Sometimes, It’s Like This
The morning sun rose like a canker in the sky as Brett Effective stumbled from sleep in a haze of recrimination and dark portents. He was a manager, a middle manager, and yesterday had not been pretty. The folks up top had made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, and today he had to tell the team.
In the shower, he rehearsed his line. He knew he had only one shot before they flew off message and freaked out.
“This is an exciting opportunity for some of us to really get into the strategic decision making of the company.”
“Although I fought to keep our team intact, some of us will be moving into different roles throughout the organization. We’ll still be working closely with those people…” No, that was a second sentence. Wouldn’t keep their attention that long.
“We’re reorg-ing, and it’s awesome. Here’s why.”
Brett didn’t know why, and as the shower beat down on his back he wondered if the executive team knew why either. He wondered if anyone in this world acted on principle anymore.
Don’t be the company that does this to your managers. They are all that stands between you and total disaffection. The ranks don’t listen to you. They listen to Brett; they detect changes in the weather in his mien, they see doom in his inability to convey strategic meaning behind the decisions he’s charged with relaying.
Are you making Brett’s life a film noir? There may be a couple of reasons why. You could have a broken strategic planning process. You might have internal communication issues. It’s possible that Brett was the wrong hire, but we suggest this only reluctantly, as it gives you, the leadership, an out. It’s highly likely that Brett hasn’t received the kind of training and mentorship he needs to reach maximum levels of performance. Whatever the case, it’s bad. Noir dramas end in a draw, at best - more often everybody loses.
