Strategic People Decision Support for Small Business and Nonprofit CEOs and Leaders.
Read this article if there are people issues you have been tolerating too long and can no longer afford to ignore.
What Small Business Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Executive Directors, and Leaders Must Know About People Problems Before They Damage Culture, Compliance, and Growth.
There is someone inside your organization who is not working. They may be talented. They may be smart. They may be loyal. They may even be well-liked. But something is off. Their performance has slipped, their presence drains the team, and their alignment with your culture is not a fit.
You have known it for a while. But you have not acted.
If you are a CEO, executive director, or leader, this moment is familiar. You are carrying the weight of responsibility and the fear of making the wrong call. You may worry about legal exposure, employee retaliation, or morale damage. You might hope the issue will work itself out.
However, it will not likely work out, especially if not addressed. The longer you delay a difficult people decision, the more quietly your business absorbs the cost.
People Problems Become Leadership Problems
In my work advising business leaders, I often see a gap between what CEOs feel in their gut and what they are willing to face in practice. The discomfort is understandable. Most of us executives and leaders do not wake up eager to terminate someone or place them on a performance improvement plan. These are not easy decisions.
But the cost of delay is not just emotional. It is financial. And it is measurable.
According to industry research, the accumulated cost of a single unresolved people issue can exceed $120,000. Here is how it adds up:
- $35,000 in missed goals, rework, and lost productivity. (Gallup, 2023)
- $15,000 in team disengagement, morale decay, culture drag, and turnover risk. (Society for Human Resource Management, 2022)
- $50,000 or more in legal and compliance exposure from wrongful termination, hostile work environment claims, public relations damage, or high-performer attrition. (Hiscox, 2021)
- $20,000 or more in quiet quitting and preventable high-performer exits. (McKinsey and Company, 2021)
Total Cost = $120,000.00
These costs are not theoretical. They are real and impact your customer relationships, team morale, and bottom line, even if you cannot see them in a single line item. Moreover, the price of inaction is not just money. It is also your reputation, your leadership confidence, and your team’s trust.
The Employee You Are Avoiding is Already Costing You
One CEO I worked with had tolerated a senior leader with misaligned behavior for more than a year. The individual was charismatic but corrosive. They alienated high performers, interrupted meetings, dismissed feedback, encouraged groupthink, and eroded psychological safety across the team.
The CEO hesitated. He had known this employee since the business’s early days, but by the time he asked for help, the cost had already multiplied.
In just three weeks, we created a strategy that protected the business, documented performance issues, built an employment separation plan, and executed the separation respectfully and in full compliance. No lawsuit followed. No press hit. In fact, the team’s engagement rebounded, and their best engineer returned after hearing the news.
That is what clarity can create.
What You Need is Not Another Human Resources Manual
Leadership requires wisdom and judgment. When the people situation is complex, politically sensitive, or legally risky, it is not policy that you need. You need a thought collaborator who brings wisdom, insight, and the highest potential for optimal protection.
That is why I created Handle It Before It Hurts™.
Engaging in a confidential, sixty-minute strategy session designed for small business and nonprofit Chief Executive Officers and leaders who are ready to confront a difficult people decision with strategic clarity and compliance confidence is highly encouraged.
Whether you are dealing with a challenging employee, a problematic exit, or a lingering issue you have tolerated for too long, a collaborative strategy session will support you in acting before the problem defines your leadership and harms your organization and reputation.
In the Handle It Before It Hurts™ Session, You Will:
- Identify one high-risk or costly people issue that is currently draining value.
- Receive guidance on how to navigate the issue compliantly, ethically, and effectively.
- Get a clear decision path and a post-session action checklist.
- Walk away with confidence that you are protecting your culture, your compliance, your people, your customers, and your credibility.
What CEOs Say After One Conversation
“Deborah helped us gracefully and compliantly work through an employment separation that had been avoided for far too long. One session gave us clarity, protection, and peace of mind.”
