You just had to lay off some of your workers. Now what?
Laying employees off is one of the toughest tests that leaders face. The repercussions are immense: grief for lost friendships, anxiety about the ability to get more work done by less people, fear that more layoffs could be coming, the list goes on.
Picking up the pieces is never easy. But it is possible.
We recently led a leadership team through a post-RIF (reduction in force) transition. After enjoying an initial surge in sales through the onset of Covid, the company had suffered huge losses as the world returned to work, school, and other places outside of the home.
To stem the bleeding, the leadership team was forced to make painful cuts to their workforce. Seeking to re-stabilize the leadership team in prep for the strategic planning process, the president reached out to us for guidance. Below is an overview of how we helped this leadership team get back on track.
First, we talked with each leader in a one-on-one conversation.
We’re big believers in one-on-one conversations and we love doing them over the phone. That’s right. Over the phone. We liken the phone to a “confessional booth.” Interviewees relax knowing that their voice is heard, but their face is hidden. The intimacy of just voices encourages interviewees to share truths, especially if you, as the interviewer, gently probe with carefully worded questions and allow for the moments of silence.
We led each leader through the same list of questions, ensuring consistency in our research output. Because each leader led a different department, each one had a different, but important, perspective to offer. Additionally, each leader had a unique personality and work style. Through these intensive one-on-one conversations, we “peeled the onion,” gaining rich insights into the actual issues and dynamics at play. We got an up-close look at the struggles leaders faced within their own team as well as interpersonal challenges with other leaders. We quickly got up to speed on all of the roadblocks facing the business as well as the opportunities that were ripe for the picking. Additionally, we had the chance to build relationships with each leader prior to our workshop — enabling us to “hit the ground running” once we did meet with the team in person.
After we conducted all of the interviews, we compiled all top findings into a document. We made sure to “scrub” any sentences or phrases that would expose individuals. Instead, we focused on highlights to give a general “pulse” of how the group was feeling as well overall recommendations.
Then we met in person in an intensive day-long workshop.
We flew out to meet with the team. Arriving the day before, we set up the room to ensure the environment would enable honest conversations. Specifically, we put all chairs in a circle with no conference table in between. We made sure there was plenty of open wall space to allow for the scads of giant post-it-pad notes that would be generated through our discussions. We set up breakout session areas. And of course, we put the six “magic hats” in the center of the circle. (The six hats are based on Edward de Bono’s “Six Thinking Hats” theory. But mostly we use these hats to loosen people up as they venture into tough conversations.)
A morning that focused on team dynamics.
For the morning session, we focused on the team itself. We first reviewed the highlights from the interviews. This discussion quickly broke the ice and gave team leaders the permission to discuss burning issues and even “elephants in the room” — in other words, the things that stood in the way of progress.
We then presented an overview of “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni. This framework is based on five principles that set the stage for high-performance teams. At the baseline, teams must transition from an absence of trust to a place of vulnerability. Second, teams must move from a fear of conflict to a demand for healthy debate. Third, teams must transition from a lack of commitment to a place of clarity and closure. Fourth, teams must move from an avoidance of accountability to a place of confronting difficult issues. And finally, teams must transition from an inattention to results to a focus on collective results.
These principles were truly revelatory to the leadership team. They realized they had been so focused on their individual departments and teams, that they had forgotten to look at the collective whole of their leadership team and the company at large. We encouraged them to think of their leadership team as the “number one team,” while still, of course, making sure their individual teams were healthy and thriving.
Breaking into two groups, the team did a deeper dive into how their leadership team fell prey to these five dysfunctions and what they could proactively do to transition the leadership team to a healthier, more productive place.
Following this discussion, we divided the team into pairs, encouraging them to partner with someone they knew the least. Each pair had the chance to explore where the team shined and where it fell short. When the pairs shared their findings, the group was surprised to learn how aligned they were. This sense of alignment was already bringing the team closer.
We wrapped our morning session with a conversation about new team norms in order to lay the foundation for higher team performance in concrete, actionable ways.
Although we carefully orchestrated the exercises and conversations, we made sure the team experienced their “ah has” on their own, rather than dictating “this is what you must do.” We always find that allowing people to reach their own conclusions is a powerful way to achieve buy-in and traction.
An afternoon to look at the bigger picture.
For the afternoon, we had the team focus on the world around them. We often find that by taking the spotlight off the team itself and focusing on outside issues an unexpected “door” opens into deeper insights about underlying team dynamics.
For our first afternoon session, we looked at trends and global events that could be impacting the business. Trends included the “great resignation,” climate chaos, supply chain disruptions, political polarization, and other events. Each trend was featured in a full-color poster to help engage the head and heart of each leader.
Using sticky notes, leaders wrote comments on posters that “spoke to them.” We then had each individual share their thoughts with the group. But then, prompted by the action of one of the leaders, we took the exercise one step further. We encouraged each presenter to ask questions of other leaders, empowering team members to understand the same issue, but from another viewpoint. It also gave team members the chance to tap into the talents and expertise of their colleagues. It was a terrific “live time” way to teach the team to engage with each other in a rawer, more honest way — while still maintaining a commitment to kindness.
We then broke the group into pairs to look at the competitive landscape. Each competitor was featured on a full-color poster, again, opening the eyes and ears of the leaders to new ways of looking at their marketplace. Through the presentations, it was clear the team was aligning on where the company was doing well and where it wasn’t. Team members stretched in ways they hadn’t before and started embracing innovative ways to tackle old problems.
For one of our final exercises, we engaged in a “keep / stop / start” conversation, looking at the activities of each department. By this point, leaders were very comfortable engaging with each other in a more honest fashion. Leaders seemed to be relieved that they could speak their minds without the fear of “stepping on toes.” At the same time, team leaders demonstrated compassion for each other, creating a virtuous loop that spurred the team forward.
To wrap our action-packed day, each leader shared their key takeaways and one new commitment that they pledged to the group. The team coalesced on important action items including how to run more effective meetings, how to truly listen to one another, and how to make collaboration real and meaningful. Commitments were specific and truthful, such as pledging to stand by the “two-sentence rule” in order to allow for more voices and less grandstanding. The vulnerability and the authenticity of each leader was palpable. The budding of real relationships was on display — leaders were more candid, but they were also genuinely enjoying the company of others. In other words, they were starting to operate as an actual team.
Moving past the RIF to a place of productivity and renewal.
With a new foundation in place, the leadership team was now ready to map out their future. They had the tools in place to speak truthfully, to hold each other accountable, to understand the inner workings of each department, and to have a deeper appreciation for the context the business was operating in. Most importantly, they all shared an excitement to move the company forward together.
And to think this all happened in a day!