Beyond Performance: A Leader’s Framework for Fair and Future-Proof Staff Selection

“As an effective leader, we need to balance between our future or a long game and our present or a short game.”

Atip Muangsuwan
CEO Coach and Coach Supervisor

As a leader, one of the most challenging responsibilities you will ever face is making decisions about your team’s composition. The need to “right-size” or optimize manpower can arise, forcing you to make tough calls on who to retain and who to let go. The greatest fear for many leaders in this position isn’t the act itself, but the perception of being unfair or biased.

I recently worked with an organizational leader grappling with this exact dilemma. He was caught between two distinct groups on his team:

• High-Potential, Inconsistent Performers: Younger, agile team members with tremendous growth mindsets and high future potential. However, they frequently made mistakes and delivered unsteady performance despite repeated feedback.
• Steady, Fixed-Mindset Performers: Experienced team members whose performance was reliable and consistent. However, they demonstrated a fixed mindset, showed little motivation to grow, and lacked agility.

His core question was: Do I keep proven, steady hands or bet on unpredictable future potential?  His primary motivation was to establish some sort of selection criteria that were transparent, fair, and would ultimately build a stronger, more resilient team.

Through our sessions, we moved beyond this binary choice and developed a robust, multi-dimensional framework. This framework ensures decisions are based on objective criteria rather than age, tenure, or personal affinity. The goal is not just to select who stays today, but to choose the individuals who will propel the organization towards tomorrow.

The Four-Pillar Selection Framework

This framework provides a holistic view of an employee’s value and potential. By evaluating each pillar, you create a fair and transparent system that everyone can understand.

1. Mindset: The Engine of Growth
   This is the foundational pillar. It’s about attitude, potential, and internal drive. A growth mindset is non-negotiable for the future.

• Key Questions: Are they self-motivated and driven? Do they demonstrate resilience and agility in the face of change? Do they have aspirations to grow with the company?
• Who to Keep: Individuals with a voracious appetite for learning, curiosity, and a belief that they can improve through effort.
• Who to Let Go: Those with a firmly fixed mindset who resist change, avoid challenges, and feel threatened by the success of others.

2. Behavior: The Bridge Between Mindset and Action
   This critical component captures howan employee operates. Mindset is internal, but behavior is external. So, it’s observable. It’s the tangible expression of their mindset and a predictor of their impact on team morale and culture.

• Key Questions: Do they collaborate effectively? Are they accountable for their mistakes, or do they blame others? Do they demonstrate professionalism and integrity? How do they receive feedback?
• Who to Keep: Those who are accountable, coachable, and align with company values. They are the ones who, even if they mess up, own their error and actively seek to learn from it.
• Who to Let Go: Individuals who consistently demonstrate toxic behaviors, blame others, resist feedback, or undermine team cohesion. High potential is nullified by poor behavior.

3. Skillset: The Tools for the Job
   This evaluates current capabilities and future potential. It’s about whether an employee has the skills needed not just for today’s role, but for tomorrow’s challenges.

• Key Questions: Do they have the hard and soft skills to excel in their current role? Do they possess (or have the capacity to develop) the skills the organization will need in the next 1-3 years?
• Who to Keep: Employees with critical skills for the future, or those with the learning agility to rapidly acquire them.
• Who to Let Go: Those with skills that are becoming obsolete and who show no inclination to learn new ones.

4. Performance: The Track Record of Results
   This is the historical data point. It measures output and consistency against defined goals and expectations.

• Key Questions: Do they consistently meet, exceed, or fall short of their KPIs? Do their results align with organizational and senior leadership expectations?
• Who to Keep: Consistent performers or high achievers. However, high performance with a fixed mindset or poor behavior is a red flag.
• Who to Let Go: Consistent underperformers who show no improvement despite support.

Implementing the Framework with Transparency

The true power of this framework is unlocked through transparency. My metaphor to the leader was to treat his team like students at the beginning of a semester: give them the answer key for the final exam.

Share this Mindset, Behavior, Skillset, and Performance framework with your entire team. Explain what each pillar means and what excellence looks like. This does several things:

• It sets clear, unbiased expectations for everyone.
• It gives all employees a fair chance to course-correct and develop in the areas that matter most.
• It removes the element of surprise and protects your reputation as a fair leader if difficult decisions eventually need to be made.

For the high-potential but mistake-prone employees, this framework justifies the investment in their development through training, mentoring, and coaching—a classic “kill-two-birds-with-one-stone” strategy to close their skillset and performance gaps.

The Leader’s Balance

Ultimately, leadership is about balance. It’s about balancing the need for steady performance today (exploitation stage) with the need to innovate and grow for tomorrow (exploration stage). This framework provides the structure to make that balance possible.

Letting people go is never easy. But by using a fair, transparent, and forward-looking criteria, you can make the decision with confidence, ensure your team’s long-term health, and achieve peace of mind knowing you acted as a fair and strategic leader.

About Atip Muangsuwan: Atip Muangsuwan is the Founder & CEO of The Best Coach International Co., Ltd. He is a CEO & UHNWI Coach, Certified Mentor & Supervisor for global executive coaches, Holistic Life Transformation Expert, Business & Life Strategist, and Corporate Facilitator/Trainer. With a proven track record of helping clients achieve their career goals and job promotions, Atip is dedicated to supporting individuals in their personal and professional growth.