Last week you’ll have found it hard to escape some of the gloomier economy-based stories filling up the column inches of our national newspapers.
The British press has never been shy when it comes to printing less than positive messages about the downturn that has been hampering organisations throughout the country for the past two years.
And, just when things seemed a bit brighter, The Daily Telegraph hits us with “Forces facing new wave of ‘hideous cuts’”, and follows up with “High street sales are weakest for almost two years”. And those in the industries will make their own excuses, for the retailers it is most likely going to be linked to January’s VAT hike, and that may well be the case.

What we can be certain of however, is the disruptive ripples that these stories send through the organisation, because when it comes to employment, ‘change’ has become synonymous with the likes of pay freezes, job cuts and even worse, redundancy.

The rumour mill begins, the conversations over lunch and in the lift, and the nervous glances across the workplace when managers and directors meet. None of this is healthy for the organisation as a whole, and right now it is up to the organisational leaders to, in effect, earn their money.

Ironically, the recession probably won’t kill the organisation. What will, are the people who have become so disconnected and de-motivated because of hearsay and ‘what ifs’.

Change is a necessary challenge for any business and all stages of its lifecycle, and organisations that are open and honest about that change, usually via a leadership development programme, from the top right down to the bottom, will find their workforce far more committed to embracing change that those who lock strategy away in a boardroom.
We work with huge organisations that need to embrace change rather than just implement it, and any businesses battling against poor press and downtrodden employees should consider much effort some companies put into developing leaders, motivating managers and driving up the effectiveness of their teams.

James Pentreath
Leadership Consulting Partners - Download Your Key Training Questions