In both hierarchical and shared leadership organizations, the departure of a person in a decision-making role can have a dramatic impact on the organization.  Many leadership models, like Senge’s Fifth Discipline, advocate an organizational structure that encourages learning and the flexibility needed to survive change as an organization.  But no matter what model is in place losing someone so integral to the organization can be disruptive, particularly if it is a sudden change.  A google search of “my boss got fired” yields more than 49,000,000 results with titles ranging from, “How to Survive When Your Boss is Fired” to “When your boss gets fired, grow your career.” Organizationally, this is the best of times and the worst of times.

The worst of times.

This is a time of uncertainty for employees.  No matter how much time has been spent reassuring the staff that his or her job is not in jeopardy the ground feels unstable.  Even staff members that have been highly successful are seeing the person that hired them, or mentored them, is no longer there.   Employees wonder: Is the organization changing focus?  Is the work I excel at still going to be valued?  Who do I report to now?

This is a time vulnerability for the organization.  Staff members may see this as an opportunity to make a career change themselves.  Projects that have been moving forward are suddenly lacking leadership.  Remaining, and new, staff are left to interpret what was in progress, or just searching for documentation.

The best of times.

This is a time when the remaining staff can reevaluate many aspects of the organization.  If effective policies and procedures are in place staff can lean on them to make decisions, but ineffective areas can be evaluated and changed.  A new decision maker can be hired with strengths in the areas that currently present as weaknesses.

Young, and entry-level, staff have an opportunity to display underutilized skills or learn something new that is needed to get through the time of change.  Once the uncertainty passes, this can truly be an exciting time.

This can be a fresh start for an organization.  This is a chance to grow.

 

Organizational Change References

Marchington, M., & Kynighou, A. (2012). The dynamics of employee involvement and participation during turbulent times. The International journal of Human Resource Management, 23(16), 3336-3354. doi:10.1080/09585192.2012.689161

Senge, P.M. (2006).  The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York, NY: Dolubleday

Senge, P.M. (2000). The puzzles and paradoxes of how living companies create wealth. In M. Beer & N. Nohria (Eds.), Breaking the Code of Change (pp.1-33). Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Senge, P., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C., Ross, R., Roth, G., & Smith, B. (1999). The dance of change: The challenges of sustaining momentum in learning organizations. New York, NY: Doubleday