Letter from the CEO Greetings Momentum Subscribers,
How do we remain focused, positive organizational leaders in the face of an economic downturn?
When your company is facing layoffs, outsourcing, and shifting priorities to address weak consumer spending and changes in our near term economic outlook, how do you stay focused? What are the first things to think about?
This issue of Momentum outlines some short, simple strategies for leading and surviving tough times.
Karlin Sloan
CEO
Karlin Sloan & Company
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Top Five Strategies for Leading in a Downturn
by Karlin Sloan
Find your best David Letterman voice before you hit these top fives...
Number Five - Get your story straight. What is the unified message that you want to communicate to your team and to your organization? Why are any changes you have to make during this time important? What are the implications of this time in the organization's history - what positives are possible?
Number Four - Focus on the ones who are leading the charge under you. One of our great temptations during a downturn is to start putting your nose to the grindstone to get work done. Your number one priority is to get those people under you to become a unified force. They are looking to you for answers because the future is uncertain. Give the answers you can.
Number Three - Overcommunicate. If you don't know what will happen - say that!
Number Two - Practice gratitude. Be thankful for your amazing skills and strenghs, and for whatever you value in your precious life. When we practice gratitude it changes our ability to motivate and inspire others. It also puts a downturn into perspective. Be grateful that you are priveleged enough to have learned to read and to have a career. My trick? When I feel the pressure of a downturn I try to remember that over 2.5 billion people live on less than 2 dollars a day.
And the Number One strategy for leading in a downturn? Use it as an opportunity for learning and growth. Great leaders step up to a challenge - you may surprise yourself! Take time to listen, learn, and develop new skills as you need them.
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Picking up the Pieces When You've Been Laid Off
by Laurel Donnellan
I have been laid off four times in my career history. These transitions lead me to being a coach who particularly loves to help people navigate this unexpected and often stressful path through the unknown to the next phase in their life. Here are a few tips that to get you on the journey to what I believe can be even better than where you have been:
1. Pay attention to your health: Focus on the basics including balanced food, plenty of water, more than enough rest and exercise that is enjoyable as well as good for your body.
2. Get support: Reach out to your closest family members and friends and keep them in the loop as you go through your transition. In addition, begin to call your closest professional contacts and mentors for moral support and practical advice. If you have a coach or therapist set up regular sessions. If you do not, consider getting one.
3. Take an inventory of your finances: Much of the stress of this time can be alleviated by looking at the facts. Assess your monthly expenses and assets and give yourself a window of time to look for new employment that is reasonable and attainable based on your situation.
4. Dream: Set aside time each week to be whimsical and impractical. Create a dream job/life scenario before you set off to find "just a job". After my last lay off I went back to school for a year and then spent six months living out of my car and traveling around the Western United States. You may not be ready or able to do something so drastic but maybe you have another secret wish that you can fulfill like giving yourself a month to explore painting, a trip to Italy, spending more time with your children or exploring starting your own business.
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Survivorship: Leading in the Wake of Layoffs
by Elizabeth Olson
Capitalizing on the Loss from Lay-Offs
Whether someone is told they are "downsized", "rightsized", "smartsized" or laid-off, the impact is the same and the process of finding a new position begins. As hard as that is to face, the consequences can be more problematic for those who survive the bloodletting. With the current and predicted economic downturn, more organizations are facing the specter of rebuilding work processes and work force morale after the announcement is made and people are escorted out the building. The typical aftermath includes lower motivation and productivity, reduced loyalty and trust, increased skepticism, sarcasm and feelings of guilt. There are ways to avoid the usual productivity and turnover issues that the "survivor syndrome" can lead to and actually energize teams to pull together and find new ways to get things done.
When my coachee, the GM, knew he had to restructure his Marketing Department because of a global, job elimination decision, he asked for assistance in planning and facilitating a two-day retreat with the smaller team two days after the lay-off. We called it "Capitalizing on Change" with the desired outcomes of clearing the effects of the job eliminations, re-aligning the department to simplify processes and deliver on promises, and re-forming the team to maximize people's strengths.
Participants opened up when the leaders left the room (including the HR Manager) so the group could surface losses, possible gains, questions/feedback for the GM, and big issues to resolve. When the GM came back in the room, he spent the time needed to answer every question and address every concern; there was no sugar-coating and hidden conflicts were aired. By the end of the session, trust had been re-gained and the new team had a plan to move forward. The feedback was very positive: "we created more positive atmosphere amongst the team, while recognizing the path ahead is not going to be easy.", "I think we did a good job of getting issues on the table and addressing them and developing an actionable plan with next steps to implement them; walking the talk." "I learned to bring solutions forward rather than problems, share my opinion rather than falling back on the excuse "that there's no point"".
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Quotations
"Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"People need hard times and oppression to develop psychic muscles." - Emily Dickinson
"You are capable of more than you know. Choose a goal that seems right for you and strive to be the best, however hard the path. Aim high. Behave honorably. Prepare to be alone at times, and to endure failure. Persist! The world needs all you can give." - Edward O. Wilson
"A leader is a dealer in hope." -
Napoleon Bonaparte
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Conference Announcement
Northwestern University's Center for Learning and Organizational Change
presents its first annual conference.
In recent
years, sustainability has become a central theme for many
organizations, large and small. Many have embraced sustainability
initiatives; however fewer organizations have been successful in
creating real change across their entire organization.
Learn more from
select panelists about their business case for change and successes in
creating a culture of sustainability.
Sponsoring organizations include: Subaru, Shedd Aquarium,
Infrastructure, Shaw Environmental, SkySite, and Karlin Sloan & Company.
Click here to register.
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