How do you deal with someone you hired who just isn’t working out? There are, in general, two schools of thought.
Some people try to change the person who is disappointing them. Attempts to change them can take different forms. Maybe you negotiate with them, offering them something more in the hopes of better performance. Maybe you hint at the changes, hoping they read the tea leaves. Maybe you tell them what you see and your read of the situation, and help them see it from your point of view. Maybe you’re just an obnoxious asshole to them, it’s surprising how many people think that being an asshole to under-performers gets them to improve (that’s definitely not my experience.) And there are a few other ways.
But there’s a whole other school. All the above start with the thesis that it is possible to change them, and get the under-performer to improve. The other school is to just fire them and start again. This school also takes a few forms. Some people just fire the under-performing. Some keep him around until they have a replacement, and sometimes even get him to unwittingly train his own replacement. Another variation is to “hire quickly, but fire more quickly” and that’s my preferred style, I’m good at smelling if it isn’t working out, and if it isn’t, they’re gone in a second.
Understanding these two categories, as well as the major types within each (what I outlined above) is important to understand from the employee’s or freelancer’s point of view. Why? If you’re under-performing, don’t expect your boss or client to let out fireworks announcing it, hoping you will improve. That seldom happens.
In other words, almost all firings are a surprise to the person being fired. They were expecting huge clues, but the clues are never that direct nor obvious.
The practical lesson here is that just because your boss isn’t complaining to you about your work doesn’t mean he’s happy with your performance. Not trying to change you could just be his style and he just fires instead. Or maybe his style is to be so subtle about it, you don’t even realize it.
Since your relationship with your client or boss is still a relationship, let’s look at this situation through the eyes of a different type of relationship. Years ago, I read an article by a psychiatrist about divorces in which she argued that almost all divorces are a shock to one party. Why? The usual pattern, it turns out, is this: a couple fights a lot. After so much fighting, one of them checks out emotionally. Because he or she checked out emotionally, they stopped fighting! (You only fight when you care.) The other partner realizes that they used to fight a lot, but now they’ve stopped fighting, so the other partner thinks that things have improved drastically and are healthy! That’s why when the first partner serves them divorce papers, it’s usually a shock.
This wisdom applies just as much to bosses/clients and you. If they’re not pushing you, maybe that’s because they’re happy with you. Or maybe they just checked out emotionally.
