Taking a stand

I'm in the middle of a dilemma. I know of someone who is laying off people this week. Her HR VP has advised her to do this in a group setting to avoid "leaks."

My colleague understands the implications of doing a layoff in this way. I've strongly encouraged her to have individual meetings with each person and give them some privacy. I've told her that how she treats them will have ripple effects across the organization. I've begged and pleaded for her to consider alternatives...

While I know I have credibility with this person, she is still going forward with the group layoff.

Why? I believe it is because the HR VP who is advising her is an "expert in his field". He brings the prestige of coming from a VERY large and powerful company. He is big and commanding. He speaks with authority! And frankly he is very good at his job.

Is he right? I don't know. Sometimes we have to trust our gut. I think women have a better ability to empathize and anticipate how people are going to feel and react in stressful situations. My gut is telling me that this decision is going to add to the distrust and disillusionment in the organization.

As women who lead change, we should be willing to take advantage of our intuition, our gut instincts, and our ability to anticipate reactions. We should be able to state our case and the implied implications with confidence. Bringing new information and thinking is always valuable - even to an expert.