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At LeadDev LDX3 2025, CrowdStrike’s Phillipa Rodney shared how she turned challenges into a framework focused on empathy and clear priorities to rebuild team trust.
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When layoffs happen, leadership thinks about logistics: who’s out, who’s in, how the organization chart shifts.
But for engineering managers, the fallout goes far deeper. Employee trust cracks, psychological safety disappears, and performance stalls under the heavy weight of uncertainty.
Rodney has been various layoffs – ranging from slow, corporate, drawn-out processes to sudden, chaotic moments where you’re abruptly cut off with no warning, no goodbye.
Managers are often the forgotten middle when layoffs hit. While most attention goes to executives making the call or HR delivering the news, the burden on direct managers is rarely acknowledged. They’re tasked with guiding teams through uncertainty – often with little information, limited support, and no roadmap.
“You’re left thinking: I don’t know what to do next,” Rodney explained.
That experience led her to create a new framework – called REST – designed to help leaders rebuild trust, regain focus, and restore momentum in the aftermath of layoffs.
The framework
“The framework consists of four pillars that will enable [managers] to navigate layoffs with empathy and a balanced sense of urgency because [managers] can’t predict what’s going to happen and [they] definitely can’t predict how people are going to react, but [they] need to listen first and act intentionally,” Rodney explained.
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REST focuses on four pillars:
- Rebuild trust and psychological safety. After layoffs, people question everything – from job security to leadership. Psychological safety isn’t optional; it’s essential for collaboration and innovation.
- Establish new priorities and expectations. Clarity disappears in disruption. Resetting goal posts is what matters to help prevent burnout and confusion.
- Stabilize the team. Complex engineering work demands focus. Providing steady rhythms and clear communication creates the stability teams need to thrive again.
- Transform challenge into opportunity. Constraints can stifle or inspire. Reframing layoffs as technical challenges and aligning new roles with personal growth unlocks creativity and resilience.
“This framework acknowledges that engineering teams need both emotional and operational authority,” Rodney said.
Navigating a post-layoff world
The REST framework was forged after a surprise message from Rodney’s manager informed her that an entire department was being dissolved.
Overnight, dozens of colleagues – including many of her direct reports – would lose their jobs. The announcement was scheduled for the next morning.
Rodney recounts an added point of tension, “We had very important deadlines to meet at the same time productivity was at an all-time low.”
The emotional toll was real – people were frustrated, tired, and far from their best.
After the news of layoffs was broken, “rebuilding trust was challenging because numerous changes were occurring simultaneously,” Rodney noted.
The team’s focus shifted from delivery to uncertainty – about job security, company direction, and leadership’s intent. With shifting priorities, engineers struggled to feel secure or see long-term value in their work. Recognition felt inconsistent, and progress started to feel like box-ticking rather than real impact.
Rodney saw motivation dip across her team: people were quieter in meetings, less eager to contribute, and often seemed distracted or low on energy.
That experience isn’t unique. According to LeadDev’s Engineering Leadership Report 2025, 40% of 617 surveyed engineering leaders noted that their teams are less motivated than a year ago.
Rebuilding trust
To manage the tension between business urgency and emotional well-being, and promote trust, Rodney focused on motivating individuals personally: reminding them why their work mattered, connecting tasks to broader team goals, and finding ways to make work more meaningful and enjoyable.
To achieve this, Rodney consistently linked project tasks to each team member’s personal goals and aspirations. As she explained, “people always want to know ‘what’s in it for me.’” Whether it was helping someone work toward a promotion, gain experience with new technologies, or develop mentoring skills, this approach boosted motivation and engagement.
She also recognized the importance of collaboration in maintaining team morale. She ensured “no one was working solo on a project” to encourage more collaboration, brainstorming, and mutual support. This change created a more connected and energized team environment.
Change takes time
Implementing a new approach that centres on boosting employees’ careers and exposure can be successful, but it will take time. For Rodney, she knew that it would take at least 6–9 months before any changes she implemented for this purpose would reap rewards.
She explained that “when the team gained new areas of ownership,” for example, there was a lag period in advancement.
Rodney said this is because learning progresses through four phases: unconscious incompetence, where there is no awareness of what one doesn’t know; conscious incompetence, where gaps in knowledge become clear; conscious competence, involving focused effort and practice; and unconscious competence, where mastery allows for automatic performance.
Ultimately, these new assignments meant team members were “pushed back into unconscious incompetence and conscious incompetence during an already high-pressure period,” making it significantly harder to move toward conscious competence.
To nurture resilience amid the chaos, Rodney created informal social spaces such as:
- Quarterly jam sessions – These were 60- to 90-minute meetings for brainstorming product improvements.
- Monday coffee chats – Optional 30-minute chats with a strict “no shop talk” rule – fostering open conversations and supporting human connection across time zones.
Lessons learned
Rodney is candid that the REST framework is still a living approach – one she’d adjust if given the chance.
“If I were to revisit the framework, I would focus on moving with even greater urgency for the ‘establish’ [pillar],” she reflected, as it allows the ‘stabilise’ pillar to come into effect more successfully.
She wishes she had acted sooner to clarify team structure, set expectations, and identify knowledge gaps – steps she believes would have sped up the team’s post-layoff recovery.
Leadership in times of upheaval is about consistency, not control. “[Managers] don’t need to have all the answers. But what [they] do need to do is show up and show [they] care,” Rodney said.
October 15 & 16, 2025
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As Rodney puts it, “Layoffs are hard. There’s no playbook that will make them easy or painless. But how you show up as a leader during these moments matters.”
