The Art of Termination

Unless you're a natural bully, firing someone is never fun. It is, of course, a necessary part of being a manager, and it's a skill that can be honed. The worst mistake according to experts is going through the motions like a robot. "Act like a human being. One day it may be you on the other side of the desk and you'd appreciate being handled like one.

Avoid the following missteps, and you'll become as proficient as possible in the skill of laying someone off with respect:

Not Looking Your Soon-To-Be Ex-Employee In The Eye

One of the best ways to show respect is to make eye contact. "This is a big deal - there's another human being across the table from you and being human at this time will make a huge difference to them after they've left and recall how this was handled (perhaps for years to come)," says McKee.

Being Cagey About Your Reasons

Explaining your reasoning -- briefly -- is the fastest way to give your move to fire someone a silver lining. You can help catapult someone's career instead of paralyze it. Helping them excel in a different environment if they don't fit yours is a gift of a real leader.

Being Too Friendly About It

I once fired someone and was so nice that they didn't realize they were actually fired! Getting fired is tough, but you can soften the blow by making your message clear and as concise as possible. This means leading right away with your unfortunate message, and then adding any "thank you for your contributions" or "I'm sorry this position wasn't a good fit for you." Of course, this latter step will depend upon the situation.

Not Involving HR

Whether your human resources team is ever-present or stays behind the scenes, this is one time that it can often help to have your HR member in the room with you. If you can have an HR rep in the meeting with you or waiting elsewhere, it allows the person being terminated to talk afterward with the HR person who can explain things like final pay, ongoing health benefits, that will become very important to the individual.

Not Shutting Up

After giving someone notice, give them 30 seconds to digest the blow. Talking while the message is being processed doesn't help [and] can hinder the person's ability to get through this moment, avoid getting into a very detailed discussion of the situation (beyond a brief explanation). You could unintentionally say something that may come back and bite you. Having an HR person helping can prevent you from saying too much, or too little.