“I did what had to be done"

Public sector leaders often say this when reflecting on staffing cuts they’ve been instructed to deliver because funding shifted, priorities changed or a department’s remit moved. These decisions are rarely clean and they affect people’s lives long after the consultation process ends, but sometimes they are unavoidable.

When that happens, the measure of leadership is not that you carried out the decision but how you handled the people affected. If you did that part well, people leave with dignity rather than bitterness, and the team that remains can still trust the organisation and its leadership.

Here are signs you handled staffing cuts in the right way:

1️⃣People weren’t blindsided.

If staff were genuinely surprised, you failed. You communicated early, signalled that change was coming and didn’t offer false reassurance. People can cope with honesty; they cannot cope with an ambush.

2️⃣You didn’t treat the statutory process as the explanation.

You followed the rules, yes, but you didn’t rely on HR language to speak for you. You explained why changes were needed, what pressures drove them and how decisions were reached. The process didn’t replace the conversation.

3️⃣You didn’t prolong uncertainty.

You didn’t leave people waiting through months of vague reviews or open-ended timelines ("we expect 50% of roles to go within 6 to 12 months"). You worked at a pace that respected people’s lives and avoided unnecessary anxiety.

4️⃣Conversations were real, not scripted.

You prepared, but you didn’t hide behind a script. You listened, responded thoughtfully and didn’t rush people through a template.

5️⃣You helped people leave believing their contribution mattered.

You didn’t let “redundant” define them. You acknowledged their work and value in a way they believed, not as something you said because you had to.

6️⃣You remained present for leavers and clear with stayers.

You didn’t disappear after the announcement. You went above and beyond, offered support where you could and were open with those remaining about what the change meant.

7️⃣The process was fair, and it felt fair.

Criteria were understood, decisions were transparent and no one felt the outcome was arbitrary or pre-planned. Procedural fairness only works when people experience it as real.

8️⃣You were honest with yourself.

You didn’t create a narrative that made you feel better. You reflected on the actual impact of your actions and how they were perceived, not the version that was easiest to believe.

If these things happened, you didn’t simply “do what had to be done”; you carried out an unavoidable decision in a way that protected dignity, reduced harm and upheld the values the public sector should stand for. And if you managed to do that, you should recognise that you’ve done the hard part of leadership well.

At the same time, it’s worth saying plainly that these behaviours shouldn’t need a checklist. In the modern workplace, they are the baseline for anyone trusted to lead people. Those for whom empathy, honesty and basic human decency do not come naturally should not be anywhere near a leadership role - because the damage caused by their absence is far greater than the difficulty of the decision itself.