Some of the toughest decisions leaders make have nothing to do with strategy, budgets, or performance metrics. For finance leader Divina Gracia Sasuman, Certified Management Accountant, the hardest call in her leadership career was letting go of a team member who genuinely tried their best—but simply wasn’t the right fit.
“It broke me a little in the process,” she says. “But keeping them means hurting the team more and letting go of the values I stand for.”
It’s a painful reality many leaders face: there are times when kindness and loyalty must give way to the bigger picture.
The Emotional Weight of Leadership Decisions
In leadership, firing someone is often framed as a clean business decision. But for Sasuman, it’s deeply personal. She knew this wasn’t a case of poor work ethic or lack of commitment—the team member worked hard. The challenge lay in alignment: skills, personality, and overall fit within the team’s needs just weren’t there.
Her decision was guided by two principles she refuses to compromise on—protecting team culture and upholding values. “A leader’s responsibility is not just to individuals, but to the health and effectiveness of the entire team,” she explains. “If someone isn’t the right fit, it’s unfair to them and to the rest of the team to keep forcing it.”
Why Protecting Team Culture Comes First
Team culture is fragile. It’s built slowly through trust, collaboration, and shared purpose, but can unravel quickly if one element is misaligned. Sasuman says that keeping someone who isn’t a good fit can create quiet friction—eroding morale, dampening productivity, and in some cases, leading high performers to disengage.
“Protecting the team sometimes means making a call that feels cruel in the short term but is compassionate in the long term,” she notes. “You give that person the chance to find a role where they can truly thrive, while preserving the energy and momentum of the team.”
Balancing Empathy and Accountability
For Sasuman, the decision wasn’t about cold detachment—it was about balancing empathy with accountability. Before making the final call, she engaged in dialogue, offered coaching, and created opportunities for improvement.
She believes in choosing “dialogue, not dominance” when dealing with performance or fit issues. “Every difficult behavior or situation is often an unmet need or frustration,” she says. “Sometimes it’s a matter of unclear expectations or a mismatch in skills.”
But after giving the team member every chance to succeed, the reality became clear: keeping them would hurt more than help.
The Integrity Test Every Leader Faces
Letting go of a hardworking employee is a true integrity test for leaders. It challenges them to separate personal feelings from professional responsibility. Sasuman believes the decision is easier when a leader is grounded in their values and clear about their role.
“You have to ask yourself—am I doing this for the right reasons? Am I protecting the well-being of the whole team? And will this decision help the organization move forward?” she says.
For her, the answer was yes. And while the process was emotionally draining, it reinforced a truth she’s carried throughout her career: leadership is not about avoiding discomfort—it’s about making decisions that align with your principles, even when they’re hard.
A Lesson for Leaders at Every Level
Sasuman’s experience offers a powerful reminder for both emerging and seasoned leaders:
People decisions carry the most weight—and the most lasting impact.
Empathy doesn’t mean avoiding tough calls—it means approaching them with fairness, transparency, and care.
Team health must always be a priority—because a high-functioning, cohesive team will outperform a mismatched one every time.
“Leadership will test you in ways you don’t expect,” she reflects. “It’s not about knowing all the answers—it’s about staying true to your values when the stakes are high.”
In the end, her decision wasn’t just about letting someone go—it was about protecting the integrity of her team, the culture they had built, and the standards she stands for as a leader.
And that’s the part of leadership that rarely makes it to the quarterly reports, but defines the kind of leader you are.
