"I Felt So Disconnected."
The post-acquisition team is not complaining about what you think they are.
Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) create change on multiple levels. A new leadership team, a longer office commute, or being inundated with software onboarding calls is annoying. These tactical/logistical hurdles are not true threats.
The changes that make top talent resign are when the daily culture is “immediately worse”, leaving them feeling “disconnected” and “confused” about where (or IF) they fit in the larger strategy.
In 2024, a large engineering company acquired a 400-person design firm. A key professional (and friend of XM) from the original team left earlier this year. He had been offered new opportunities like higher pay, a better job title, and larger project budgets, but none of this was enough to keep him. The acquisition had disrupted the firm’s hungry, energetic rhythm; Resistance festered into Distrust.
Deal makers: understand the acquired team is in shock; leave room for them to process the change. It is your primary role to build trust, create clarity, and reduce resistance. Neglect this work, and you will get limited engagement and, at worst, an exodus of talent (For big ideas on Accelerated Change Leadership, review our blog and video series HERE).
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