Standing In The Hard Moment

Ownership, presence, and the weight of leadership

Sooner or later, every leader faces a moment when there’s nowhere to hide, when circumstances are uncomfortable, decisions are unpopular, and people look to see whether you’ll stand in the storm or step aside.

Early in my career, I learned that lesson the hard way.

I was working in administration and receivership. We had just taken control of a failing business, and the employees gathered to hear the announcement. My manager explained to me that two-thirds of the workforce would be let go so the business could keep operating long enough to find a buyer. Moments later, he was called into a meeting with the bank, and I was left to decide who would stay and to communicate the news.

I was in my mid-twenties, untested and nervous. The business itself was straightforward, so I began identifying the skills needed to keep operations running until a buyer could be found. Then I started meeting people, one by one.

The first person I spoke to was a large blue-collar worker. I explained that he would be let go and outlined the plan to support his exit. He listened carefully, then asked a single question:

“Who decided I was leaving?”

When I told him the decision was mine, he said,

“Good! At least it wasn’t the people who ran this place into the ground.”

The following person asked the same question.

By the time I reached the third, word had spread. People knew who had made the decisions, and the tone shifted. The anger eased into focus. For the rest of the morning, I met each person individually, explaining their rights and support. It would have been faster to brief them as a group, but even then, early in my career, I sensed that would lack respect.

What stayed with me wasn’t the comments made by departing staff, but what it revealed. People can handle hard news when it comes without excuses, without hiding, and without blame being deflected elsewhere. What mattered to them that day was not the outcome but who stood there to deliver it.

That experience shaped my approach ever since.

Leaders often underestimate how much reassurance is carried simply by their presence; by being visible, calm, and accountable when others might retreat behind process. Employees don’t expect leaders to control every outcome, but they do expect them to own the moment.

Leadership is not about scripting every answer; it’s about being the one who stays in the room when things get hard.

Reflection: When the moment is hard, presence is the decision.