4. When Layoffs Are Communicated Without Empathy Or Compassion - A Case Study

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How would you rate your level of self-awareness? Do you know how you come across to your team, or do you assume to know what they think of your communication style? 

This last week or so, I’ve been intently following a story of what NOT to do when you need to lay off employees. At this point, it seems the CEO of Better.com agrees that he could have handled the entire situation much better. 

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, a week or so ago, the CEO of Better.com laid off 900 employees on a group Zoom call. You can check out one of the video clips on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dFpD_ryzNo 

Here’s the episode at a glance:

• Often we think we know how we come across, but we don’t because we don’t ask our team or audience for feedback.
• A big part of self-awareness is knowing the difference between intent versus impact. Your intent might be one thing, but what your audience hears is entirely different.
• In this episode, I discuss the case study of the CEO of Better.com, a direct mortgage lender, and how his message went wrong on a Zoom call. 
• I use the communication pillars of messaging and presence to outline how the Zoom call unfolded.
• There are four questions you must ask yourself when preparing a message for your team if you want to be seen as a respected and influential leader:
  • Who is your audience?
  • What do they care about?
  • How do they feel about you?
  • What and how much do they know about your message? Will it be a complete surprise?

Dive into the episode and get ready to learn how NOT to lay off your team members when you have to. 

If you enjoyed this episode, share the Communicate to Lead podcast with others who’ll find it helpful.

You can also find the show notes at:

https://thetailoredapproach.com/ctl-podcast/