Two questions to help you get clarity on a hard call

Carl was my client Paul’s right-hand person for years. But during this transition, his behavior was becoming a liability. Nonetheless, Paul defended him out of loyalty.

Paul had sold his company to a more corporate entity about a year earlier. The new owners pushed Paul to implement more rigorous processes and controls, and his team could see how those changes improved operations. Everyone except Carl.

He resisted the growth plan the new owners envisioned and favored his own ideas instead. He didn’t like working within the process, and controls irritated him. The new Board of Directors saw him as a distraction and a risk–he didn’t fit where they were trying to take the company.

Paul remembered how, during the growth phase, he had saved the business over and over again, whether by rescuing a customer relationship or staying late to get work out the door.

Stepping out of the story

Andy Stanley, one of my favorite leadership authors and speakers, has two questions painted on the walls of his office. I’ve found those questions can create space to step back from the relationships that pull our strings and free us from defending the past decisions that led us here. They came to mind as I talked to Carl.

I could relate to Paul’s dilemma: Carl was a terrific guy, had great relationships inside and outside the company, and knew his stuff. He was a valuable part of the team, and a threat to its success.

Because of this, I started slowly: “So you want to honor all Carl’s done to get the business this far, but you also agree that keeping him threatens your ability to succeed?”

“Yes. If we don’t hit the growth targets, we’re not going to get our earn-out payment, and Carl creates chaos in a system that’s just starting to gel.” Paul had included Carl in the earn-out agreement to reward his loyalty.

“It sounds like we’re on the same page. Let me ask you this:”

What do you think the next CEO will do when the board fires you?

“Well, they’re going to get rid of Carl,” he replied.

In this case, keeping Carl carried a real risk of Paul getting fired. If you own the company, that might not be true, but asking this first question helps clear our minds of relational expectations and personal ties that complicate the decision. By imagining someone new coming into our role, we can see the facts of the decision without getting caught up in emotion. Paul saw that right away.

Even after Paul realized he was jeopardizing his own success by keeping Carl, he looked for an escape hatch. “What if we sent him to some training or got him some coaching? There’s probably some role that we could give him that would be more productive for him.”

At that point, I reached for the second question.

What would a great leader do in this situation?

Paul paused, pursed his lips, and pressed his fingertips together in front of his face. “A great leader would have dealt with Carl a long time ago. A great leader would focus on what’s good for the whole team, rather than trying to preserve just this one person.”

After that, we started to look for ways to move Carl out of the organization that would honor all he’s done, preserve his upside, and enable the organization to meet its goals.

This second question calls to our higher selves; we imagine ourselves at our best, which frees us from the story we’re telling about how we got here and gives us a fresh perspective.

How would asking these questions about one of your most thorny challenges clarify things for you? What new perspective would help you decide?