Trust and Promises

Leadership builds value during stable times, and draws down during instability

After the manager makes the decision, the re-org begins. Managing the execution of the re-org well is the next task for the manager, however the quality of the execution is mostly pre-determined. While your ability to navigate the communication and process of the re-org does matter, ultimately the trust you have from your team that you are able to do what you promise, and the culture that you have created during times of stability ultimately determine how well you are able to execute.

In the short-run, a re-org will lower morale since it inevitably creates uncertainty within the team. This uncertainty is unavoidable, since a re-org changes the shape and structure of the team, and forces every team member to evaluate and adjust their norms. It is as if you woke up one day, and you are living in a different house but in the exact same location. You will need to re-learn where all the rooms are, how the appliances and lights are, and slowly re-establish your day to day routine. Every step you take will be different than what it was previously, and you don't yet know if this new house is better, you just know that it is different. This effect is particularly strong if the team has been stable for a long time since people are more set in their ways.

The manager's main goal during the initial period of a re-org is to reduce the uncertainty as much as possible. However, this is easier said than done, as there is also uncertainty on the manager's side. While the re-org is a bet for aligning the team structure with the future direction, it is still a bet, and even the manager can't be absolutely sure of what the final structure and flow of the team will look like. Thus, the manager is needs to act more like a guide, helping their team navigate the variance to come.

To do this, the manager can focus on guiding them team on setting new workflows, understanding the counterfactual and promising long-term stability.

Guiding the team on setting new workflows tends to be the easiest thing, since its very tactical. The manager wants to help the team as much as possible to understand how they workflow has shifted. This will require a period where the manager is high touch, but getting the team into their new flows as fast as possible tends to help stabilize things quickly. Additionally, it is beneficial to explicitly call out: