My Job is Going Away

I drove a friend home from work. "How are things?" I asked. He then told me how his department was being merged with another, and the duplications across departments had made it clear there would be some layoffs.

"How are people taking the idea?"

"Really, it's been pretty amazing," he replied. As these two departments merged, the leaders were approaching the whole effort in a totally open, transparent way--and staff members were totally engaged in the process of determining whether their positions should be among those cut.

How does an organization develop in such a way that when challenges come, people work in creative, collaborative ways to discover the best ways forward, even when it means scary and possibly painful change?

I asked a few more questions, and then visited with some other acquaintances who had been involved. Here's what I learned from them:

1. Openness from leaders about the situation is critical. Team members know generally what's up, so hiding conversations about it doesn't help. Acknowledging the realities and inviting everyone to participate gives team members opportunities to grieve together as well as work to find solutions.
2. Engaging everyone in discussions opens valuable opportunities. In this case, some staff members began to feel motivated to pursue other interests and organizations, resulting in positive career moves. Others were able to help define roles for those who would stay. All were able to help each other find the right solution for the organization and for individuals.
3. Building relationships helps strengthen the organization moving forward. This department focused on building people throughout the merger process.

It's important to acknowledge that studies of organizational resilience would suggest that corporations do best when they focus on 1) positive human relationships,  2) financial reserves, and 3) layoff avoidance to build an organization that can withstand negative market forces. You can read more about one of my favorite studies here: Relationships, Layoffs, and Organizational Resilience

I'm with these researchers; however, sometimes layoffs are going to happen. When they do, how leaders care for the people they work with makes all the difference.

Seeing People

Sandra arrived late for her presentation. She stood at the microphone.

"I left my house on time this morning," she explained, "but everybody else kept getting in my way!"

We laughed and continued with the meeting; however, I've been thinking of the implications of her statement often since that meeting.

How often do we see others as objects--things that either allow us to do what we want or keep us from what we want to do?

As a parent, do I see my children as obstacles to keeping a clean house, to pursuing my fitness or career goals, or to opportunities for quiet reflection? Or do I see them as people--in fact the very people that I want to keep a clean house for, the people I want to succeed for, and the people I want to reflect about when I have those moments?

As a coworker, do I see colleagues as hedges that must be worked around, or as people who have nearly unlimited potential to contribute to solutions?

Do I see my board of directors as a barrier to be crossed in order to have my projects approved, or as essential, visionary partners and leaders in ensuring my work is situated in a global context?

Kimberly White, in The Shift: How Seeing People as People Changes Everything, describes how an entire healthcare organization was changed by focusing on a single principle. Seeing people as people rather than objects changes each interaction, making us more collaborative, collegial, and ultimately more productive as individuals and as organizations.