When a Role Isn’t Working: Reset, Redesign, or Release?

Mar 16
3 min read

If you are leading a nonprofit, you have probably felt this: something in a role is off, the work keeps fraying at the edges, and you are carrying more and more of the slack yourself. In the last post, we talked about those early signs.Re-done tasks. Late or incomplete reports. Quiet workarounds. Your own follow-up starting to feel like a second job.

Naming that is a big step. The next question is the harder one: now what.

From where we sit, inside nonprofit finances and systems, I see leaders swing to two extremes. Either you live with the problem far too long because you care about the person, or you jump straight to “we need to replace them” without really understanding what's broken.

There is a middle path. Once you can say, “This role is not working,” you can walk through a simple framework:

Reset. Redesign. Release.

You will not always land in the same place.But moving through these on purpose can save you time, money, and relationships.

1. Reset expectations

Sometimes the problem is not the person or even the role.It is the fuzzy picture in everyone’s mind.

A reset is worth trying when:

This person has been solid in the past, but performance has drifted.
Expectations were never really clear, or they changed quietly over time.
You see misunderstandings, but not a pattern of refusal or resistance.

A reset conversation is not a scolding. Think of it as putting guardrails back on the road. At minimum, you are naming:

What success looks like over the next 60–90 days.
What must be done by them, and what can be delegated or delayed.
How and when you want updates so you are not constantly chasing information.

On the money side, a reset is often the least disruptive option.

You are already paying for these hours. The question is whether a clearer agreement can turn those same hours into steadier, more reliable work.

Sometimes, even when you handle that reset conversation thoughtfully and professionally, the other person realizes the role is no longer a fit and chooses to move on. That can be painful, but it is also a form of clarity.

2. Redesign the role

Sometimes the role itself is the issue. What started as one reasonable job has slowly turned into two or three.

The person in the seat may be capable and committed, but the way the work is bundled is no longer fair or effective.

Redesign is worth serious consideration when:

You see chronic overload around this role, even after trying to reset expectations.
The mix of tasks no longer makes sense (for example, strategic responsibilities plus a heavy load of admin work).
Other roles have shifted as you have grown, but this one has not kept up.

Redesign might look like:

Splitting one big role into two positions over time.
Moving certain tasks (data entry, basic follow-up, scheduling) to a more junior role.
Clarifying what this person truly owns and what they only support.

From an efficiency standpoint, this is about putting the right work in the right seat. Instead of paying higher rates for lower-level tasks, you are aligning each paid hour with the level of responsibility it really deserves.

3. Release the role or the person

There are moments when, even after you have tried to reset and redesign, the mismatch is still too large.

The work is not getting done at the level needed. Trust is too frayed. Or your organization has simply moved on from needing this role in its current form.

This is not legal advice, and you always need to follow your HR policies and employment law guidance. What I can say, from watching this play out, is that holding on indefinitely has a cost.

You see it in:

Hours spent fixing or checking work.
Extra support you have to bring in around the role.
Strain on the rest of the team as they silently absorb the gaps.

Releasing a role or a person is rarely easy, especially in small, relational organizations. But sometimes it is the decision that protects your mission, your remaining team, and your capacity as a leader.

You are not going to get this perfectly right every time. None of us do.

But if you can notice when the work is fraying, and then move through reset, redesign, and release with intention, you give yourself a way forward that is kinder to the people involved and wiser with your organization’s limited resources.

You don't have to decide everything all at once. You just have to be honest about what the work is telling you, and take the next right step.