Episode 26 · Season 2
The Team Member You Keep Making Excuses For
What This Episode Is About
How many times have you told the same person “one more month”? Last episode was about the price you set three years ago. This week it’s the same pattern with a person attached. Whether you run an agency, a crew, or any service team, the struggling-team-member problem is usually a decision you’ve already made and haven’t acted on. In this Team episode, Meagan explains what the wait is costing you each month and walks through three moves (Name the excuse, Price the keep, Make the call) plus a 48-hour exercise to get the conversation on the calendar.Key Takeaways
- Most owners aren’t undecided about a struggling team member. They’ve decided and haven’t acted.
- The usual excuses (“they’re loyal,” “the client loves them,” “nobody else knows the job”) are about the situation, not the work
- Keeping the status quo isn’t free: you pay in the hours you absorb, the work that slips, and what your strongest people watch you tolerate
- There are three honest calls: coach with a deadline, move the role, or release. “We’ll see” isn’t one of them
Three Moves: Name the Excuse, Price the Keep, Make the Call
This isn’t about being harsh. It’s about noticing what the wait is already costing you, and deciding on purpose.Name the Excuse
Finish the sentence “I haven’t addressed it because ___.” The common answers: they’re loyal, I’m too busy to replace them, the client loves them, nobody else knows the job. Notice that every one is about the client, the market, or the situation. None of them is about the work. Loyalty to a person and clarity about a role are not the same thing.Price the Keep
Count three buckets: the hours you absorb each week times what your time is worth, the work that isn’t getting done well, and the visible cost of what your strongest people see you tolerate. Use your own numbers. The shift is from “having this conversation is a risk” to “not having it is a cost I’m already paying.”Make the Call
Choose one: coach with a written deadline and a check-in, move the role (sometimes the person is right and the seat is wrong), or release them with respect and a clear timeline. If you’re considering a release, check your local rules and talk to an HR or legal professional about the process.The Key Insight
The decision was never whether they were good enough. It was whether you were willing to keep paying for the delay.
Your Action This Week: The 48-Hour Exercise
Write four things: the person (initials only), the excuse you’ve been using, what keeping the status quo costs you each month, and which of the three calls you’re making. Then, within 48 hours, have the conversation or put it on your calendar with a real date and time. One person. One call. Starting is the decision.
Episode Transcript
Prefer to read? Full transcript below. Lightly edited for clarity.
Transcript coming soon
The full transcript for this episode will be added here. In the meantime, the sections above accurately reflect the episode’s core content: the three moves (Name the excuse, Price the keep, Make the call) and this week’s 48-hour exercise.