The Day I Had to Let a Former Colleague Go

One of the hardest decisions a founder makes is accepting that somebody who helped build the business may no longer be right for what the business needs next.

You know the person. You know their family, their strengths and what they contributed in the early days. You keep hoping performance will improve because ending the relationship feels like a betrayal of everything that came before.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team carries the extra work. Standards become negotiable. You spend more time managing around one person than leading the business forward.

I had to make that decision as a sales manager

When I became a sales manager, I eventually had to let a former colleague go. This was not a distant employee represented by numbers on a report. It was someone I had worked alongside.

The difficulty was not understanding the business problem. The difficulty was accepting what my new role required. Part of me still wanted to respond as a colleague. But as the manager, I was accountable for the performance and health of the whole team.

Delaying the decision would not have protected anyone. It would have left the individual without honest feedback, asked other people to tolerate a standard I was unwilling to address and kept me carrying responsibility that belonged elsewhere.

A difficult decision should not be a surprise

Letting someone go should normally follow clear expectations, direct feedback and a genuine opportunity to improve. The person should understand the gap, the impact it is having and what needs to change.

Founders often skip this clarity because they are uncomfortable. They hint, compensate or become frustrated, but never state the real issue. Then the final decision feels sudden to the employee, even though the founder has been thinking about it for months.

A better process is simple. Name the required outcome. Explain where performance is falling short. Agree what improvement looks like and by when. Provide reasonable support. Document what you have agreed. Then follow through.

Leadership means serving the whole team

If improvement does not happen, the decision is still painful. But it is no longer vague. You are acting on a clear standard rather than a burst of frustration.

This is where founders have to remember who the hero is. It is not the leader trying to avoid guilt. It is the team trying to build something worthwhile together. They need clarity, fairness and a leader willing to protect the conditions in which good people can perform.

You can treat someone with dignity and still decide they cannot remain in the role. Avoiding the decision does not make you compassionate. Sometimes it simply means everyone else keeps paying the price.

Ready to stop carrying the business alone? From Top Performer to Confident Leader is my practical 12-week guide to building a team that can deliver without everything depending on you.