Managers often wait too long to terminate an employee either because the employee is too nice or the manager feels like it would not be nice for them to do. Both of these are terrible excuses that can actually cause more harm than good.

But Sallie is so nice!

Being a nice person often makes it difficult for managers to fire you. (Read more keeping your boss happy here.) But as a manager, the fact that your subordinate is nice should not be the only reason you refrain from terminating her. Keeping her on board despite the fact that she has racked up some terminable offenses can have two significant negative impacts on your team and your leadership.

First, all of the other people on your team will wonder why she is being held to a different standard than they are. This special treatment could be viewed at best as being toxic to the team environment or at worst as discriminatory.

Even if it is not true, team members could believe you are treating her differently because she is a woman, older, younger, white, black, whatever. Your team members will judge you on your actions. Keeping her around longer than she should be will give them plenty of opportunity to make up their own reasons for why you are doing it.

Second and related, it will undermine your authority with the team. If Sallie is not held accountable for handing in her TPS reports on time, why are they? If she gets to leave early, come in late, submit subpar work, why are they expected to arrive on time, stay late and perform well?

Bottom line, it is not fair to the rest of the team if you keep her around. And if you have a small office, it is even worse. In small offices, if someone does not pull his/her weight then the negative effects are exacerbated.

But Sallie has 17 kids!

Perhaps it's not Sallie's personality that is keeping her around past her expiration date. Maybe it is your feeling of guilt?

Often as managers, we end up learning about our employees' personal lives, and we let that information affect our management. That can actually be a great characteristic of a strong manager. However, if you do not properly balance your compassion with the needs of the team, it could have detrimental effects.

In addition to the issues listed above, keeping Sallie around because of your known or perceived understanding of her personal life can lead to resentment on the team. Similarly, it is also a surefire way to stir up political, religious and social judgments among the team. Realize that at some point her problem has to stop being your problem, the team's problem and the company's problem.

Getting paid the big bucks

If everyone loved work, wanted to show up every day and always felt positive, then perhaps we would not need managers. But, for now, we do. And if you are in charge of the team, it is not only your responsibility to make sure work gets done, but it is also your responsibility to take action when it is not.

If dealing with personnel issues was easy, there would be no need for HR, and everyone would want to be a manager. Until then, take a step back and reconsider why you have delayed firing Sallie for so long and ask yourself if it is fair to the team.