Abrupt separations can be voluntary, mutually agreed upon, or involuntary. Sometimes there are business, ethical or legal limitations to what can communicated to the rest of the team. It is the job of the team's manager or leader to understand what those limitations are, but still communicate what they can.
As a leader or manager you need to maintain the team's confidence in you. Their confidence that you will tell them what you can, proactively and prepare them as best as possible. The confidence that you will treat them as people, instead of things to be swapped out at the first sign of difficulty. Confidence that you will be with them to help the team meet and overcome any problems that may arise. In short, are you part of the team?
As a leader you need to balance lack of information against too much information. Their is no question about timing of the communication. It should be done as soon after the separation as possible, and it should be proactive and sent to anyone who interacted with the person. Communication needs to be timely, proactive and help the team refocus on being successful. This doesn't mean you can simply mandate they move on. You have to address their concerns and questions, even if it means telling them that you can't tell them. That show that you are at least thinking about them and communicating what you can. It may not be a one time communication as well. You may need to follow up with either the team or individuals.
Finding the path between too much and too little information can be challenging. You will probably fail if you only consider what you would want to know. You need to understand the people that make up your team, their personalities and concerns. How they will respond to what is AND what isn't said?
Some of the considerations are easy to understand and navigate. The legal considerations are usually easier to navigate. Work with HR and Legal to understand the boundaries. Some of the ethical considerations are easy to navigate because the consequences will affect the team. For example, revealing information that people think should be kept in private may cause them to not confide in you as their leader. Keep their confidence by keeping their confidence.
The more difficult ethical considerations don't have external consequences and often have no clear answer. Thinking through what may cause you to regret and of feel guilty may be useful guideline. It's hard to say. I think it is important to take the time to think through the ramifications of what is said, even if I think it is the right decision. Once it's said, it can't be unsaid.
In short, are you part of the team?
As a leader or manager you need to maintain the team's confidence in you. Their confidence that you will tell them what you can, proactively and prepare them as best as possible. The confidence that you will treat them as people, instead of things to be swapped out at the first sign of difficulty. Confidence that you will be with them to help the team meet and overcome any problems that may arise. In short, are you part of the team?
Communication needs to be timely, proactive and help the team refocus on being successful.
As a leader you need to balance lack of information against too much information. Their is no question about timing of the communication. It should be done as soon after the separation as possible, and it should be proactive and sent to anyone who interacted with the person. Communication needs to be timely, proactive and help the team refocus on being successful. This doesn't mean you can simply mandate they move on. You have to address their concerns and questions, even if it means telling them that you can't tell them. That show that you are at least thinking about them and communicating what you can. It may not be a one time communication as well. You may need to follow up with either the team or individuals.
How they will respond to what is AND what isn't said?
Finding the path between too much and too little information can be challenging. You will probably fail if you only consider what you would want to know. You need to understand the people that make up your team, their personalities and concerns. How they will respond to what is AND what isn't said?
Keep their confidence by keeping their confidence.
Some of the considerations are easy to understand and navigate. The legal considerations are usually easier to navigate. Work with HR and Legal to understand the boundaries. Some of the ethical considerations are easy to navigate because the consequences will affect the team. For example, revealing information that people think should be kept in private may cause them to not confide in you as their leader. Keep their confidence by keeping their confidence.
Once it's said, it can't be unsaid.
The more difficult ethical considerations don't have external consequences and often have no clear answer. Thinking through what may cause you to regret and of feel guilty may be useful guideline. It's hard to say. I think it is important to take the time to think through the ramifications of what is said, even if I think it is the right decision. Once it's said, it can't be unsaid.
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