A friend of mine, a seasoned professional who’s dedicated over 25 years to his company, recently received an email from his boss.
No meeting. No phone call. Just a message in his inbox:
“Your contract will be terminated at the end of the month.”
Let that sink in.
Earlier this week, I watched CBS Sunday Morning where Dr. Carla Hayden, an American Librarian who served as the 14th librarian of Congress, shared that she, too, was informed by email that her appointment would not be renewed. No conversation. Just a message.
I also came across another story: a mid-level manager offered a severance package without warning. The unspoken message was loud and clear:
Take the deal… or risk being fired.
Change happens. It’s inevitable in business.
But silence?
That’s the real problem.
When communication is stripped down to cold, transactional notices, we rob people of their dignity.
No space to process.
No explanation.
No humanity.
And what fills that void?
Assumptions. Anxiety. Stories. Fear.
Uncertainty grows.
Trust erodes.
And even well-meaning decisions begin to feel like betrayal.
These weren’t failures of corporate strategy.
They were failures of leadership—more precisely, communication.
And the ripple effect doesn’t stop with the individual. The way others hear about it?
They’re watching.
They’re learning what kind of culture they’re actually in.
It’s baffling how many companies invest in strategy decks, tech upgrades, and process optimization—yet spend little to no time training their leaders in how to deliver hard news with empathy and clarity.
You don’t need a Ph.D. in psychology to understand this.
Just imagine it was your spouse.
Your mentor.
You.
Change doesn’t have to feel like punishment.
And letting someone go doesn’t have to feel like betrayal.
The difference lies in the delivery.
Because leadership isn’t just about what you do.
It’s about how you do it.
And in times of change, silence isn’t neutral—it’s harmful.
Let’s train leaders to be communicators.
Let’s build cultures where dignity doesn’t disappear under pressure.
Let’s replace fear with clarity, and silence with respect.
We owe people that much.