It helps for these to be externally facilitated – it makes it easier to create equity, ensuring everyone feels heard and strong emotions can be properly managed.
Focusing on operational efficiency at the expense of the mission
Whatever you’re going through, it’s critical that how this is communicated aligns with the organisation’s mission and values. While cutting costs can be essential, people will start to question your integrity if they perceive that you are focused on this at the expense of the organisation’s mission or in a way that contradicts your values, and trust can fracture. At Thriving People, we recently supported an INGO where the team was feeling betrayed. Despite the fact the organisation advocated for human rights, their own staff were feeling dehumanised by a poorly handled restructuring process.
The lesson? Clearly communicate how even the toughest decisions align with your core values, and relate everything back to those decisions deliver on your organisation’s mission.
Failing to involve employees
People need to feel like you care. We recently encountered one organisation going through a painful round of redundancies. However, the attitude of some senior leaders towards the wider team was simply. “They just need to accept reality and get on with it.” At this same organisations, we also shadowed a call where the redundancy process was being announced, but it felt more like they were sharing a shopping list. There was little real care or space for emotion. Without an empathetic approach, even the smallest of changes will be met with pushback and resentment, slowing down your ability to respond to the crisis as a leader. Empathy is not a nice-to-have soft skill, it’s an essential quality to build engagement through change. When it comes to communication in times of crisis make sure it’s two-way wherever possible and listen without defensiveness to whatever you hear. Offer more regular opportunities than usual too, even if it feels like there’s little new to say. People process things at different times and just because it’s been said once doesn’t mean it’s been processed or understood. Besides, stress can make it more challenging to listen.
No support for managers
Any change initiative’s success stands or falls on the ability of your managers to support their teams. They are often under the most pressure, the ones who are expected to have the most challenging conversations and too often they lack the skills needed to engage people through the process. We’ve all heard the industrial tribunal scare stories of what happens when they don’t get it right. We recognise management development can be expensive but there are cost effective ways of doing it. When time is tight or budgets are small, we often work alongside the Human Resources team to provide frameworks and resources for them to roll out the initiatives internally. Plus, judicious use of AI tools such as Chat GPT can also add valuable insights to any of your existing resources. The bottom line: ask your managers what support they need, and explore ways you can help them. It will make life so much easier down the line.
Neglecting employee wellbeing
Restructuring is inevitably an emotionally charged process which can have a significant impact on people’s physical and emotional wellbeing. Failing to support staff during this time will only add to burnout and stress and have a negative impact on your ability to bounce back from adversity. That’s exactly what we saw in one crisis-hit NGO we worked with a few months ago. Many leaders were struggling. They were stressed, exhausted, and feeling isolated. They were also neglecting their self-care, both physically and mentally. And when leaders and managers aren’t looking after their own wellbeing, it’s much harder for them to support their teams. They either avoid it altogether, or they try to provide a sympathetic ear but end up feeling drained and resentful because they’re not in a strong enough place themselves.
So, what can help? At the core, simply letting people know that you care and recognising that it’s a challenging time for them can be powerful.
When possible, coaching can be a critical support tool. Coaching can help managers identify their own needs and build their own resilience which then gives them the space and skills to support others. Coaching doesn’t have to be expensive – if skills exist it can be resourced internally, and group coaching is also a cost-effective alternative. There are other routes to supporting people too. For example, a mental health hotline, stress management workshops, flexible work options, and career guidance support.
By having a proactive approach to managing mental health, your team will have more energy to navigate change and deliver on your mission, rather than being consumed by stress.
What next?
Navigating a crisis is never easy, but what you choose to prioritise will define your organisation’s future. Avoid these challenges and you’ll stand a much better chance of maintaining trust, keeping teams engaged, and protecting wellbeing, even when resources are stretched thin.
Are you ready to take the first step toward leading through crisis with confidence? We recognise that every organisation’s journey is unique and knowing what to prioritise in a crisis can feel overwhelming. That’s why at Thriving People we are offering a free 30-minute consultancy call to support leaders in defining a strategic approach that will work for them
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