My Thanksgiving Week Reflections.

Thanksgiving Day (last Thursday) was one of the biggest holiday moments for American friends, celebrating the harvest and blessings of the past year. Sadly last week was also a heavy week for some close friends around me – one experienced ruthless headcount cutting because of the disappointing business performance in the China market. Another found herself wrestling with a last-minute, top-level decision that sent ripples through an event they were organising.

In both cases, the individuals are passionate and dedicated, and hold themselves to high standards. Yet, they found themselves defeated by the corporate culture and leadership of these stressful situations.

These experiences made me reflect on the 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, especially during challenging situations and busy business seasons.

What if businesses could 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗴𝗼? What if the leaders could 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 about the reasoning behind the layoff?

Imagine leaders 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳. These are the ones who must pick up the remaining work and they are impacted morally, and operationally, by the sudden absence of their colleagues.

Visualise a different kind of walk-through for event preparation. Instead of leaders critically picking at flaws, what if they 𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲, and 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿?

How might this small shift in approach impact morale, productivity, and employee loyalty? What are your thoughts and suggestions for creating a more humane business environment?