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If you haven\u2019t been affected yet, someone you know has. And whether driven by AI, a merger, a restructuring, or a strategic pivot, layoffs are no longer exceptional events. They\u2019re a recurring feature of working life.<\/p>\n
Most layoff advice focuses on the mechanics: Update your r\u00e9sum\u00e9, optimize your LinkedIn profile, practice your exit story. All necessary. None sufficient. What determines whether a career transition is a three-week pivot or an 18-month grind isn\u2019t your r\u00e9sum\u00e9; it\u2019s the quality of the relationships you\u2019ve built, maintained, and invested in long before you needed them.<\/p>\n
As I wrote in a recent article, busyness systematically downgrades every relationship we have. Layoffs reveal exactly how much that downgrade has cost us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The time to invest in relationships is not when you\u2019re in crisis. It\u2019s now, when you have nothing urgent to ask for, and something to give.<\/p>\n
In my book Cultivate: The Power of Winning Relationships<\/em>, I describe four relationship dynamics: Ally, Supporter, Rival, and Adversary. In stable times, Supporters and Allies can look and feel similar: Both are friendly. Both are responsive. The difference only becomes visible under pressure. A Supporter says: \u201cLet me know if I can help.\u201d An Ally picks up the phone before you have to ask.<\/p>\n Most professionals overestimate how many Allies they have. They have a large network of Supporters\u2014people who will help if it\u2019s convenient, if the timing works, if there\u2019s something in it for them. When a layoff hits, Supporters go quiet. Allies don\u2019t.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n