What to do as your emotions run the gamut
[I]f your new organization is competent, someone
is working to get you the answers you want and need. Bear in mind,
the reality may be that there are no definitive answers that can be
given and your superiors have other unanswered questions of their own.
By Michael Wayne
Some predictors indicate, following a lull in 2023, that the M&A train will pick up speed again this year. Despite the prior year’s drop-off, I have friends and acquaintances navigating the uncertainty of unchartered waters they didn’t know they were about to dive into.
Their emotions have and continue to run the gamut. They’ve gone from shock to fear to anger to frustration to grief to relief to somewhat happy to being ecstatic. Or they’ve gotten stuck somewhere in that cycle.
Many of them have gone through that cycle more than once, and they have infinite questions: How different will the culture be? Where’s the expense report? How do I submit it? What resources are available to me and how do I access them? How do I find anything? Will I have to move offices? Will I have to move cities? Will my colleagues still have jobs? Will I still have a job?
I could fill multiple pages, single-spaced, with the questions I have heard wondered aloud and several more pages with the questions that haven’t been uttered that I’ve come up with on my own. To be fair, not all of the questions and answers are negative in nature. Positive or negative, however, there is assuredly the likelihood of some stress that needs to be alleviated.
Ultimately, you may decide that the grass is indeed greener somewhere else. If, however, you intend to stick it out and find your way, here are five tips from songs to thrive in an acquisition.
Ac-Cent-Tchue-Ate the Positive
In a world with so many unknowns, being positive can feel almost impossible sometimes. During an acquisition, you likely will either interact with your new colleagues often or very little. Either way, it is important for new colleagues to see you as someone they want to work with, not avoid. To illustrate this, I will simply refer to some of the lyrics of “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive.”
“You’ve got to ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive; E-lim-i-nate the negative; and latch on to the affirmative; Don’t mess with Mister In-between. You’ve got to spread joy up to the maximum; Bring gloom down to the minimum; Have faith or pandemonium’s liable to walk upon the scene.”
Patience
For those who are faced with uncertainty in the wake of an acquisition, waiting for things to pan out can be downright painful. It’s weird to feel like your world can be completely turned upside down in what appeared to be a day, but that it’s taking forever for things to progress in the aftermath.
More than likely, if your new organization is competent, someone is working to get you the answers you want and need. Bear in mind, the reality may be that there are no definitive answers that can be given and your superiors have other unanswered questions of their own.
In the words of Guns N’ Roses, “All we need is just a little patience.” If you don’t remember Guns N’ Roses, think of Aaron Burr in Hamilton—Wait for it.
What Am I Missing?
Now is the time for you to figure out what aspects of your skill set are top-level, what you need to get better at, and what your new home is lacking. Answering these three questions in concert, and acting on them, can reveal what pain points exist and how you can become an invaluable member of the team.
There’s a lot happening in the midst of any merger/acquisition. It’s a whirlwind, and things change daily. As songs go, this may be an extremely deep cut, but I’m reaching back to an influential track from Rufus and Chaka Khan here about self-reflection: “Something’s going on tonight; What am I missing?”
Tubthumping
Half of “Tubthumping,” if not more, consists of, “I get knocked down; But I get up again;
You’re never gonna keep me down; I get knocked down; But I get up again; You’re never gonna keep me down.”
The term “tubthumping” itself means to express or voice one’s views in a wild and noisy manner. Let’s focus on the song lyrics, though. Getting knocked down and back up again in this regard means you need to be flexible and proactive. Do not allow yourself to be relegated to the sidelines with what is happening. Find ways to be involved and to participate.
While patience, as was highlighted before, is a virtue, that doesn’t mean you should be completely idle.
“Tubthumping” also contains the lyric, “Pissing the night away.” Don’t do that. Don’t allow opportunities to just pass by while you sit paralyzed with fear of the unknown.
Life’s What You Make It
For the majority of employees, mergers and acquisitions don’t happen with their knowledge, much less their input. If you find yourself in this position, perhaps the most important thing to remember is that you can only control what you can control. Your work ethic and your attitude are absolutely at the top of the list in this regard. Take a cue from Talk, Talk. “Baby, life’s what you make it; Celebrate it! Anticipate it; Yesterday’s faded; Nothing can change it; Life’s what you make it.”
The author
Michael Wayne is an insurance freelance writer.
