The Cranky Middle Manager Show #251 The One Minute Negotiator- George Lucas
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #224 Surviving Layoffs with David Noer
Posted on 19. Jan, 2010 by Wayne in Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks to David Noer, author of “Healing the Wounds-Overcoming the Trauma of Layoffs and Revitalizing Downsized Organizations”. We also talk about the guy who had to handle a reduction in force during the Crusades and a quote from Rudyard Kipling. Join us…. it ain’t boring.
David Noer, author of “Healing the Wounds”
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Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the show. Pretty much all of us have been expected to manage a layoff, and come out the other side still getting work done. It’s not easy on our people or on us. We dedicate this show to Balian of Ibelin, who knew a thing or two about trying to work after your team has been gutted…. in his case literally.
4:00 The quote of the week is from one of my favorite but politically incorrect writers, Rudyard Kipling. Overwork has killed many people stronger than us. Take care of yourself my people……
4:50 Welcome David Noer to the show. One good thing about being the victim of a downsizing is you don’t have to manage people through it. Middle managers are at risk if your social and emotional well being is tied to your job, you’re at risk. Leadership makes a different, especially over distance.
6:50 Middle managers are particularly vulnerable because they are both laying people off and at risk themselves. Before you try to deal with your employees, get yourself together and handle your own emotions. David also suggests you break a couple of rules if only to save your sanity.
10:00 Why do companies so seldom get downsizing right? Do they let too many people go? Are they the right people? Proper or not, you’re the one stuck dealing with it. Layoffs never meet their financial goals because they don’t factor in survivor guilt and lost productivity.
12:15 How do you get your team back on track? Acknowledge the emotions and don’t try to just push through it. Being lucky to still have a job is not sufficient motivation for most humans. It’s okay to be lean, but mean is just unnecessary. The good news is if you focus on the customer and how to be efficient, you’ll find a lot of what was being done was useless to start with.
15:18 Companies whine about a lack of engagement, then do everything to get people disengaged. The contract has changed. Managers need to take responsibility for their own careers, learning and psychological well-being. We’re all temps, we just don’t all admit it.
19:00 How do you balance taking care of yourself with giving a fair effort to your employer? “Cautious loyalty” is the solution. And if you thought Gen X and the millenials had this figured out, don’t believe it. They’re getting sucked in too.
22:00 Even if you are employed, you need to act like an entrepeneur…. and that’s hard for a lot of people. Newer economies seem to get this better than we do.
David’s Resources
In today’s environment the toughest thing I have to do is to lay off trusted employees who have been with me for years. It hurts deeply to do so. But I have to survive so someday I can maybe call them back to work.