If You Can't Change the People, Change the People

What do you do when you've promoted a talented and valuable professional to a leadership role, and it just isn't the right fit?

I once worked with a firm that had promoted a successful partner into the COO role. This respected audit partner also sat on the firm's executive committee. If you've caught on to the theme of this article, you may have guessed that this individual was not the right fit for this role. He possessed the skills of a great audit partner; however, these skills did not translate as well to the COO role.

So, what do we do now?

Eight years later, I came in to help and asked about their most significant issues. The number one issue I heard was not getting reliable data analytics and necessary information to run the firm.  As a result, other leaders spent time finding or creating this information.  It was disruptive and inefficient. It was obvious the COO role was not a good fit for this person. So, I asked them, at this point in the game, is this individual able to change? I got a universal no. I spoke with this individual, and it was clear that he knew he wasn't the best person for this job, but there was pride in having the title.

When you confront a situation like this, it comes down to whether you need to change who is in the role if you can't change the person.

Which is precisely what we did. The decision was made to transition this person out of the COO role and bring in someone else. Thankfully, in this case, the individual was willing to be a part of framing this transition, and he took the opportunity to do what he was great at – being an audit partner.

In the end, things turned out great for all parties involved. So, this leads me to the point of this story. As firm leaders, we may inadvertently put the wrong people in the wrong positions. It happens. How you handle the issue, though, is what is important. If it's been determined that the person cannot or is not willing to change, then you must change the person in that role.

Having the wrong person in a leadership role can be extremely damaging to a firm. It can cause a lack of efficiency, disconnect between teams, staff frustration, and, ultimately, staff turnover.  

Don't let the wrong decision hinder your firm. Reach out to me if you need help redefining your leadership roles.