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When firing someone is kind, micromanagement vs no management, are you ready to make the call?

The Weekly Shift by DGTM | <date>

Author

David Goldsmith
August 07, 2025

One Quote. One Framework. One Challenge.
Just 2 minutes a week.

One Quote

“If you’ve done everything you can to set someone up for success, and they still can’t meet the mark, the kindest thing you can do is set them free.”
- Executive that I worked for earlier in my career

Letting someone go is rarely a one-sided failure.
More often than not, it’s as much - or more - a reflection of where leadership fell short in hiring, onboarding, or coaching as it is about the person’s performance.
Owning that truth changes how you approach the decision.

One Framework

Show-Teach-Do
The simple bridge between micromanaging and throwing someone to the wolves

Why it works: It creates clarity, builds confidence, and ensures you’ve equipped someone to succeed without over-parenting or leaving them to figure it out blind. You get to see their progress in real time, they get ownership, and both sides know exactly where things stand.

What it is:

A three-step cycle to teach skills and assess readiness:

  • Show - Demonstrate the skill, process, or behavior you expect. Let them see it done right.

  • Teach - Break it down into steps, explain the “why” behind each, and answer questions until they understand.

  • Do - Have them execute while you observe and coach. Then, step back and let them own it.

One Challenge

Audit Your Coaching Effort

Think about your lowest performer right now. Have you:

  1. Shown them the behavior in action?

  2. Taught them the why and the how?

  3. Let them Do it while you observed and coached?

If the answer is yes to all three, you’re ready to make a tough call with a clear conscience. If not, your challenge this week is to run one full Show-Teach-Do cycle with them before you decide their future.

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Until the next shift,

David Goldsmith
Founder, DGTM
[email protected] | www.dgtm.us

P.S. This newsletter is inspired by James Clear’s 3-2-1 Thursday, which I’ve looked forward to every week for years. Check it out here!