Shrinking the Team

what to do when it's someone else

• 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
  • And risky as well
• 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
  • Keep it short
• 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