So you may not have heard (jk), but I got laid off a while back.
Digital Photograph, 2025
“Red Team at Yacht Rock Night, Squirrels vs Senators W 8–3”
Corporate Aftercare Series
It was a shock: our performance was strong.
But that doesn’t matter much to corporate. Job security’s a myth: One day you’re leading a team, the next you’re updating your resume at 2am in a hoodie that smells like despair. (that was a Chat GPT line, do we like it? Feels heavy-handed.)
So *that* happened and I was bummed because I had invested so much time and effort into the role and developing the team. I was going to miss them: we got along.
Well anyway, we all planned to catch a game this weekend because, be the change you wanna see in the world. Layoffs be damned, you get to do whatever you want in this life and:
I want more team-building exercises.
I know this runs counter to most manager advice, but I say: make your work relationships real relationships. None of us know what’s coming next and it’s nice to have good people in your corner.
Also, most manager advice reads like The Prince by Machiavelli. You don’t have to be a sociopath to be a good manager, despite what the c-suite might infer. Take it from a guy who got laid off! 🙄
Anyway, catching up with old coworkers during this period has been really validating:
I still love my old team and want them to succeed.
I am constantly putting new connections in touch with old ones because that’s the point.
Form your own structures and networks and make them operate independently of a corporate culture.
You might just end up with friends.
