Hire Slow - Fire Fast
By Greg Earhart
Whether filling a trophy case, generating donation or tuition dollars, or creating transformational experiences each of us adds value to our campus. Simultaneously, we're becoming increasingly disposable with the number of college coaches fired rising for the third straight year. A handful of firings were performance-related and a few more the result of the coach’s own failings. The majority, though, were the result of behavioral issues on the team, staff insurrection or both.
I'm getting sick seeing friends and colleagues being dismissed this way. Maybe it's time to take a page from the start-up community and “hire slow, fire fast” when it comes to recruiting and hiring. Here’s why:
You aren’t just a coach. You’re the leader for swimming and diving on your campus. Nobody should know more about your program or believe in its vision than you. You will need to sell others on that vision and the expectations that goes along with it. Being an effective motivator is a prerequisite for any successful leader.
When someone loses your trust (or worse, undermines it) your team knows it. When you lower your expectations for an individual you also invite lower expectations from others. Bob Sutton, Stanford Professor of Management notes that every boss at every level cannot believe how much better they and their teams feel after removing a destructive character. Sometimes, when these destructive characters are the most talented, leaving them behind can empower the rest of your team or staff to be even better.
Continually trying to accommodate or change someone isn’t sustainable, nor is it fair to you or them. If someone is getting the same negative feedback (or worse, no feedback) week after week, season after season, they’re not growing and you’re wasting time and energy that could be better spent elsewhere.
I’m not advocating that you should fire a coach or cut a kid from the team as your first resort- doing so is hard; it takes planning. It requires documentation, convincing your administration and having difficult conversations. As the leader, however, you are expected to address difficult situations and do what’s best for your team, your institution and your vision for the program. If you don't address it, someone else will.
Watch: Brian Curtis - Crisis Management for Coaches
Listen: Charles Duhigg - How to Fire a Bad Employee
Read: HBR - Hire Slow, Fire Fast