Before and after responsibility
Over the years, I've lived through multiple reorganizations. Some were driven by financial pressure, others by a desire to change how the company operated, and some were simply requests to reduce headcount with little explanation.
Early in my career, I wasn't part of those decisions. I wasn't a manager, and I wasn't directly impacted. From that position, it was easy to judge how things were handled. I often thought I would do it differently, or be more transparent with people around me.
It's easier to think that way when you're not inside the process.
I've since lived through several reorganizations from the other side, and the first thing that changes is perspective. It's much easier to assess the outcome than to be the one responsible for the call.
Letting people go is never a goal, especially when you know what is coming and cannot say anything. These processes are usually tightly controlled by senior leadership to protect everyone involved, but they come with strict rules, NDAs, and limited room to speak.
In practice, you're often informed late and expected to communicate very little. You execute within a narrow space.
Carrying decisions as a leader
One of the hardest parts is holding information that will affect people while being unable to share it. Even when you understand the reasons, that reality creates distance.
Not because you want it, but because the role demands it.
Over time, you learn to operate within that constraint, but learning to carry it does not make it comfortable.
Some decisions are easier than others. The hardest ones are rarely about performance alone; they're about people who have contributed over time and helped shape the organization.
Most of the time, there's no room for advance conversations. You follow a script, keep it short, and stay focused. Some people reach out afterward, and some don't.
From their perspective, leadership is part of the decision, even when the decision itself wasn't fully yours. Sometimes you choose, sometimes you advise, and sometimes you simply execute.
Either way, you carry it.
When staying becomes a choice
Repeated reorganizations have a cumulative effect. Over time, they wear down your energy: energy to stabilize what remains, energy to help teams regroup, and energy to project confidence when you're still processing events yourself.
That tension is hard to talk about, because regardless of how you feel, you're still the leader. People watch how you react, what you say, and what you don't say.
After a reorganization, certain questions become unavoidable. Do I still believe in where this is going? Can I still stand behind the values being promoted? Can I genuinely represent this company to my team, or to future hires?
Sometimes the answer changes. And when it does, staying becomes a decision of its own.
What reorganizations leave behind
In our last reorganization, several long-standing leaders decided to leave. These were people who had been part of earlier versions of the company, whose roles had evolved as the organization changed, and who had already navigated multiple transformations.
Leadership transitions like these are rarely about a single decision. They're often the result of accumulated change.
When senior leaders leave, it sends a signal. Not necessarily a negative one, but a meaningful one. It changes how people assess stability, affects how much confidence they place in the future, and reshapes informal support systems that don't appear on org charts.
Even for those who remain, something shifts. Continuity is altered. Context is lost. New leadership brings new direction, intentionally or not.
Layoffs are heavy for everyone involved: for those leaving, for those staying, and for those tasked with carrying the decision. From the outside, it can look clean and procedural. From the inside, it rarely feels that way.
Losing a job feels like an ending, but for most people it isn't one. It's a transition. Often a difficult one, but not a final one.
I used to think the hardest part of reorganizations was making the decision. Over time, I started seeing that carrying the consequences afterward is often heavier.
- Patrick