Leading After Layoffs
Yesterday was hands down the hardest day of my career.
My Learning & Development team was deeply impacted by layoffs. They cried. I cried. We cried. The emotions were real and it was really hard.
As difficult as the day was, I woke up today with a renewed commitment to the power and importance of leading with care and vulnerability.
My #1 management principle is to care deeply. It’s not always easy to do, particularly working in fast paced, hyper growth environments. It’s so easy to miss when a team member’s tone drops and to keep focused on the deadline that lingers around the corner.
When you care deeply about their well being, their success, their future, they will thrive and, turns out, they will also care deeply for you.
This is what blew me away and struck me deep into my core yesterday. I was prepared for a number of different outcomes and reactions to these conversations. I was not prepared for the beautiful gifts they gave me. The amazing messages of gratitude and appreciation for how I’ve challenged, developed, and supported them.
Seeing so strongly their reciprocal care is what will continue to fuel my passion and leadership as the remainder of my team and I continue marching forward.
For those of us leading teams who have been impacted by layoffs, and the workloads they are facing are more daunting than ever, how can we ensure we stay rooted in caring deeply for our people?
Here are a few things on my mind:
Time to Process
Can we reinforce for our remaining team members that it’s healthy to grieve? Can we support their need to process and recognize this will look and feel different for everyone? Can we encourage people to take a few days off? Each person needs something different and can we honor and deliver on their needs?
Re-evaluate Priorities
The work our team members were doing pre-layoff announcement likely has a different look, feel, and priority post-announcement. In times of uncertainty and times of high emotion, it can be cathartic to have purpose and take action. Can we engage with our team members to evaluate what is still on the priority list and help them begin to take meaningful action again?
Vision & Mission
Leaders need to create vision; it doesn’t mean they create it alone. As the dust settles, can we pull our remaining team members together and create an updated vision and mission for the team? What does success, impact, and our future look like? What are we driving towards? What principles feel more important now than before? Can we create this together to support one another, help each person’s voice be heard, and build traction and excitement for where we’re going?
A piece of my team’s heart will forever remain vacant after much of our team departed yesterday and how my team rebounds will depend on my leadership and care of them. I’m honored to lead such amazing humans and am ready for the challenge.
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
