What Should a Leader Do When People Want One Person Off the Team?

What Should a Leader Do When People Want One Person Off the Team?
When the majority of team members want one person off the team, it’s a serious red flag — both for team dynamics and leadership. This kind of situation can be nuanced and complex; it demands thoughtful, strategic handling.

Here’s How to Approach It When People Want One Person Off the Team:

1. Don’t Rush to Judgment
   While you may feel the need to act immediately, we know from leadership simulation assessment data that the best move is to pause. Popular opinion — even a majority — doesn’t automatically justify taking punitive action. Group dynamics can be influenced by performance pressure, workplace politics, power dynamics, organizational change, bias, frustration, a lack of strategic clarity, miscommunication, weak team norms, or even groupthink.

   The goal isn’t to appease the majority, but to understand and resolve the root cause of the conflict and set the team up for success. Do some current state analysis before taking action.

   You will know you are headed in the right direction when everyone feels like you are handling the manner with the urgency, thoughtfulness, and respect that it deserves.

2. Privately Understand the Concerns 1×1
   Use a 360 degree feedback assessment and speak with each team member individually to get a sense of what is really happening. The goal is to uncover the specific behaviors and incidents that are causing tension and to understand if people tried to address the issues directly with the individual.

   When speaking with team members, look for patterns to determine if the issues are about team goals and accountabilities, psychological team safety, personality clashes, communication styles, or violating team norms. Be aware of toxicity hiding behind a facade of unity. If team members are “ganging up” out of frustration or exclusion, that’s a different issue than if the one team member is truly disruptive or out of step.

   You will know you are headed in the right direction when get a clear picture of what is actually happening.

3. Assess the Impact on Performance and Culture
   As a leader, your responsibility is to create a healthy and high performing environment for everyone on the team to perform at their peak.  Weak team results and poor team health typically mean ineffective team leadership. First, look in the mirror and ask yourself what role you are playing in creating team dysfunction.  Then determine the impact on the team if the person in question stays or leaves — is their role difficult to replace?  Will it really solve the team’s problems?

   You will know you are headed in the right direction when you understand the business and people implications of the team member staying or going and what you need to change as a leader.

4. Clarify Expectations and Address the Gaps
   Hold a constructive, forward-looking performance and behavior conversation with the team member in question. Be clear, specific, and objective. Describe the gap between expected and actual behaviors and outcomes, share feedback themes, and set measurable expectations and realistic timeframes for change.

   We know from project postmortem data that unless the person is clearly toxic and needs to be let get for the good of everyone involved, that this is not about “blaming” but about providing an honest opportunity for individual corrective action and a team reset.

   You will know you are headed in the right direction when everyone is clear about what is needed for the team to be successful and what the team member needs to do to get aligned.

5. Recalibrate the Team’s Shared Commitments
   Facilitate a team session focused on shared team goals, team roles and responsibilities, team success metrics, collaboration norms, communication agreements, and shared accountability. The goal is to put the spotlight on the entire team to reflect, not just the outlier. Focus on resetting team direction and culture, increasing transparency and accountability, and signaling that no one individual is more important than the good of the team.

   You will know you are headed in the right direction when everyone agrees upon a team charter that outlines the critical few behaviors to lift team performance, commits to do their part to improve, and codifies a process to handle conflict, make decisions, and give constructive feedback moving forward.

6. Be Prepared to Make a Call
   If the person in question resists change, undermines the team, or doesn’t meet standards despite support, it is time for a tough decision — a decision rooted in facts, impact, and integrity — not popularity. Document your steps, follow your HR or organizational protocols, and make the call in a way that protects both the individual’s dignity and the team’s trust in leadership.

The Bottom Line
When the majority of people want one person off the team, it’s a signal — not a solution. Your job is to lead, not to mediate popularity contests. Diagnose the underlying issues, treat the root causes, and reset shared expectations. Whether the outcome is repair or separation, ensure your decision strengthens the team’s long-term trust, cohesion, and effectiveness.

To learn more about lifting team performance, download 5 Research-Backed Steps to Align Project Teams to Pull in the Same Direction