“I had been carrying this issue for months. Within one hour, I had language, documentation steps, and a plan to move forward.”
“She saved us from a six-figure mistake. I did not realize how much one employee was costing us until Deborah broke it down.”
“I had never been coached to end an employment relationship with dignity and precision. I wish I had this conversation six months ago.”
“Deborah has the rare ability to deliver hard truths without hard edges. She protects your leadership as much as your business and helps you act with confidence, not ego.”
Leadership Is Measured by the Decisions You Do Not Want to Make
If you are still reading, then you already know what needs to be handled. You know the team member. You have seen the behavior. You have calculated the risk.
What you need now is a plan, not permission.
You were not meant to lead through silence. You were meant to lead wisely, with protection and purpose.
Schedule your Handle It Before It Hurts™ session now
Space is limited. Book your confidential strategy session to resolve one costly people issue before it damages your team, culture, or business. Send an email request to CEO@hranew.com.
Handle It Before It Hurts™ is part of our Concierge CEO Strategy Services at HR Anew. Learn more about this service at https://hranew.com.
“Because silence has a cost. You are done paying for it.”
Deborah Stallings
References
Gallup. (2023). State of the global workplace: 2023 report. Retrieved from https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx
Hiscox. (2021). Workplace harassment and discrimination claims in the United States. Retrieved from https://www.hiscox.com/documents/2021-Hiscox-workplace-harassment-report.pdf
McKinsey and Company. (2021). Great attrition or great attraction? The choice is yours. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/great-attrition-or-great-attraction-the-choice-is-yours
Society for Human Resource Management. (2022). The high cost of a toxic workplace culture. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/the-high-cost-of-a-toxic-workplace-culture.aspx
About Deborah Stallings, MA, SHRM-SCP
Deborah Stallings is a visionary leader, speaker, educator, and human resources strategist who transforms workplaces through inclusive leadership, bold truth-telling, and purpose-driven solutions. She helps CEOs and executives stop worrying about HR, handle matters before they hurt, and build resilient, high-performing teams.
Her journey began in public housing in Chicago and on her grandparents’ farm in Mississippi, where she learned resilience by helping care for her paralyzed mother and younger brother. These early experiences forged Deborah’s lifelong commitment to faith, hard work, continuous learning, and servant leadership, principles that now anchor her success in business and life.
As Founder and CEO of HR Anew, Deborah has spent more than 26 years empowering business executives and nonprofit leaders to turn HR chaos into clarity. Known for delivering hard truths without hard edges, she equips clients to act with insight, not ego, offering respectful guidance that preserves relationships and drives results.
When you work with Deborah, you gain more than a strategic HR expert. You gain a team of experts and specialists who share her values of wisdom, excellence, servant leadership, continuous learning, and a commitment to winning outcomes for all. Together, they deliver solutions that reduce risk, save time and money, and cultivate engaged leaders and thriving teams.
Credentials and Affiliations
- 30+ years in Equal Employment Opportunity, Human Resources, Recruitment, and Training
- 20+ years as a Christian educator
- Master’s in Management and Leadership; Bachelor’s in Business Administration; Notre Dame of Maryland University
- SHRM–Senior Certified Professional (SHRM–SCP)
- WBENC–Nationally Certified Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB)
- Aspiring author and advocate for workplace transformation
Deborah is passionate about equipping small businesses, nonprofits, and faith-based organizations to thrive in a rapidly evolving world. Her innovative HR and leadership strategies have helped countless organizations grow through aligned values, inclusive cultures, and exceptional talent development.
About HR Anew
HR Anew is a premier human resources advisory and educational firm committed to transforming workplaces through strategic EEO and HR solutions, inclusion initiatives, leadership development, and workforce innovation. With a mission to empower organizations to build strong, engaged, high-performing teams, HR Anew provides tailored solutions aligning with organizational goals and driving measurable impact. Whether it is recruitment strategy, compliance, or employee engagement, HR Anew partners with organizations to deliver excellence, speed, and sustainable growth.