When everything changes at once

Hey Warblers,

If you're reading this with that hollow feeling in your chest, the one that comes from refreshing LinkedIn and seeing another wave of "embarking on my next chapter" posts, this is for you.

Maybe you just lost your manager. Maybe half your team is gone. Maybe you survived but feel guilty about it. Maybe you're watching your company transform into something unrecognizable.

Let's skip the platitudes. You need a plan, not a pep talk.

What's Actually Happening

The 3am wake-ups. The LinkedIn doom-scrolling. The mental math of runway. The exhaustion from performing "everything's fine" while everything isn't.

If your manager left: You're in limbo, doing the work without air cover, wondering if the new boss will even value what you've built.

If you survived the cuts: You're covering for three people while being told to be grateful. Empty desks multiply while you're asked to "maintain velocity." The survivor's guilt is real.

If you lost your job: You're translating "workforce reduction" into updating LinkedIn at 2pm on a Tuesday, joining thousands competing for the same shrinking pool of roles.

That fog you're in? Research shows workplace upheaval triggers the same threat response as physical danger. Your brain literally can't think strategically when it's worried about survival.

The C.O.R.E. Navigation Framework

When everything feels chaotic, you need a systematic way to regain control. C.O.R.E. (Catalog, Orient, Reconnect, Evolve) is your roadmap through the fog—a step-by-step protocol that moves you from disorientation to action over the next 90 days.

Phase 1: Catalog (Right Now - Day 7)

Don't make big decisions yet. Document first.

Get specific about what changed. Your brain is catastrophizing, turning a department restructure into "everything is falling apart." Write three lists:

1. What explicitly changed (reporting structure, team size)

2. What stayed the same (your role, your projects)

3. What's uncertain (promotion timeline, new priorities)

Audit your network immediately. Who left? Get their personal emails NOW before IT revokes access. Who stayed? They're your stability anchors. Who's suddenly more important? Power just shifted overnight. Do this today. Corporate emails vanish within hours.

Review your unique value. What institutional knowledge do only you possess? What relationships make you a connector? This isn't vanity; it's understanding your leverage.

Phase 2: Orient (Week 2-3)

Decode new leadership fast. If your manager changed, you have two weeks to crack their code. Previous companies reveal preferences: Amazon people love mechanisms, Google people love data, Meta people love velocity. Also, watch for their:

• First three decisions (reveals style)

• First three questions (reveals values)

• First three criticisms (reveals deal-breakers). Then adjust immediately

Reset communication patterns. Old channels are dead. Build new ones using the 3-touch rule:

1. Introduce yourself properly

2. Deliver something valuable

3. Establish ongoing cadence

For 30 days, overcommunicate by 50%. New leaders need signal, not silence.

Phase 3: Reconnect (Week 3-6)

Run strategic coffee campaigns. Schedule 15-minute virtuals with former teammates (intelligence network), current teammates (support network), new stakeholders (opportunity network), and external contacts in similar situations (perspective network).

The agenda: "How are you processing this?" Then listen.

Maintain skip-level insurance. Your skip is your backup plan. Monthly touch with good news. Quarterly substance with strategic questions. They're your lifeline if your new manager doesn't work out.

Activate the alumni network. Those laid-off colleagues aren't gone; they're distributed. Create a Slack or WhatsApp group. Call it "[Company] Alumni Network." This becomes your most valuable career asset: intel, perspective, and connections you've lost corporate access to.

Phase 4: Evolve (Week 6+)

Fill authority vacuums. Organizations in flux have decision gaps everywhere. Identify what nobody's doing. Start doing it. Document your logic. Communicate as "proposals" not declarations. When nobody objects, it becomes precedent.

Nobody's running product reviews? Send: "I'll run Thursday reviews until we establish a new process. Agenda attached." This becomes "leadership during transition" in your promotion packet.

Make the stay-or-go calculation. Set a decision date 90 days out. Until then, gather data using this framework:

Stay if: New leadership might unlock opportunities, chaos creates advancement potential, your expertise is newly valuable, or the company's response reveals good culture.

Go if: Multiple rounds suggest a pattern, your sponsor network is gone, the new direction opposes your values, or emotional toll exceeds opportunity.

Don't make permanent decisions in temporary emotions.

The Scripts You Need

Your manager was laid off: "Hi [Skip-Level], I wanted to acknowledge [Manager]'s departure and assure you [specific project] remains on track. I'm maintaining team momentum and will send weekly updates until we have clarity on structure."

New leader with different style: "I'm excited to learn your approach. Could you share what great looks like from your perspective? I've documented our current projects. Would it be helpful to review together?"

Several teammates were laid off: "Today's news about our teammates is really tough. Before we dive into logistics, let's take a moment to acknowledge what we're losing: great colleagues and friends. I'll set up a doc to capture their knowledge, but also their contributions we want to remember. For coverage, let's meet at 3pm to figure this out together."

Reorg puts you under someone who doesn't get your work: "I'd love to give you context on what our team does. I've prepared a one-page overview. When would be good to walk through it?"

The Emotional Labor Nobody Discusses

You're grieving losses while celebrating "new opportunities." Rebuilding relationships while delivering quarterly results. Managing your team's anxiety while processing your own.

This emotional labor is real work. It's just not recognized work. So recognize it yourself.

• Set boundaries: "I need to process this change. I'll have perspective by Monday."

• Name reality: "This is difficult. It's okay that it feels hard."

• Find witnesses: Those coffee chats aren't just networking. They're validation.

When Your Nervous System Needs a Reset

Your body is keeping the score of all this change. Here's what actually helps:

Box breathing: Used by Navy SEALs to stay calm under pressure. Inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4. Repeat 4 times. It literally tells your nervous system the threat has passed.

The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique: Name 5 things you see, 4 you can touch, 3 you hear, 2 you smell, 1 you taste. Pulls you out of future spiraling and back to now.

Two resources that actually work: Headspace has a specific SOS section for acute anxiety (the 3-minute sessions are gold). And UCLA's free guided meditations are research-based without the woo-woo.

The Uncomfortable Truth

Sometimes forced change is the release valve you didn't know you needed.

That comfortable team that never challenged you: the shake-up forces growth. That manager who had you pigeonholed: their departure unlocks possibilities. That stable-but-stagnant role: disruption creates permission to evolve.

This isn't toxic positivity. It's pattern recognition. Every senior leader I know has at least one story of unwanted change that redirected their trajectory toward something better. Not immediately. Not painlessly. But eventually.

Or maybe this just sucks, and the best outcome is that you survive it. That's okay too.

Your Next 48 Hours

Hour 1-2: Complete the Change Inventory. Get specific about what actually shifted.
Day 1: Save every contact's personal information before corporate IT acts.
Day 2: Schedule three coffee chats. Start rebuilding human connections.
Week 1: Study your new reality actively, not passively.

The ground has shifted. But you're still standing.

That's not nothing. That's everything.

~ Warbler

P.S. If you're in the thick of this right now, whether you're the one leaving or the one left behind – know that what you're feeling is real and valid. Reply with your story if it helps. Sometimes naming the hard thing to someone who won't minimize it is the first step toward finding your footing again.