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Few leadership moments test your integrity like a layoff. There’s no easy way to tell someone their role is being eliminated. Even when it’s necessary — a restructuring, a funding slowdown, a market shift — it leaves a mark on everyone involved. And while companies often focus on legal compliance, messaging, and PR risk, what really defines a leader in these moments is how they show up. Layoffs aren’t just about who leaves. They’re about who stays.

Stepping into a management role is already a shift in identity. Stepping into a management role over people who used to be your peers is a different kind of stretch. This is where many new managers get stuck. They know how to do the work. They are less sure about how to lead people who knew them before they were “the manager.”

You spent six weeks finding the perfect candidate. She nailed every interview. The team loved her. The offer package was ready. Then came the email: “I’ve decided to pursue another opportunity.” It’s easy to blame compensation, timing, or “the market.”   But most of the time, candidates aren’t rejecting your offer.   They’re rejecting your process. When the Process Sends the Wrong Signal I had coffee recently with Marcus, a VP of Engineering who’d lost three senior hires in a

Google didn’t scale to 190,000 employees by micromanaging. Here’s how you can build the same kind of accountability. When Connor (not his...