Are leaders too risk-averse in communicating with employees?

Recently, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky talked about the importance of leadership visibility during layoffs.

Speaking in a TED podcast, he discussed his actions when the company carried out job cuts in 2020, such as an “emotional” layoff letter to employees and being present at an all-hands meeting when it came to layoffs.

Too many employers have a "pretty inhumane" ways of laying off employees, he said: "It seems like a human being didn't write it. It feels… like an AI prompt or something.”

Chesky also said in the podcast that many chief executives are becoming too "risk averse."

"They're not vulnerable, they're afraid to say the wrong thing. They don't actually speak from the heart. The lawyers and the HR people and everyone rounds the edges off them," he said.

What is an ‘authentic’ leader?

There is plenty of discussion – and “fiery adjectives” – about being a leader, such as being authentic and transformative, says Kanina Blanchard, assistant professor, management communications and general management, Ivey Business School, Western University.

“Sometimes, people say, ‘Oh, you should be an authentic leader.’ And so what does that really mean? Because, first of all, authenticity does not mean you get to say whatever you want… and then say, ‘Well, I'm just being authentic,’” she says. “That's not what we talk about when we think about authenticity in leadership. I think it's something that's deeper.”

It’s about an understanding of leading in a meaningful way, says Blanchard, and that doesn’t mean coercive power or legitimate power, or commanding people to listen to you.

“It’s around reverent power where people [think] ‘I trust you and I’m listening to you,’” she says. “You want people to know that you care… you see responsibility in your role – it’s not just doing a job, it’s not just doing a layoff, it’s not just delivering bad news.”

In some ways, the term “authentic leadership” has been overused, but more so in the way that it's misinterpreted or misunderstood, says Ilana Zinyk, leadership and organizational development consultant in Edmonton.

“I think a lot of people use the term authenticity as a catch-all [but] when we really look at ‘Is a person connecting their values with their behaviours?’ to me, that is authentic leadership. So, being an authentic leader doesn't just have one look. It's more about ‘Is the person bringing themselves to work and really demonstrating what's important or their core values?’”

Being a responsible leader

But Zinyk, who is also senior advisor for talent development at Alberta Health Services, says she doesn’t equate transparency with authenticity, because values make a big difference. With Airbnb’s Chesky, for example, some of his core values could include transparency, integrity, compassion, and relationships, she says.

“Those are the values that likely lead him to share the information that he did, and show up the way he showed up. So, it sounds like it worked for him. But if transparency wasn't a value of somebody… so if somebody really values wealth, as an example, if they're authentically leading, they probably wouldn't have chosen to share the information that that CEO did.”

Authenticity can mean different things to different people, says Blanchard. For some people, being authentic may mean you expect employees to do their job and if they’re not doing their job, they’re laid off; or if the company’s numbers are down, layoffs happen, she says.

“If you want to be a leader that is responsible to their people… and want people to feel a connection with the organization and them as a leader, then the choices you make will be different [versus] if you see yourself as a leader whose only role is to cut costs or to do those awful things that we have to do as leaders.”

Risk-averse leadership hampers communications

As for risk-averse leadership – as cited by Chesky – that’s what’s lead to legislation like an apology act in Canada and the U.S., says Blanchard.

“It has become so impossible for people to say, ‘I'm sorry’ without it being translated into legal culpability, that even the simple act of ‘I'm sorry, you're feeling this way’ or ‘I wish this didn't have to happen’ -- that apology becomes a legal thing, as opposed to a human thing.”

That doesn’t mean people have to be 100 per cent honest, she says, acknowledging that that’s not always possible because of legal, security or financial reasons.

But if someone comes to you to ask about layoffs, a leader can still have integrity by offering what transparency they can, says Blanchard.

“So, I think being willing to come forward, to be seen, to show empathy, to show vulnerability... is an essential part of leadership that is not necessarily being taught everywhere.

“There’s still strong-arm, transactional, completely economic metrics that can drive people behaviours — I would hope leaders would want to rise to more.”

There are still some leaders “who have a certain image or persona that they think they have to maintain with their teams,” says Zinyk.

However, people are starting to value things like emotional intelligence, such as empathy and the ability to enact and demonstrate compassion, along with being relatable, she says — and authenticity is a big part of that.

Reducing anxiety through transparency

Being transparent seemed to lower employee anxiety at a time when widespread layoffs were being carried out across the world, said Chesky in the podcast.

"I actually reduced a lot of anxiety even though people knew layoffs were on the table," he said. "It was less scary to watch a process unfold actually, than the opaque process because everything is always much worse than you imagine."

During the weekly all-hands meeting with employees, the CEO was always asked about layoffs, said Chesky.

"I said, 'Everything's on the table. I don't have an answer yet’. It wasn't really what they wanted to hear, but what they mostly wanted was me to be present as a leader and I brought them on the journey. And by the time we did do the layoff, I explained exactly why we were doing it."

“Transparency” is another term that is often misused, says Zinyk, and it doesn't mean that you have to share every single detail.

“You can be transparent and still not ignite fear, as an example. You can share some details and transparently say, ‘There's other pieces of this puzzle that I'm not able to share with you yet. As soon as I'm given the greenlight to do so, I'll make sure that I close that loop.’

“But, strategically, sharing that there's going to be layoffs a year from now, as an example, probably wouldn't work out for the company or for the individual because they're likely to see increases in attrition and turnover, and just the overall stress and anxiety of the employees who choose to stay.”

From a change management perspective, people generally prefer to hear the business case for the change from executives, and then how the change is going to personally impact them from their direct manager, says Zinyk.

“Generally speaking, people have a closer and more trusting relationship with their direct supervisor or leader. But, in some instances, such as [with Airbnb example,] if the CEO has been consistently demonstrating that they're relatable and approachable, it's entirely possible that they might have those relationships built as well.”

How to be a ‘vulnerable’ leader

In the podcast, Chesky said he was “universally advised” not to do the layoff letter, with concerns about him “being visible and present.”

And the CEO admitted he was told that he would be put in an "uncomfortable position" for the move.

"I said: 'Of course I will be,'" he recalled. "And that's my job to be put in uncomfortable positions and to navigate them and to just show them that I'm human. I'm doing my very best, and to show them how I'm thinking about it."

Being visible, taking accountability and responsibility, “that is scary, and that is uncomfortable,” says Blanchard. “And we've got a lot of processes that we can hide behind.”

Too often, society depicts strong-man leaders, which will lead to behaviours that are best for the leader, not the community: “whether it’s people, whether it’s citizens in a country, whether it is employees and a company,” she says.

It’s about an intention to be responsible and to admit you are making tough decisions and want to talk about it, says Blanchard.

“That's very different [scenario] than to say, ‘Well, my lawyer tells me not to say something, or HR.”

Having worked in the chemical industry for over 20 years, Blanchard says she had many “amazing” mentors “who took the time and effort to make the communication to do what has to be done sometimes in a manner that is respectful of their people.”

Too often there’s disrespect from leaders, she says.

“When times are good, you tell them they’re the most important thing, is your employees. When you have to make the difficult decisions, sometimes people… take the easy road out, which is to do it in a manner that is clean and efficient but it doesn’t [involve] the consideration that you’re dealing with human beings.”