What do you do when the middle management quits?

LucyRose·May 11, 2022

Posted in:Advice Management and Leadership

I am at my second company now where the team-level and department-level management is leaving en masse. In my opinion this is a major red flag that a culture shift or mission shift is coming down the pipeline, but others I know say this is an opportunity to get a foot in the door of promotion and advancement when there are so many positions to backfill. I would love to hear your thoughts!

rachelserwetz·May 11, 2022

Hi @Lucyrose, do you like your role/team/company/industry/culture? If so, absolutely take advantage of the opportunity to move up and grow given the shift/changes. I wouldn't look/read into it as a "sign" of anything unless you personally FEEL that there is a lack of culture fit and/or any culture issues that you've noticed or that don't align with you. BTW, I'm Rachel, a Career Coach (iamwoken.com), and I offer a ton of free videos and blogs on my website here - iamwoken.com/resources, and if you'd like to talk through and clarify your next steps and approach, I offer a free initial career coaching call here-- calendly.com/woken/demo

LucyRose·May 12, 2022

Hey @rachelserwetz, I like my team and the culture but I like them because of the management that is now leaving. There are rumors that our VP who is very new to the company has very different ideas of what makes a good culture (60+ hour weeks, managers who are also individual contributors) and he's the reason so many managers and department heads are leaving.

RavenBaker·May 12, 2022

Hi @LucyRose! Have you spoken to any of the outgoing staff to find out what's going on? Are they truly leaving on their own volition or are they being pressured to leave by the new leadership?I have witnessed similar situations when new leadership arrived. Take a look at how the current openings are being filled. Does it lean toward internal hires or people outside the organization? Sometimes new leadership will wholesale bring their own teams in, bypassing the candidate search entirely. Or the company hires from outside and doesn't actively promote the openings to their internal staff which may be a clue to how legacy employees will be treated going forward. If you reported into any of the management team that's leaving, I would suggest reaching out, staying in touching, getting a LinkedIn recommendation and keeping that connection warm (as they may have positions to fill at their new companies or you will need them as a reference if things go south and you want to leave your company). Definitely, be welcoming to the new management hires. Make sure they see you and all you have to offer. In some ways, it's like starting over again but you also get a clean slate! This was how I leveled up from associate to management level. I impressed the new CMO during a pay raise negotiation. Turns out, he was a champion for developing internal talent unlike his predecessor. Sometimes it takes new leadership and fresh eyes to see what an existing team really has to offer. Good luck!

rachelserwetz·May 17, 2022

@LucyRose its up to you if you want to wait it out to see if the new VP is a fit for you and someone you want to work with/for, or if you want to proactively start thinking about what may be next, that's okay too! It's like trying to predict this hypothetical future since the VP is so new. Proactively preparing never hurts, but I think its okay to wait it out a little to see how things are and if they are starting to turn sour, I'm here to help :)

Alexa167·May 12, 2022

If you have conviction the culture is indeed shifting in a negative way, then, sure, start looking for a new job.Otherwise, why not take the opportunity to try a new role and see for yourself whether the culture is changing? There's no reason you can't kick off a job search in parallel.