Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Welcome to an askaram episode. The show where leaders bring their tough questions and a RAM offers actionable, practical insights rooted in psychology, strategy, and real world experience.
So if you're looking to lead with clarity and confidence, you're in the right place. Let's get started.
Our company recently experienced a sudden change in leadership, and it's left many of us feeling uncertain about the direction and stability of the organization.
How can we navigate this abrupt shift? What can leaders do to rebuild trust and ensure the team stays focused and engaged during this period of transition?
[00:00:42] Speaker B: You've got to challenge up and lead sideways and down.
So what I mean by that is if you feel something has happened that has shaken trust, that might just be a perception. It might just be, you know, like, we don't have all the information.
Or maybe you're right, maybe something uncool happened. But the best way to really get to the bottom of it is challenge up. Now, I don't mean challenge up, like kick someone's door in and start yelling and interrogate them, but pick the right leaders and have the right kinds of conversations about it in an appropriate way. So challenge up. And when I say challenge, ask the questions you have to ask. Bring up the concerns that you need to bring up. That's the best thing to do in a space where you're feeling there's a little bit of damaged trust. Now, if you're worried about retaliation, that's a totally different thing. But in this case, what I'm encouraging you is to go and have the conversations, challenge up, lead sideways and down. So when organizations are in a situation where they feel there's been a loss of trust between leadership and other people in the company, it's totally normal for people to talk about it and to talk about it with your peers and talk about it with people who report up to senior leaders. It is totally normal. And everybody wants to blow off steam. But there's a difference between blowing off steam and commiserating or kind of getting sucked into that. That kind of negative mindset. Mindset. If you're planning on staying at a company and you want to rebuild that trust, then you lead sideways with your peers. And it means you talk about it like, yeah, this, you know, this sucks. We're upset, we're nervous about it, but you don't let the conversation end there. You're like, and here's how I think we should move forward or talk to each other or support each other or challenge up.
It's totally fine to blow off steam or air your concerns or Kind of confide in each other. But if the conversation just ends with, yeah, this place is screwed, and like, oh, I'm so bummed, and you're actually planning on staying there, that's no good. It's gotta be whatever it is, comma, and how are we going to move forward together? So it's that leading sideways and also allowing yourself to be led by peers. What can happen in spaces like this is like getting sucked into that kind of negative griping space. It's tough. And especially, you know, if you're, if you're right and there's something really bad happened and there's been trust there, yeah, it sucks. But you got to do something about it if you're planning on staying. And then that leading down at this space, it's not blowing off steam to each other as it would be at a peer level. Because if you're leading people and you're the one blowing off steam to them, that actually can cause a lot of harm.
A lot of people just want to show up and do their job and kind of be in their company and not get sucked into drama. And some people do get sucked into it or they have legitimate concerns they want to talk about. It's okay to allow people to talk to you. If you're a leader, for sure, totally fine. I really encourage you there to not. Then you start dumping on them or blowing off steam on them. And the reason is, is like, it's okay for you as a leader to take that weight and carry it. It's part of the gig. It's part of being a leader. And at the end of the day, that person who came to speak to you, if they report up to you, they should feel like they've taken a load off. They've been able to take that load off and give it to a leader they trust, and it's yours to carry. You can share it at a peer level and be like, oh my gosh, my report just said this or said that. And if there's enough of that chatter, you as a peer group of peers or a few people can then challenge up.
But really remember that as leaders, we want to have a do no harm policy if we can, which is essentially, if someone is really upset or shook about something, they talk to you about it. Your job is to not add more weight to them. It's to try and take weight off. Then you deal with it at a peer level. And if you can challenge up, what.
[00:04:28] Speaker A: Do you consider the best approach for resigning from a position in a way that preserves Professional relationships maintains respect and ensures a smooth transition for both the individual and the organization.
[00:04:40] Speaker B: Make sure that you put your resignation in writing and that you make yourself available for the time that's in your contract. That, that it should be stipulated that's required for the transition from your role to someone else. The reason I say put it in writing is just like going in and telling your boss, like, hey, I'm going to resign. I'll put it in you put it to you in writing. That's like a really surprising thing. It kind of puts people on the spot. I encourage you to put it in writing and, and email it and then have the meeting with them. And you, you can even say, like, have a meeting already set up, then send them the email in advance. You might think like, oh, gosh, that seems like I'm trying to get out of it. No, you're giving someone the moment to digest in advance. So they're going to digest in advance as you're, you know, you could send it to them an hour or two before the meeting, then you're going to meet with them and you'll talk through it. Resigning on the moment, especially if you're like in person without sending anything in advance, especially if you're someone who's in a crucial position, you're not only resigning, but you're also asking the person in front of you to manage their response to your resigning in the moment and like, have the right kind of conversation.
So send it a couple hours in advance of a meeting, then meet, say your piece, whatever it is, and make sure that you offer to stay for the entire time that that's in the contract.
If you also give that kind of couple hour window or even, you know, like, longer than that if you want. I wouldn't suggest sending it the night before. I would say just send it a couple hours in advance. It also gives them time to think, like, or talk to HR or talk to their colleagues, like, do we want this person to stay longer? Do we want to try and counter offer and retain this person? All of those things. You know, resigning, especially if you're resigning for like a new job and you're stoked on it, it's totally cool. People do it all the time. I've done it and I really encourage you if you want to preserve relationships, just give people time to manage their response so that they're feeling, they're not going to feel great about it, but they're going to feel a lot worse. And you'll probably feel a lot worse if they end up having a reaction or bungling a conversation because they're kind of caught off guard.
[00:06:47] Speaker A: Aram Arslanian is the CEO of Cadence Leadership and Communication.
He has over 20 years of experience as an executive coach and therapist. He's worked with leaders at every level to refine their communication, strengthen their leadership, and unlock their full potential. At Kadence, our passion is helping people become their greatest selves so they can create a lasting impact in the workplace and beyond. That's why this podcast is dedicated to tackling real challenges faced by professionals.
Want to learn more? Visit our website for more info on coaching courses and 360 leadership assessments for individuals and teams.
