E48: Why Saying “You’re Not a Good Fit” is Dangerous in the Workplace

"You’re not a good fit." – what does that even mean? Saying such a phrase is impersonal and it has no humanity in it. In fact, it can be dangerous in the workplace because it’s devoid of emotions. And oftentimes, people are not conscious of it. When I took the role of CFO, I changed the way we hired from culture fit to skillset fit and culture addition. Culture addition because we want people that come in and add to the wonderful quilt that we've created and bring curiosity and different ways of thinking and different languages. While skill set fit allows us to line people up in the right roles and play to their strengths based on core competencies and what they're great at. Today, find out why even our language should be aligned with your intentions, actions, visions, passions, and purpose – to make sure you’re able to create a space where people go to feel ignited and where people come to feel loved. Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation: How “fit” is devoid of emotion Following it up with a why How you can change the language Episode Highlights: Why “Fit” is Devoid of Emotions The only time you really want to use the word "fit" is when "your shirt fits perfectly" or "These socks fit me perfectly." It's devoid of emotion. And so when you use that word, it creates this real "us versus them." People who say that don't mean they're being rude or disingenuous or they don't want to build inclusivity. But many of us are just unconscious whenever we use that word. Putting Intention Behind Creating a Culture When we're creating cultures of bravery and belonging, we are following up and acting on that. We're putting intention behind that. People already feel "other" and are dealing with not fitting in – whether racial issues, religious issues, sexuality issues, seen and unseen disability issues, whatever it is – they are already feeling that they don't fit in. So let's not add to that and find another way to say “this role doesn't align with your skill sets or with your strengths.” Instead, say something like: "We want to put you in another role because we want to set you up for success."