Leadership After Layoffs: Navigating the Human Complexity

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There’s a part of layoffs we don’t talk about enough — and it affects leaders at every level.

Not because it doesn’t matter — but because naming it feels uncomfortable and deeply personal.

Over the past few months, I’ve been in conversation with Directors navigating the aftermath of layoffs — many of whom were asked to deliver news they didn’t create, but were required to carry. They became the face of decisions shaped above them, delivered to people they know well, and were then expected to keep the work — and the team — moving.

Those conversations are heavy, conflicted, and deeply human.

Most discussions understandably focus on those who were laid off — and rightly so. Their loss is real. Their transition — financial, emotional, and professional — is profound and deserves real support and empathy.

At the same time, there is another group that rarely gets acknowledged: the people who remain. Including the Directors who stayed — who absorbed the emotional impact of delivering the message, and who are now being asked to stabilize teams while processing their own reactions.

Research consistently suggests that for remaining employees, the aftermath isn’t gratitude — it’s complexity. Following layoffs, organizations often see:

• Declines in morale, confidence, and productivity

• Disengagement and uncertainty

• Expanded roles without clarity or support

What I hear from Directors mirrors this. Teams are carrying survivor complexity, anxiety, overload, and loss. And Directors are often carrying it too — quietly — while translating strategy downward, pressure upward, and care in every direction.

This isn’t about blame. And it isn’t about revisiting decisions that were already made.

It’s about understanding the reality leaders are being asked to operate within. When emotional weight goes unacknowledged, it shows up everywhere — in decision quality, focus, trust, and culture. Holding space for those who remain doesn’t compete with compassion for those who left. Both realities can exist at once.

What I’ve seen help most is when leaders are given explicit permission — including permission they give themselves — to slow down, acknowledge what’s changed, and reset expectations together.

The responsibility of leadership after layoffs isn’t just operational — it’s human:

• Create space to acknowledge what’s been lost — including for yourself

• Communicate with clarity and transparency, even when the answers are incomplete

• Help people rebuild roles and priorities intentionally, not by default

• Reinvest in culture, learning, and meaning — not just output

Moving forward doesn’t dishonour those who left. Doing it without care does.

As an Executive Coach — and having led through moments like these myself — I see how much leaders at all levels carry, and how rarely they have the space to navigate the complexity of these moments intentionally. Strong leadership here isn’t about having all the answers; it’s about naming what’s hard, staying human, and leading anyway.