There’s been a re-org…now what?
New years often come with corporate restructuring and re-organizations.
Here are 3 tactics managers can leverage to help themselves and their people thrive despite organizational changes:
Embrace self-determination
Address the transition
Intentionally build connections
Embrace Self-Determination
The top tendency I see from managers in a re-org is this:
They wait.
They wait for vision from their new leader.
They wait for decisions to be made.
They wait for clarity from others.
And the waiting creates a few common mindsets:
This happened to me
I can't do anything until…
Things are beyond my control
There are elements of truth in these, and they are not the whole truth.
Your first step in succeeding in a re-org (and helping your people succeed as well) is embracing self-determination.
It's the ability to impact your own destiny.
Here are samples to illustrate the difference self-determination can make:
🚫 I'm in a holding pattern until my leader clarifies their vision.
✅ While I'm waiting for greater clarity, I believe my team and I can have the greatest impact by starting to focus on ways we can evaluate X, Y, and Z. And then I plan to propose this as an interim step while larger details are sorted.
Embracing self-determination shifts you from a victim in the process to an active architect of the future.
Address The Transition
Many re-orgs feel painful because the transition is ignored while the focus is placed on managing the change.
To borrow from William Bridges and his Transition Model, it's helpful to define these:
Change: the outcome, the future state. It's often logical. “The Why” makes business sense.
Transition: The psychological process of experiencing change. It's an ending in order for a new beginning to start, often challenging what we thought we knew and how we saw ourselves (our identity).
We're taught to just keep telling people “the why” as we're managing change.
That's not the problem.
Most people understand “the why,” it's more that this change is making them feel things like:
Worry over a new manager's expectations
Discomfort of navigating new team dynamics
Annoyance of re-establishing their expertise with new leaders
The solution is to address the emotion, address the transition.
A complete change announcement might incorporate addressing the emotions this way:
Then, follow up individually and ask how folks are feeling.
Helpful questions managers and leaders can ask themselves to more successfully address the transition:
What are my people afraid of losing?
What are they perceiving will be more difficult for them?
What would I be worried about if I were in their shoes?
Meet them where they are so you can help them move forward into the change.
Pro Tip: be mindful not to inadvertently dismiss their emotions with quick responses like, “It's going to be fine.” Instead, say something like, “I can appreciate the unknowns of joining a new team can be unsettling, and you're likely still processing a number of things. What are you noticing is taking up the most mindshare?”
Intentionally Build Connections
I was recently working with a wonderful manager who experienced a few re-orgs within one year.
Over the last month, they focused on getting to know the team and having fun at work.
What an immediate difference they began to see! Learning who the sneaker heads were, learning people's hobbies.
Then there was this realization: “Why didn't I do this sooner? I was so focused on planning and goal setting, that I wasn't taking time to really get to know them.”
1 in 3 Americans report feeling lonely. Loneliness at work translates to disengagement and apathy. (Source: American Psychiatric Association, 2024 study)
Humans crave connections, and to thrive amidst restructures at work, managers and leaders can consciously and intentionally build and foster meaningful connections.
Ideas to help:
Have relationship kickoff conversations with every new direct report, cross functional partner, peer, and even your own new leader.
Teach your people how to lead relationship kickoff conversations with their peers and partners.
Get together in person, quarterly if feasible.
Schedule (and hold) regular team meetings that are as much focused on cascading info as they are connecting as a team.
Leverage regular ice breakers like these.
Have fun in your team's Slack channel: post pics of pets, ask and share favorite afternoon snacks, post music video links for hype songs (that are work appropriate).
As my friends at Squadify recently commented:
“As The Happiness Index research says, performance comes from relationships and relationships come from sharing emotions so we should all make sure we do that in our conversations and don't just 'talk task'!”
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There you have it…3 tactics to help you thrive through a re-org.
What's standing out to you? Will you bring one of these as a point of discussion to your next manager meeting?
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PS - if you'd like help bringing your team together for stronger alignment, connection, and performance in 2025, I have 2 ways I can help. Schedule time to chat more.
