Bring Your A Game or You Might be Traded

Someone on LinkedIn asked today if those of us in the Executive Group thought companies are using the economy as an excuse to rid themselves of highly paid employees. The consensus of more than 40 responses is: Yes.

I was one of only a few dissenters.

First, according to statistics published nearly daily, many of those laid off are not in the "highly paid" category; therefore, getting rid of high salaries does not seem to be a primary goal.

Second, if the highly paid employees are carrying their weight, they are most often retained.

Third, in my opinion, companies are using the economy as an excuse to rid themselves of "dead weight" without feeling guilty about it.

Identifying who is on the chopping block is agonizing for most involved with such decisions. The decisions are based on current performance and expected future performance. If current performance is weak, a layoff is more likely. If one's skills are not seen as likely to propel the organization to meet future goals, a layoff is more likely.

So, it's not just salary, it is performance- and skill-based.

If you do not make yourself needed, you could be part of a layoff conversation.

As employees adapt to workplaces without their friends, they need to bring their A games to work every day or risk joining their buddies in job searches. But, instead of bringing A games, some employees play games.

Some employees are bitter, resentful, and just biding their time until it's their turn to go. Biding one's time is not very motivational to most people, and it is visible to upper management. It is easy to spot the resentful people with bad attitudes, and those folks put themselves at risk for being laid off. Performing the bare minimum to get by will likely lead to getting a bye-bye.

Of course, many, many great people are let go through no fault of their own. They brought their A games to work every day and still were let go. Those folks might be in luck.

Marshall Goldsmith, the renowned management and leadership guru, told a small group of us just last week that he sees this as a time companies are "trading up." The superstars are landing gigs better than those they left. If you are a superstar, you'll land on your feet. If you are not a superstar, you might find yourself being traded to another team.