How to conduct a Heartfelt Layoff - Part 1

How do you lay people off with heart?

By Deb Boelkes

Follow the Golden Rule. The best approach is always “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  The Golden Rule is a guiding principle that leaders should live by every day, but it’s never more important than when employees are at their most vulnerable. Imagine how you would want to be treated if you were to lose your job and take action with that in mind.

Face Reality. Certainly few of us want to be laid off, but as Jack Welch, former CEO and Chairman of General Electric once said, the best leaders “face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be.”

If lay-offs in your company are not immediately imminent, but could be a possibility in the days or weeks ahead, don’t ignore the facts and don’t keep it secret. It’s far better that team members be forewarned so they can mentally prepare, determine their options, and make plans.

Communicate personally– in a calm and caring manner.  The owner / CEO should let team members know what they know as early as practical before any layoffs take place. Be honest, candid and empathetic when communicating. Forewarnings should be handled face-to-face. This can be done as a web-based town hall if in-person one-on-one meetings, by Skype or other means, are not practical.

Solicit input. Let employees know, in no uncertain terms, you are all in this together. ...

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WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THE WORLD STANDS STILL? INSIGHTS AND WORDS OF WISDOM FROM METOMORPHOSIS WOMEN’S ENCOUNTER FOUNDER, MONIQUE ROGERS

Monique RogersQuestion #1: As of now, how has the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the various work, community, and travel-related restrictions impacted your life, personally and professionally?

Monique’s Answer: The pandemic has impacted my personal and professional lives in both positive and negative ways.

Negative: I’ve had to cancel all my workshops, speaking engagements, and family functions.

Our family has had to adjust to working remotely and we’ve had to transition our children to virtual education. It’s challenging to manage both. I notice elevated levels of stress and fear as the number of people infected across our county increases. 

Positive: We're doing our best to remain safe and stress free. As we practice social distancing, we have each experienced our fair share of boredom, however, I decided to "Quarantine with a Purpose" by intentionally making the best of this situation. I’ve decided to be grateful for this time.

I've needed to get some long neglected things accomplished. I've committed to invest in myself, my family, and my home during this time. I’ve come to realize staying home isn't so bad if you change your perspective, tap into your creativity, and reconnect with those you love.

 Question #2: What heartfelt words of wisdom do you have to share with leaders and aspiring leaders? To see Monique's response...

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WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THE WORLD STANDS STILL? INSIGHTS AND WORDS OF WISDOM FROM AUTHOR AND FOUNDER OF GLOBAL COURAGE, MARGIE WARRELL.

Margie Warrell, bestselling authorQuestion #1: As of now, how has the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the various work, community, and travel-related restrictions being set in place impacted your life, personally and professionally?

Margie’s Answer: Profoundly. All of my engagements have been cancelled. My children have all been forced to leave their college accommodations or simply do school virtually. My book tour has been cancelled. My husband is sick in the hospital fighting this coronavirus and I’m in 14-day quarantine. I’d say that’s profound enough. 

Question #2: What heartfelt "best-ever boss" words of wisdom do you have to share with leaders and aspiring leaders?

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Ken Blanchard: My Wakeup Call with Dr. Mark Goulston

In this episode Dr. Mark Goulston speaks with legendary leadership guru Ken Blanchard on becoming real and vulnerable and speaking and living from your heart.

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What Do You Do When the World Stands Still? Insights and Words of Wisdom from Southwest Airlines’ Linda Rutherford

Question #1: As of now, how has the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the various work, community, and travel-related restrictions being set in place impacted your life, personally and professionally?

Linda’s Answer: In a nutshell, it has turned my personal and professional life upside down.

At home, my husband is on a work-from-home mandate. My two college-aged children are now dealing with online learning scenarios as both of their universities have cancelled classes for the rest of the semester.

My oldest is set to graduate, and what a world he will be entering in two months. My youngest is working on her “Plan B” for summer since her study abroad plans to Spain have been cancelled.

All my business travel to conferences and speaking engagements have been cancelled, and three personal trips have been put on ice.

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What do you do when the world stands still? Words of Wisdom for Heartfelt Leaders

Deb Boelkes

Question #2: What heartfelt "best-ever boss" words of wisdom do you have to share with leaders and aspiring leaders?  

Deb’s Answer:

• Let others know you love and care about them.


• Be forgiving.


• Be creative.


• Learn from the many lessons we are now being granted.

As the former Chairman and CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch, once said, “Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be.”

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What do you do when the world stands still? Insights from Deb Boelkes

This is the first installment in what we hope will be a series of blog posts from role model Heartfelt Leaders. The intent of this series is to enable you to lead with love and assuredness in this season of coronavirus uncertainty. We hope you will be inspired to “keep calm and carry on”, and to the best of your ability, help others do the same.

Within this series, we have asked Heartfelt Leaders (some of the same role models featured in our books, The WOW Factor Workplace and Heartfelt Leadership), to respond to the two questions Deb addresses below.  Read on.

Question #1: As of now, how has the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the various work, community, and travel-related restrictions being set in place impacted your life, personally and professionally?

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Insights from Heartfelt Leaders: What do you do when the world stands still?

Somehow, the world as we knew it, at least here in the US, seemed to fall off a cliff this past week.

It’s hard to imagine it was only two months ago that we began to hear news reports about a novel type of coronavirus, now called COVID-19, emanating from Wuhan, China. Just six weeks ago, about all that most of us knew was that it was something akin to SARS, MERS, or the Hong Kong flu … or worse, like pneumonia.

We were shocked to start seeing scenes streaming over the internet and cable tv of panoramic videos captured by drones flying above the city of Wuhan, vividly showing the eeriness of empty streets and bridges, completely void of cars and people.

The exception to the emptiness was footage capturing shots of individuals being dragged from their homes by all fours and thrown into vans, to be carted off to who knows where, by officials wearing biosecurity hazmat suits. Such videos, coupled with the increasing number of reports warning us this novel coronavirus had the potential to spread very far very fast, sparked a global anxiety.  

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