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Bad? I feel terrible. I have wanted to throw up before these meetings. I have been to church to pray before these meetings. If you don't feel something in the pit of your stomach, a piece of your soul is missing. But however bad you feel, it's nothing to what the other person is about to go through.
The best way to handle it is to be as clear and decent and supportive as possible to your departing coworker. Know exactly what you're going to say before the meeting. Be clear the reason for their exit. Say it in English, not in ass-covering HR language. Know enough about their severance package that you can take some basic questions. Know enough about their situation that you can tailor their exit to their needs. Are they in a visa? Do they need their laptop? Is there a big project due in two weeks? Don't hand everything over to HR. Basically you will feel better if you trust them right.
And help them have a dignified exit. Make sure they have all the docs and references for their portfolio and their job applications. Offer a follow-up conversation. Pay for farewell drinks if you are an in-person office. Send a note to the team celebrating their best work, their character, their contribution.
One final thought.
This industry is only possible if talented people can come together and create original ideas. Treat people like a number and the whole edifice begins to come apart. Treat people with decency and you might just keep the integrity of the industry together.
So this guy mark read is leaving the biz. You available?
It’s never easy.
I think some leaders DO feel bad. But I’m genuinely (and increasingly) convinced most are purely psychopaths that’ll say what they need to get by. But they actually don’t give a shit. Like a real shit. With care and concern for people outside of themselves.
Sometimes it feels like that’s why/how they got to where they are. Maybe I’m dead wrong. I don’t think they start out like that, but after years of corporate greed and late stage capitalism, balancing bottom lines etc I think it starts to chip away at your ability to maintain dignity/integrity.