NEW YEAR, NEW MOMENTUM! Get 50% off the Momentum Leadership Digital Course with code: FRIENDS

Earlier in my career, I flew to Orlando for what was supposed to be a global offsite. The agenda looked ambitious — strategy sessions, team alignment, big-picture planning. We were pumped. After we landed and checked into the hotel, we walked into the conference room for the opening ceremony. That's when they told us: our teams were being disbanded. Our roles were no longer going to exist. I still can't decide what was more absurd — the fact that they flew us across the world

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.

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...