Coaching for Leaders – Episode 777: How to Help Employees Handle Tough Moments

Host: Dave Stachowiak
Guest: Anthony Klotz
Release Date: April 6, 2026

Overview

In this episode, Dave Stachowiak speaks with Dr. Anthony Klotz, the organizational psychologist who coined the term “Great Resignation,” about his new book, Jolted: Why We Quit, When to Stay, and Why It Matters. Their conversation centers on how employees experience “career jolts”—unexpected or significant events that prompt people to reevaluate their relationship with work—and how leaders can help employees process, navigate, and learn from these tough moments.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What is a “Jolt”?

[02:01]

• Definition: A “jolt” is any event—big or small, personal or professional—that makes someone fundamentally rethink their relationship with work.
• These can range from organizational shake-ups (layoffs, mergers) to everyday incidents (rudeness, conflicts).
• Jolts are increasingly common, and our responses to them shape our career paths.
• Anthony: "Jolts make you stop and rethink your relationship with work...what sets a jolt apart from other events is that they make you take a critical look at your job." [02:01]

2. Why Jolts Matter for Leaders

[04:35]

• Jolts are contagious—they impact not only individuals, but entire teams and organizations.
• Leaders have a multiplied stake: They can either mitigate or amplify both the negative and positive impacts of jolts.
• Managers often play the deciding role in how someone processes a jolt.
• Anthony: "Leaders are arguably in the best position to insulate workers from the negative effects and amplify the positive effects of jolts." [04:35]

3. Managers Can Predict Jolts

[06:41]

• While jolts might feel sudden to employees, managers often see them coming (e.g., announcements, restructures).
• Part of a leader’s job is to anticipate which employees might be most affected and plan responses.
• Anthony: "A lot of the big decisions you make as a leader, often when it comes to organizational changes, become jolts for some percentage of your workforce." [06:41]

4. Sensemaking & Trust During Jolts

[08:51]

• Employees naturally seek to make sense of organizational changes, especially when communication is lacking.
• Backchannel conversations (“sensemaking”) can lead to inaccurate or harmful narratives if not guided by clear leadership communication.
• The how of communication is as important as the what.
• Dave: "It's not just enough where you end up; it's the how in order to get there." [09:37]
• Anthony: "If employees feel like we're not getting the whole truth ... the trust has been lost." [10:13]

5. The Power of Fairness in Delivering Bad News

[13:41]

• Employees can accept bad news if they understand the procedures behind it and feel treated fairly.
• Even an extra 40–50 seconds of explaining the “why” makes a substantial difference in how news is received.
• Anthony: "People can take bad news as long as the procedures via which that bad news came to be were explained and they deem them fair." [13:41]

6. Research and Real-World Examples

[18:14]

• Anthony shares a landmark study at three manufacturing plants: When a 15% pay cut was introduced, theft and turnover rose dramatically if leaders failed to offer a fair explanation. With a transparent explanation, theft & turnover barely rose.
  • Plant 1: Transparent explanation—minor increase in theft, no resignations.
  • Plant 2: No/few reasons shared—major jump in theft, multiple resignations.
  • Plant 3: No changes.
• Anthony: "It just goes to show the power of these short explanations of the power of fairness in how people react to bad news that leaders give." [20:51]

7. How Employees Leave Matters

[22:00]

• How people quit (burning bridges vs. courteous departure) is less about the individual’s character and mostly about how fairly they feel treated leading up to the exit.
• Patterns of negative exits often signal fairness or management issues, not “bad apples.”
• Anthony: "How fairly they believe they're being treated affects whether they'll stay or go. It affects how they'll stay or go." [22:00]

8. Timeliness and Radical Candor Matter

[24:22]

• Delaying difficult news “for convenience” erodes trust; employees notice and resent this.
• Radical transparency (à la Ray Dalio) is encouraged: share tough changes as early as feasible.
• Anthony: "People realize once you deliver that bad news, how long you've been sitting on it, and that you've essentially held off on telling them because it's convenient for you as a leader, not because it's convenient for them." [24:22]

9. Don’t Make Employees Navigate Jolts Alone

[26:47]

