Episode 231

231. Before You Fire Them: Try This First with Brice Jagger

What if the person you’re about to fire isn’t the problem… it’s the role they’re in?

In this episode of World’s Greatest Boss, Jackie Koch talks with Brice Jaggars, bestselling author of Two Fish in the Tree, about how role alignment and soft skills play a huge role in team performance. Brice shares practical tips for figuring out if someone is in the wrong job, how to spot soft skill mismatches, and what to try before you cut ties with a struggling employee.

Whether you’re leading a small team or managing a growing company, this episode will help you rethink how you approach performance issues and keep the right people on board.

What You’ll Learn:

[1:30] Why performance issues often come down to the wrong role

[3:15] The difference between technical skills and soft skills

[4:20] The most common soft skill gaps that cause problems

[6:15] What to do when you want to keep someone but their current job isn’t working

[7:55] A real-life example of reassignment that worked

[9:30] Why not everyone can fit into the same mold

[11:00] How to decide when it’s time to move on

[12:15] Coaching new grads versus managing experienced team members

[13:25] Why remote work makes soft skill development harder

[14:35] Brice’s inspiration behind Two Fish in the Tree

Resources & Links:

About the Podcast

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World's Greatest Boss

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About your host

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Jackie Koch

Hey, I’m Jackie Koch. I have over 15 years of experience prospecting talent and building teams for Fortune 500 companies, startups and small businesses in all types of industries.  Technically, I have an MBA from Concordia University, although I’d argue I learned more about growing and scaling a modern business over the last 5 years in the LA tech start up scene. There I built out recruiting and People Operations teams for high growth tech start ups. I love entrepreneurs and being one at heart, I started my own business during the pandemic. I’m the founder and CEO of People Principles where I help founders scale through fractional recruiting and people operations services.