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Leading Through Layoffs: 7 Steps

It is often said, the measure of a leader is not how they lead while things are going good, rather, how they lead during times of distress.

Unfortunately for most leaders today there can be more distress then good times, especially with the constant restructuring, merging, and laying off of employees. In fact, in the past 7 years the company I work for has gone through regular and quarterly layoffs of thousands of employees. The worst part is the company is not loosing money nor is it performing poorly, rather, it has simply become a part of the culture. This culture in return, has created a lazier, non-loyal, and me'istic employee base that is nearly impossible to motivate. Yet, due to the type of industry we are employed, the vast majority choose to take their chances in the American Idol style ranking and cutting; with one exception, they don't try to give their best performances, because they have learned that giving 110% doesn't guarantee their survival. Rather, most give the bare minimum on a day to day basis. Just enough to scrape by.

A second result is the employees stop believing in the executives and their direct management. This distrust creates a separation and a mutiny in rallying the teams or getting higher results.

The third symptom is that the Managers/Directors refuse to tell the Executives that perhaps their team performs a redundant task or would be better served being absorbed into another similar organization. Why? Because they know the executives will layoff the entire organization, rather then reward the potential cost savings to the organization. What also becomes apparent is the constant grab bag for taking on tasks and projects that create a mirage of value or display enough redundant tasks to hopefully fool the Executive head choppers to bypass their group for this quarter.

Of course there are more symptoms and issues that this harsh environment creates. However, as a line leader it is your job to lead your team through this. Whether the environment will change through the years or remain the same. It is YOUR responsibility to protect your team from falling subject to the negative influences of poor decisions made by the good ol' boys and girls that hold the positions of power above you.

What I am going to share with you are some techniques that I have used to keep a top producing team that runs at 110% despite the distractions going on around us.

Create a bubble.
One of the best things a leader can do is

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