Firing
- Sometimes people have good reasons for poor performance
- But sometimes they don’t
- This is the hardest part of leading a project
- But keeping someone on the team who shouldn’t be there is bad for morale as well as productivity
Legal Requirements
- Every jurisdiction has rules about firing people, too
- Again, talk to someone in Human Resources before doing anything else
- Governance of every well-run open project spells out:
- Criteria for being a project member
- Who gets to decide when that privilege is revoked
- You can’t wait until you need these to write them
- Review them before going any further
Check With Someone
- Hard to work with someone you dislike
- But not liking someone isn’t sufficient reason to fire them
- Talk to someone outside the project
- More likely to be objective
- Less likely to let something slip
- Less likely to feel pressured to take your side because you’re the boss
Create a Transition Plan
- It’s awkward to fire the only person who knows the password to the production server
- Suddenly asking someone to document their work is a give-away
- Better to ask everyone to do it all the time
- Which helps keep roles and responsibilities up to date
- Write out the steps you’ll take immediately after breaking the news
- Change passwords on servers
- Remove from GitHub group
- Remove from mailing list
- Return loaned hardware
- All of this needs to be done when someone leaves voluntarily
- And helps you realize just how much “stuff” your project has
No Surprises
- If someone is surprised they’re being fired, you have made a mistake
- If it’s for poor behavior:
- They should know what’s in the Code of Conduct
- And you should have given them warnings for minor violations
- If it’s for poor performance:
- You should have told them that they weren’t meeting expectations…
- …given them a chance to explain…
- …and given them an opportunity to improve
- You will feel pretty bad if they’ve been missing deadlines because of a family illness
Delivery
- Write out what you’re going to say
- Practice it a few times
- Then get straight to the point
- Don’t get drawn into discussion of “what if”
- Stick to the practical matters you identified in the transition plan
Tell the Team
- Make sure the team hears the news from you
- Before rumors start to circulate
- Keep statement brief and to the point
- Do not discuss details
- The person you fired has a right to privacy
- And you don’t want other team members worrying that you’ll say something about them some day
Keep a Record
- It’s hard for people to think clearly when you’re angry or hurt
- And they may not act in good faith
- Communicate by email
- If they insist on a call:
- Ask to record it and give them permission to do the same
- Or have a third party present
It’s OK to Cry
- This is the hardest part of management
- If it ever gets easy, you should let someone else take over
- Remember: you can’t save everyone
Being Fired
- I hope you’re never fired,
- Or if you are, that the company handles it more professionally than DataCamp did
Keep Public Statements Brief
- People may care, but most won’t care as much as you do
- A simple recitation of facts is usually damning enough
Correct Things Publicly
- If you need to correct something, don’t just take it down or edit it
- If you do, you will be accused of rewriting history,
- Muddied waters only help whoever fired you
- Instead, add a timestamped correction
- Be prepared for them to dig through everything you’ve ever said online and re-post parts selectively to discredit you
Be Honest About Your Failings
- Speak directly to all the issues rather than omitting or ignoring things you’d rather not discuss
- Your honesty is your greatest asset
- And it’s hypocritical to criticize your opponents for spin or selective reporting if you’re doing it too
Don’t Sign That
- Don’t sign any agreement that might prevent you from speaking about moral or legal concerns
- Or if you do, make sure the agreement explicitly excludes your concerns before signing it
- And yes, it’s very privileged of me to be able to say this
- Someone whose immigration status, essential health benefits, or family income is being threatened may not have a choice
- That is why I think people who do have a choice also have an obligation to fight
You Are Not a Lawyer
- Don’t cite the law unless a lawyer tells you to
- It probably doesn’t mean what you think it means
- And whoever fired you almost certainly has lawyers on their side who will seize on any misstatement or mistake you make
Don’t Expect Them to Admit They Were Wrong
- Their lawyers probably won’t let them say anything that would acknowledge wrongdoing or liability
- Whatever happened probably wouldn’t have if they were the sort of people who could admit mistakes
It’s OK to cry
- Go for long walks
- Or cook some healthy meals
- Or pick up the guitar you haven’t touched in years
- Anything that requires you to focus on something else for a while
- This isn’t just for your mental health
- Exhausted people make poor decisions, and you need to be at the top of your game
- And remember, other people do care about you