Thoughts Unlocked – Restructuring Without Wrecking Your Reputation aka Brand

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Skot Waldron (00:06.512)
Welcome back to Thoughts Unlocked, quick hits to make you think deeper and lead smarter. So today we’re going to talk about a topic that I’ve actually heard a lot about lately, and that is organizational restructuring. You might hear that and immediately think, huh, layoffs, confusion, rumors, panic. Well, you’re not totally wrong. Restructuring is a loaded topic. It’s disruptive. It can be emotional. And let’s be honest, it’s not really handled very well sometimes.

It doesn’t have to wreck your team. It doesn’t have to wreck your brand. It doesn’t have to wreck people’s perception of you as an organization or as a person handling the restructuring. Because let’s be honest, the thing is, these people will remember how you handled this event way into the future. Restructuring isn’t just a business decision. It’s a leadership test. And it’s one of the fastest ways to build or break trust depending on how you handle it.

So, if you’re looking for change. If you’re leading change or even whispering about one behind closed doors, this is your chance to get some insights.

Number 1 – what we’re going to do is we’re going to over communicate even when we don’t have all the answers. And this is going to be really scary. I get it. It’s discretion. It’s this idea called discretion and discipline. How much do we share with who and when, but here’s what most leaders get wrong. They wait until they have everything figured out before they say anything to the team.

The organizational charts still in pencil, HR hasn’t finalized the email and you’re thinking, you know, let’s just hold off another week. Let’s just wait a little longer. Meanwhile, your team already kind of knows something’s going on. I mean, seriously, they know, they feel it. We’re wired to detect change. You know, when leaders get quiet, people start writing their own story.

When we don’t have things to fill our brains or the gap in the story in our minds, our mind fills it for us. And you know what? They usually imagine a worst-case scenario. So, here’s your play. I want you to start communicating early, not with empty promises or the corporate jargon, just with honesty. You could say things like this. Hey, you know, we’re exploring some changes. Here’s what we know right now. Here’s what we don’t. And here’s when you’ll hear more.

That one sentence does more than trust. It builds more than trust. It helps, you know, with this beautifully worded post-mortem. Also, you need to repeat yourself. You may be tired of saying it, but that’s usually when people are just starting to hear it. Clarity isn’t one time announcement. It’s a rhythm. I need you to stay consistent. I need you to bring this thing back up because you know, let’s be honest too, that statement may raise some flags and people start to get a little bit worried.

Number 2 – don’t just restructure roles. We need to rebuild relationships. People don’t resist change because they are stubborn. I know some of you probably think differently than that, but they resist change because they’re human. You know, we all do it when you change someone’s role, reporting line, title, daily rhythm, it doesn’t just hit their calendar. It hits their identity. Even if the change is technically positive, it still feels like a loss. People think about what they’re losing. We have a lot of scarcity in our mindset and that fuels that. Here’s what you can’t do. You can’t strip to, you can’t skip straight to the, yeah, let’s embrace this new structure part.

You need to make space for people to process, to feel uncertain, to grieve the old before they can embrace the new. It’s this change curve thing that I talk about often that we go through shock, denial, depression, annoyance. Like we go through these stages, anger, like it sounds like stages of grief because honestly it is. People are grieving. They’re mourning. It’s okay. Let them get there because you’ve probably already been there, and now you’re trying to make sure that you bring them along smoothly. Well, let them do the thing they need to do.

One leader I worked with said this beautifully. They said, people need a funeral for the old way before they can have a party for the new way. I love that. You need a funeral for the old way before you can have a party for the new way. So, let’s acknowledge the disruption. Let’s name it. We could say things like this. Hey, I know this is a big shift y’all. I know you’ve poured yourself into what we’ve been, what we built, that matters. And while we’re stepping into something new, it doesn’t erase the good work we’ve done already. That 15 seconds of acknowledgement, it earns hours of goodwill really. It re-establishes that, I’m recognizing what we’ve done and that’s amazing. We’re not replacing it. We’re taking it and merging it and using the good and just blowing it up.

Number 3 – let’s talk about this. How about knowing to step in and when to step back. Here’s when restructuring goes sideways. A lot of leaders either go full micromanage mode. They say things like, I need to review every decision right now, or they vanish altogether thinking, they’ve got this. I need to be empowering. I need to empower my people. If I step in too much, I’m not empowering them. But both approaches create chaos. You’ve got to stay visible and accessible without becoming a bottleneck. And this means be present in check-ins, ask good questions, spot where people need clarity or coaching, but also let your leaders lead. If you’ve shifted responsibility downward, don’t hover. Trust the people you put in charge. If you don’t trust them, that’s a staffing issue, not a structure issue.

Number 4 – let’s support publicly and decide intentionally. When tough decisions are going to be made about roles and cuts and reassignments, let’s not spin it. People see through that. They don’t need you to sugarcoat it. They need you to humanize it. If someone’s job is changing or going away, support them with respect and transparency because how you treat that person becomes the story your entire team tells about your leadership brand and who you are.

Are you the kind of leader who quietly offloads people and then moves on? Are you the kind who treats people like people, even in tough moments? Because your culture isn’t what’s written on your walls, that’s how you handle moments like this. That’s when your true character will be revealed.

Number 5 – the last one. Keep the focus on the mission, not just the map. Let’s get practical here. Restructuring often feels like shuffling boxes around on a spreadsheet, but the point of a restructure isn’t to get cute with org charts. It’s to realign the team around a mission, around a goal, something that we’re trying to accomplish together. So, when the dust settles, we need to come back to the purpose and say, here’s what we’re building. Here’s how this new structure helps us do it better. Teams don’t follow charts, they follow clarity. Clarity is kind. They follow belief. That’s your job. Keep pointing to the horizon, reminding people why the work they do matters. They have to believe that in the first place and why it matters.

So, here’s the five things I want you to be thinking about:

1. I want you to be thinking about how we can over communicate. Even when we don’t have all the answers.
2. Don’t just restructure roles. Let’s make sure we’re building relationships.
3. Know when to step in and when to step back.
4. Support publicly. Let’s decide internally.
5. Keep the focus on the mission, not just the map.

Every team has stories, y’all, about leaders who have led them through change. The good ones, they’re calm, they’re clear. They don’t have all the answers, but they show up anyway. They communicate often. They treat people with respect, and they lead like the transition matters because here it does.

Then you have the other ones that we all remember as well. And we probably don’t think very favorably of them. We talk about them behind their backs and as if you don’t want to work for that person or go to work for that company or whatever, we don’t feel great about that.

So, here’s your challenge. If change is coming or it’s already happening, I want you to ask yourself these three questions. Am I communicating clearly? Am I showing up when it counts and I’m helping my team feel anchored not just informed because your structure might change, but your character shows up every day. Your structure might change, but your character shows up every day.

Thanks for tuning in to Thoughts Unlocked. Short, sharp, made to make you better. I’ll see you next time.