Tough Calls

I recently coached a senior manager who needed to address an issue directly with a team member, since it was affecting the performance of the entire team. I’m happy to report that after taking action, his team has shifted 180 degrees! He received positive feedback that the team is really “gelling” now.

This coaching engagement reminded me of a similar instance where I personally experienced this issue in the sailing team I formed last summer. I learned how it’s so much better to take action ashore to ensure the team performs well on the water.

After being away from racing for 2 years, I needed to form a team again, this time for a new, larger sailboat. My original Ladies Racing team had taken the same 2 year sabbatical from racing, and were all eager to get together again and have fun racing. With a larger boat, we needed at least one more crew. A woman was recommended to me, who was known on the racing circuit, with many years of experience. After a brief conversation, I invited her to join the team.

On the race course, my new team had a learning curve to climb with a larger boat and integrating a new crew member. Mid way through the season, I clued into the fact that we weren’t performing as well as we could and nobody seems to be having fun! Checking in with each of my crew individually, they confirmed my suspicions. Nobody was having fun; they weren’t even looking forward to race nights anymore. The new team member wasn’t fitting in and it was affecting the whole team.

My gut instinct told me early on that the new crew wasn’t a fit. However I was focused on my business and turned a blind eye to the issues in my racing team. I wasn’t doing anybody justice by delaying dealing with the issue through the summer.

I knew I needed to kick her off the boat for the betterment of the team. I had the direct conversation, recruited another team member, and set up a trial period. After the first race with the new crew, my gut instinct was telling me that we were having more fun, and starting to gel again as a team. This time, I checked in with the rest of the crew after a few races, and made sure it really was working out for the whole team.


I see many parallels in this experience with building business teams. Recruiting effectively is an important first step. I worked for a company where recruitment decisions were made almost exclusively based on fit. Rather than wait it out to the point where retention of good team members becomes an issue, it is important to nip issues in the bud, and exercise a probation period when necessary. Being the skipper is an enjoyable job, except when the really tough calls have to be made!