[BayAreaEscapee]

When I was a new manager, I had a problem employee. He was very bright, but very lazy. He wasn't self-motivated and was always doing everything in a mediocre way.

I ignored the problem for a long time, which caused friction within my team.

I eventually had to fire him when the situation got very severe.

The mistake I made was not addressing it right away.

I think that now, how to fire (or better stated, "manage up or out") your first employee as a new manager is one of the most important things you have to figure out how to do right.

The next time I had a problem employee, I got on it right as soon as the problem was clear. Saved me and everyone around me lots of grief.