Some professional decisions can be right and still feel terrible personally.
I had to let go of a colleague today.
There is no nice way to write that sentence.
It was a difficult but necessary decision. I can say that professionally and believe it. I can understand the reasons, the responsibility, the constraints, and the direction things needed to move in.
But it still feels terrible personally.
This is one of the uncomfortable parts of work that is very easy to discuss abstractly and very hard to actually do. From the outside, it can sound like a process decision. Performance, fit, team needs, role expectations, business reality. All correct words.
But behind those words is a person.
Someone who showed up. Someone who had their own plans, stresses, hopes, and family conversations. Someone who will now have to explain this change to other people. Someone whose Monday suddenly looks different.
That part should not become invisible just because the decision is right.
At the same time, avoiding a difficult decision because it feels bad is also not kindness. It can be unfair to the team, unfair to the work, and sometimes unfair even to the person involved. Delay has its own cost.
This is the contradiction I am sitting with.
The right professional decision can still feel like a personal failure. Not necessarily because it was wrong, but because it affects another human being in a real way.
Maybe the best one can do is be clear, be respectful, not hide behind clever language, and not pretend it is painless.
I genuinely wish him well.
I hope he finds a role where things fit better, where his work is valued, and where this moment becomes only a difficult bend in a longer road.