The Compassionate Leader School Podcast
Sep 23, 2026 · 15 min · 8 segments
You already know the answer. You've just been telling yourself you don't, because "gathering more information" feels safer than admitting you made this decision months ago and haven't acted on it…
Debbie LawrenceHostNo entities detected.
He offered great references and was sharp throughout the interview process, offering all the right answers backed by thoughtful examples.
By month two, none of it was showing up in his work, and what annoyed Elizabeth the most was the plethora of excuses Aaron made for practically everything.
He resisted feedback with a smile and a nod, and then delivered the bare minimum and acted like it was his best work.
By month two, Elizabeth knew, not suspected, but knew she'd made a poor hire.
She told herself stories instead, things like, "Maybe he just needs more time to ramp up.
Maybe I'm being too hard on him." By month three, she had the clear expectations conversation.
By the end of month four, she built him a detailed performance improvement plan, which Aaron signed, but still nothing changed.
Month five saw Elizabeth investing hours of coaching with him through the same three issues.
He said all the right things, but the results he produced only mirrored what he had done in the past.
By month six, Elizabeth was lying awake at 2:00 AM dreading the drive to the office.
She was also quietly redoing Aaron's work on top of her own, about 15 hours a week of it she told me, and other tasks were being, uh, delegated to his colleagues so that deadlines were met and client commitments were prioritized, and there were rumblings that her two best people had quietly started job hunting because they were just tired of covering for Aaron.
The first question I asked was, "When did you know this wasn't going to work?" She didn't even hesitate.
She immediately said, "Month two." So then I said, "So you've spent four months trying to coach him, and you already knew that it wasn't the right fit?" And she sat with that for a long moment and then quietly said, I remember it was almost as if she was saying it to herself, "Why did I wait so long?" What I told Elizabeth, and I want y- what I want you to hear as well, is that the decision you're avoiding isn't a decision you're still making.
He offered great references and was sharp throughout the interview process, offering all the right answers backed by thoughtful examples.
By month two, none of it was showing up in his work, and what annoyed Elizabeth the most was the plethora of excuses Aaron made for practically everything.
He resisted feedback with a smile and a nod, and then delivered the bare minimum and acted like it was his best work.
By month two, Elizabeth knew, not suspected, but knew she'd made a poor hire.
She told herself stories instead, things like, "Maybe he just needs more time to ramp up.
Maybe I'm being too hard on him." By month three, she had the clear expectations conversation.
By the end of month four, she built him a detailed performance improvement plan, which Aaron signed, but still nothing changed.
Month five saw Elizabeth investing hours of coaching with him through the same three issues.
He said all the right things, but the results he produced only mirrored what he had done in the past.
By month six, Elizabeth was lying awake at 2:00 AM dreading the drive to the office.
She was also quietly redoing Aaron's work on top of her own, about 15 hours a week of it she told me, and other tasks were being, uh, delegated to his colleagues so that deadlines were met and client commitments were prioritized, and there were rumblings that her two best people had quietly started job hunting because they were just tired of covering for Aaron.
The first question I asked was, "When did you know this wasn't going to work?" She didn't even hesitate.
She immediately said, "Month two." So then I said, "So you've spent four months trying to coach him, and you already knew that it wasn't the right fit?" And she sat with that for a long moment and then quietly said, I remember it was almost as if she was saying it to herself, "Why did I wait so long?" What I told Elizabeth, and I want y- what I want you to hear as well, is that the decision you're avoiding isn't a decision you're still making.
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