way to Let Go
When I chatted with Tony Falkenstein on my podcast, Better Business Better Life, he shared that when he needed to let people go, he always approached the conversation with a direct yet empathetic tone.
He emphasised the importance of staying honest & clear, paving the way for a constructive discussion. He acknowledged that it’s never easy—especially when long-standing team members are involved—but stressed the importance of clearly stating the reasons & having an honest, respectful dialogue.
Tony found that asking employees questions like, “Are you happy here?” often opened the door to a more constructive conversation, allowing both parties to agree on a decision that was best for everyone involved.
You can listen to the full episode here:
