When Someone Might Be in the Wrong Seat or Business

One reasonably uncomfortable leadership thought I’ve had over the years is this:

When you think about someone in your team, where does your mind immediately go?

Do you naturally think about their strengths, their personality, the value they bring, the upside they create… or do you instantly feel yourself getting emotionally dragged toward frustration about what they are not doing, not bringing, or not being?

Because in my experience, when a leader is consistently spending emotional energy frustrated with what somebody isn’t, there’s a fair chance the person is simply sitting in the wrong seat or in the wrong business.

Now to be fair, this doesn’t mean people shouldn’t get feedback, support, coaching, or a genuine opportunity to improve. Of course they should. And with this support, some will get there.

But I do think leaders sometimes stay in this strange loop where they are permanently trying to coach somebody into a version of themselves that the role now requires, but that maybe just isn’t naturally aligned to who that person is or where their strengths lie.

And often the difficult part is that nobody has really done anything wrong. The role may have evolved over time as the business has grown, become more complex, or required a different level of communication, ownership, pace, or leadership than it once did. What made somebody successful in the past may no longer fully match what the role genuinely needs today.

That doesn’t make them a bad person. And it doesn’t necessarily make them a team member either.

It just might mean they are in the wrong seat or in the wrong business.

I actually think one of the more underrated leadership skills is being honest enough to notice this early, and then courageous enough to do something constructive about it, whether that’s clearer conversations, better support, changing responsibilities, or sometimes accepting that somebody may genuinely thrive better in a different role.

If we’re honest, most of us can feel the difference pretty quickly between someone who drains us because we’re constantly compensating for gaps… and someone who energises us because their natural strengths fit what the role needs.

One of the hardest things in business is figuring out how long you, the person, and the business stay in that space. And I’m certainly not pretending I’ve always got that balance right myself. It’s tough. But if you want a high performing team, I do think you need to feel genuinely excited about what each person brings, and honestly believe that their natural strengths largely match what the role and the business need from them right now.

In my experience, avoiding the conversation never improves the outcome. The earlier you can bring honesty, clarity, and courage to it, the better it usually is for everyone involved.