When growth stops and leadership becomes an internal test of strength

**Berlin.** It is a cold morning in a medium-sized manufacturing company. In the large hall, employees stand close together. Some look at the floor, others stare straight ahead. No one knows exactly what is coming--but everyone senses it. A few minutes later, it becomes clear: around 350 jobs will be cut. A single sentence that changes the atmosphere in the room.

This is the moment when economic reality and personal life stories collide.

**When Leadership Becomes an Inner Ordeal**

For the CEO, this day is a first. For years, growth had been her daily routine, and expansion her measure of success. Now, for the first time, she faces the task of cutting jobs--and of disappointing people she has worked with for a long time.

"I realized early on that this situation would push me to an inner limit," she says later. "I am responsible for the company--and at the same time for people. Bearing that tension without avoiding it or downplaying it was a major challenge for me."

She decided to prepare herself--not legally, not strategically--but personally. In performance coaching with Jessica Wahl, she worked on her stance: allowing uncertainty without becoming unclear, explaining the economic reasons without hiding behind numbers, and engaging with employees without creating distance.

**Words That Last**

The communication followed a clear dramaturgy. First, the town hall in the hall: economic situation, reasons, decision. Then video conferences, and finally personal conversations with those affected.

It was not the decision itself, but the way it was conveyed, that defined the day.

One employee later described it this way:
"Of course, it hurts. But I felt like she wasn't just brushing us off. She explained why this step was necessary and somehow genuinely showed that she herself was struggling with it. That really helped me not to feel everything here at the end as cold or arbitrary."

**Communication as a Moral Touchstone**

"Leadership shows itself in crises," adds the experienced performance coach Jessica Wahl. "Anyone who must lay people off needs courage--not just for the decision, but for openness as well. A speech is not an accessory. It is a moment of orientation."

Studies show the impact of words. According to a 2025 Fraunhofer study, 72 percent of employees feel more secure when decisions are explained transparently. When this openness is missing, mistrust and uncertainty grow.

**A Painful Day--Without Breaking**

In the end, employees leave the hall. The loss remains real, the fear as well. Yet many speak of respect. Not because the decision was right--but because it was not hidden, sugarcoated, or delegated.

In moments like these, leadership does not mean avoiding pain. It means enduring it--and visibly taking responsibility.

Hagen PR
Berlin
Info@wahluniversum.de

The Institute for Personal Performance Coaching has been supporting specialists, managers, and personalities in challenging professional contexts for 20 years. Jessica Wahl, senior performance coach, breathing, voice, and speech therapist, and J?rg Tewes, certified actor and senior performance coach, are internationally renowned as leading experts in performance and career coaching.

The coaching takes place in a unique setting in the heart of Berlin-Kreuzberg: the institute is located in a beautiful church that offers an atmosphere of calm, concentration, and clarity--a conscious counterpoint to the pulsating dynamics of the big city.

The coaching approach focuses on posture, presence, and sustainable performance--all under real conditions and with a clear goal: to empower people not only professionally, but also personally. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of soft skills, emotional intelligence, and the ability to present oneself authentically. This ensures that clients are optimally prepared for the complex demands of the modern working world, which require both technical knowledge and strong interpersonal skills. https://www.jessicawahl.de

This release was published on openPR.