How to Demoralise your Team 4: Short-term Miopia & Cuts

Clients have reminded me there are numerous ways they and their teams have been demoralised by poor leaders. Here is another.

We are clearly moving into a double dip recession in many counties, yet this is a time for stronger leadership. Not the time for cutting leadership as a savings measure!

This is not the moment to panic and take knee jerk, short-term perspectives and their ensuing cuts. In the 2007-2008 recession I worked with firms where CEOs made petty cuts, micromanaged and alienated staff. They unwittingly sent the message, “I don’t trust you and so will check on everything and make you all suffer. Forget empowerment here comes Micro-manager”

For example one CEO insisted on personally signing-off ALL travel requests over £50 in a firm of 20,000 employees. It was impractical, sent a disastrous message and alienated everyone.

The consequence was people quit, but stayed. They became “organisational terrorists”. They are biding their time for a better job elsewhere when times improve and so give only 40% of their talent.

So choose carefully what and who you cut. Motivate and inspire your way to profit. Cutting your way to profit needs massive organisational cuts, but is generally not sustainable.

More leadership rather than more cuts are needed.

Warm regards
Jonathan