• People often keep jolts private, even from close partners. Yet, processing them alone leads to poorer outcomes.
• Managers should cultivate psychological safety so employees feel comfortable bringing up struggles.
• Early warning: Employees candidly reporting jolts can help leaders prevent resignations or handle upcoming team disruptions.
• Anthony: "If that person [your boss] can be a go-to person, a sounding board, you create the situation where your employees can navigate these jolts in the optimal way possible." [26:47]

10. Why “Don’t Bring Me Problems” Is Harmful

[28:55]

• The cliché "Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions" discourages employees from raising real issues—especially jolts that may lack an obvious solution.
• Instead, leaders should welcome concerns and act as coaches.
• Anthony: "Often a jolt reveals a problem with our relationship with work. And if our boss has been saying, 'don't bring me problems,' we think, well, she's not open to talking about this." [30:04]

11. Key Takeaways from “Jolted”

[31:43]

• The book is valuable both for leaders facing upcoming organizational changes and for individuals experiencing a career jolt themselves.
• A resource for both contexts: supporting others and processing your own career inflection points.

12. The Surprising Importance of Partnerships

[32:40]

• As Anthony wrote the book, he realized the vital role of trusted partnerships for navigating jolts—far beyond just solo reflection or whole-team discussions.
• Trusted conversations with colleagues, managers, or friends can make all the difference.
• Anthony: "What I've started to change my mind on and shift towards is the power of partnerships in organizations and outside as well." [33:46]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Anthony Klotz:

  • "Jolts signal that some element of our relationship with our job or work is deficient or needs some attention." [03:42]
  • "A solution to this would be making a small change... but my manager will never go for that. In many cases, managers are open to that." [05:17]
  • "If employees feel like we're not getting the whole truth...the trust has been lost." [10:13]
  • "Necessary evils may be necessary, but unfairness usually isn’t." [13:41]
  • "How you deliver that news has a huge impact on how it's received and how people behave going forward." [17:36]

• Dave Stachowiak:

  • "It's not just enough where you end up; it's the how in order to get there." [09:37]
  • "The thing that is just a non-event for one person might be the thing that really jolts someone else." [28:55]

Important Timestamps

• 02:01 — Defining “Jolt” and its impact
• 04:35 — Why leaders' roles are multiplied during jolts
• 06:41 — Managers’ predictive advantage on upcoming jolts
• 08:51 — Employees’ sensemaking & need for trust/transparency
• 13:41 — The importance of fairness and procedural explanations
• 18:14 — The manufacturing plant study on fairness, theft, and turnover
• 22:00 — How and why employees burn bridges when leaving
• 24:22 — Why timely, honest communication matters
• 26:47 — The dangers of navigating jolts alone
• 28:55 — Why “Don’t bring me problems” hinders organizational health
• 31:43 — Applicability of the book for both leaders and individuals
• 32:40 — Emergent insight: The role of partnerships during jolts

Actionable Leadership Insights

• Anticipate and plan for jolts: Leaders should proactively map out which employees may feel impacted by organizational changes and prepare communication/support plans.
• Overcommunicate the “why”: Provide not just the news, but the rationale and process behind decisions, even if the message is negative.
• Build trust through fairness: Be transparent and ensure not only fair outcomes but also fair processes.
• Listen, don’t suppress: Encourage employees to bring forward problems, fostering a culture that surfaces risks before they become resignations.
• Encourage partnerships: Whether via managers, colleagues, or trusted friends, help employees find support partners to navigate tough moments.
• Monitor not just turnover, but exit quality: How people leave tells you much about your culture and management effectiveness.

Final Reflection

Anthony Klotz’s work underlines the profound effects that career jolts have—not just on employees, but on teams and organizations. When leaders view such moments as opportunities for transparency, trust-building, and support, they not only minimize negative outcomes but can also help employees, and thus their organizations, emerge stronger from tough moments.

For further exploration, Dave recommends related episodes on emotional change (Ep. 571 with Cassandra Worthy), knowing when to quit (Ep. 607 with Annie Duke), and empowering teams (Ep. 764 with Elizabeth Lotardo).