<p> </p><p align="justify"><span class="dropthecap">T</span>his is a classic case of lack of leadership.</p><p align="justify">All that can go wrong in handling the sensitive task of lay-offs has gone wrong, simply because Debbil's leadership is incapable.</p><p align="justify">This is not just Debbil's problem. The current economic downturn is demanding new capabilities from leaders. But lack of experience, training and preparation have made many leaders panic and, worse, insensitive and careless.</p><p align="justify">We learn many lessons in leadership, communications and people management from this case, which I summarise below: <br />Varmaji, the wise secretary: "We could have handled it differently. I think you have to communicate in such a way that even if people have to go, they should go peacefully."</p><p align="justify">The CFO: "A lot of indirect, informal communication has already gone out. Now what can you do trying and doctoring words?" <br />Suryaveer (behavioral strategist): "I wish we had foreseen that this informal communication was going to add to the sense of impending doom."</p><p align="justify">Siv (HR head): "People are not of four or six kinds. In fact, there are as many kinds as there are people. The important thing is processes."</p><p align="justify">Even the CEO, who is singularly responsible for this chaos, provides a good insight with: "No doubt I communicated to him directly. And that may have helped." So when we see the top management exhibiting such great knowledge about what has gone wrong, we wonder why their knowledge could not prevent the chaos.</p><p align="justify">This problem is not just of Debbil. Many companies are bedeviled likewise. This leadership failure is rooted in our classic preference for analysis, articulation and debate as opposed to agile action and execution on the ground.</p><p align="justify">Let us look at other players. The most disturbing is PR. In many companies the PR department is not only responsible for external relations but also internal communications. PR's Arpita and Josy should be giving advice on how to handle internal communications effectively, instead of joining the gossip.</p><p align="justify">Same goes for HR. Shirishbhai fuels speculation by indiscreetly sharing his privileged information on Dhanesh. Has he forgotten that he is an HR professional or is it that the organisation's culture and leadership never trained him to be a true HR pro? On the whole, we have at Debbil a bunch of incompetent and callous leaders who know a lot but cannot get their act together. Let us look at the lessons in communications that this case throws up.</p><p align="justify">First of all, there was no planned communication. Every one simply talked without bothering about the implications. The CEO asks his 54-year-old secretary to go and takes pride in his straight talk. Siv, the HR VP, tells people there are no ‘lists' and just tactically reacts to various employees instead of planning a pro-active communication strategy. A more seasoned and experienced HR leader would have handled this with greater sensitivity.</p><p align="justify">Internal communications is a joint task of the CEO, HR leader and the communications team. All the steps to prevent ‘grapevine' and avoid whisper campaigns must be taken ahead of time. Since Debbil seems medium sized, time-tested methods like ‘town halls' with employees — with the CEO and HR VP addressing employees directly — should have been followed.</p><p align="justify">Yes, communication is not about ‘doctoring' words. It is about listening, understanding and anticipating audience's feelings and addressing them with sensitivity. Given the advancement and tools we have today to support effective internal communications, Debbil's actions in handling crisis communications reflect cowboy-like callousness.</p><p align="justify">Take people management. We must address sensitive issues such as job losses on a one-on-one basis, be open to individual solutions, tailor plans to the individual situation. What Varmaji negotiates is a classic example of how there could be win-win in such situations. This needs sensitivity and competence among the leaders.</p><p align="justify">During lay-offs many options such as salary cuts, work reduction, re-skilling and redeployment, counseling, etc. should be explored, instead of adopting a one-size-fits-all approach. Most importantly, the case points us to how people react differently to the same communication depending on their personal and psychological situation.</p><p align="justify">A deeper look at the issues shows that the recent unprecedented growth has seen a new generation of leaders who have never handled downsizing. Smaller companies have seen rapid growth without an opportunity to develop strong internal leaders and expert functions.</p><p align="justify">The role of the CEO, HR leader and the internal communications are very critical in anticipating downsizing-related problems and acting wisely and expertly. Companies such as Debbil must invest far more in training and development of their leaders and core functions to handle such tough situations better.</p><p align="justify"><em>Sripada Chandrasekhar is vice-president and head of HR at IBM India/South Asia. The views expressed here are personal</em></p> <script type="text/javascript"> var intro = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#commenth4').text()) var page = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#storyPage').text()) if (page.indexOf(intro) < 0) { jQuery('#commenth4').attr('style', 'display:block;') } </script><div>(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 30-11-2009)</div>
