What Happens After The Reorg? How CEOs Can Lead Through the Emotional Aftermath Of Restructuring

Restructuring decisions often make sense on a spreadsheet. Roles are consolidated, teams are merged and leadership charts are redrawn with strategic precision. But once the dust settles, what’s left behind is rarely neat: Uncertainty, silence and disengagement ripple across the organization.

As someone who’s helped dozens of leadership teams move through this critical transition period, I’ve seen what happens when CEOs stop at the strategy and neglect the human aftermath. If you want your organization to move forward—intact, focused and high-performing—your job isn’t done when the reorg is announced. In fact, it’s just beginning.

Here are five strategic steps CEOs must take to lead effectively through the emotional turbulence of restructuring.

1. Don’t mistake silence for stability.

In the weeks following a reorganization, many CEOs look for visible signs of disruption: complaints, turnover, missed deadlines. But one of the most dangerous signals is actually silence. When employees stop asking questions, stop offering feedback or simply nod through meetings, it’s not a sign of calm; it’s a warning.

In one company I worked with, we saw an eerie quiet settle in after a round of layoffs. Team members weren’t openly resisting the changes, but they weren’t engaging either. It turned out that people were afraid—afraid to speak up, afraid they might be next and unsure whether leadership wanted the truth. That organization avoided deeper damage by making space for dialogue. Managers were trained to ask open-ended questions like “How are you feeling about where things stand?” and to actually listen.

This is a crucial step in making a reorg successful, and the data support this. Even a 1 percent downsize can lead to a 31 percent increase in employee turnover. And for employees weighing whether to stay or move on, that fear isn’t unfounded—17 percent of companies conducted additional rounds of layoffs. The first wave rarely feels like the last. That’s why your frontline leaders must be equipped to surface what isn’t being said and truly connect with your employees.

2. Shift from control to connection.

A reorg naturally involves control—budgets, roles, reporting lines. But once the structural changes are made, CEOs need to pivot to connection. Employees who are still standing often feel like collateral damage. They weren’t laid off, but they weren’t untouched.

Trust takes a hit in any major shake-up. One family-owned company I partnered with had recently removed its CEO and made significant cuts. Leadership feared another trust crisis. But by stepping in with consistent, candid conversations—not spin—they avoided the damage. The interim president prioritized one-on-one and team-level check-ins. They didn’t just deliver the message; they stayed to hear the reaction.

When leaders show they care, people don’t just stay—they re-engage.

3. Equip your managers to lead emotionally, not just operationally.

Your managers are not only implementers, but interpreters. Post-reorg, they need more than marching orders. They need support to navigate the emotional complexity their teams are facing.

A HBR study found that 43 percent of managers don’t have the capacity to support their teams through change in the day to day. Yet, managers who build their teams’ ability to navigate change increase performance by 29 percent. CEOs should ask: Are my managers prepared to talk about fear, burnout or survivor’s guilt? Do they know how to spot subtle cues like silence or side glances?

One effective tactic we recommend: Empower managers to ask their team, “What are you hearing?” It opens the door to clarify rumors, address misunderstandings and show responsiveness before misinformation spreads.

4. Be honest—even when the truth is uncertain.

It’s natural to want to protect your people from worry, especially when the future is unclear. But I’ve seen time and again that withholding information or dodging hard conversations only creates more anxiety. Employees aren’t fooled by silence or overly polished messaging. They’re already worried, and when we pretend otherwise, we erode their trust.

As leaders, we need to normalize honest conversations, even when the answers are incomplete. That includes being open to hearing when someone on your team is thinking about leaving. I’ve learned that saying, “I want you to stay, but I also want you to feel comfortable telling me if you’re thinking about moving on,” isn’t a risk. It’s a relationship builder.

When employees feel safe enough to be honest with you, they’re far more likely to stay engaged, even if they’re unsure about the road ahead. It’s not about guaranteeing certainty. It’s about creating the kind of connection where people know you’ll meet their honesty with respect.

5. Rebuild culture through micro-moments, not messaging.

Culture can’t be restored by all-hands meetings and vision statements alone. After disruption, culture is rebuilt in everyday moments: daily huddles, team standups, one-on-one check-ins.

Following a merger, NASCAR implemented daily touchpoints and personalized employee development initiatives to reestablish alignment and cohesion. By actively involving employees and maintaining visibility through frequent updates, the organization successfully reinforced its culture and engagement during a high-stakes transition.

And it’s not just structure that matters—it’s how people feel. According to the 2025 Global Culture Report by O.C. Tanner, employees who gave recognition in the past 30 days reported significant decreases in the odds of burnout (57 percent) and probable diagnoses of anxiety (24 percent) and depression (28 percent). These metrics aren’t simply about well-being. They directly impact resilience, productivity and retention in the wake of disruption.

If your managers are only cascading information without creating space for feedback, your culture isn’t recovering—it’s stagnating. Culture is kept alive when people feel seen and heard.

Restructuring is just the beginning

The strategy behind your reorg may be solid. But strategy alone doesn’t move people forward—leadership does. Your ability to ask better questions, make space for emotional truth and reconnect your managers to their people will determine whether your company comes out stronger or simply survives.

Restructuring isn’t the end of the story. It’s the start of the next chapter. Make sure you’re writing it with your people, not without them.