The new director was so laid-back and easygoing that the employees had difficulty seeing him as a serious leader who would do the hard things necessary to fix the department. The sentence implies that the director's relaxed and informal demeanor made it hard for the employees to view him as someone who could take charge and make tough decisions to improve the department. The phrase "laid-back and easygoing" suggests that the director was casual and informal in his approach, which may have been at odds with the expectations of the employees. The phrase "do the hard things necessary" suggests that the employees believed that significant changes were needed to fix the department, and they were not sure if the new director had the ability or willingness to make those changes.