Inexperienced managers quite often fear the loss of “resources” when restructuring inevitably beckons. They worry that they will no longer be able to do the work required of them and their team. The feeling of scarcity envelopes them, and protective instincts kick in.
Sometimes its confusion : How will I do the work expected of me?
Other times it’s the team. “Jack will leave if we have to cut back”
Or maybe its a fight or flight response : “No way are they taking MY resources away” or “Well maybe its time for me to get a package and leave”
Often these managers lack the toolkit to think differently about the problem.
They firstly often can’t identfy or connect with the organisation’s need to restructure. Maybe they don’t understand the business or market context yet. Maybe they simply don’t have the abstract skills to stand on the balcony of an organisation and see the bigger picture. They prefer to operate in a Team 2 mindset. ( Team 1 vs Team 2 explanation.) where it is about my team rather than the enterprise.
Secondly, often these managers don’t have the tools and understanding of the levers at a managers disposal when restructuring occurs, so unfortunately are caught short. It’s almost never the case that restructuring or laying off results in things being dropped or missed. Elon aside, most restructures are never so deep as actual critical processes stop. Projects may slow down or pause, but that is kind of the point. Its the fear of the unknown for these managers. What lays underneath quite often are poor processes, inability to prioritise, and an exposure that there is work happening that is inefficient and unnecessary.
More likely an opportunity exists to lay bare the work at hand provides visibility to understand the true state of a team and workload.
Experienced managers understand the opportunity a restructure presents. They know as the way it is in nature, as an important and cyclical necessity of a sustainable business. Using a gardening metaphor, sometimes in order to grow, you need to cut back.
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