3
OPINION
A beloved colleague, Scott Forbes was a respected part of Garver’s Transportation Team and a mentor to many – both inside Garver and throughout the AEC industry.
Though there’s no roadmap for navigating grief, there are steps leaders can take to manage their own emotions and guide their organization through a tough time. Coping with the death of a colleague
C an you ever really be prepared for the sudden death of a team member? The shock and disbelief that accompanies this kind of loss is surreal. No amount of company literature or leadership training can equip managers with the effective skills needed for handling this challenge. In many cases, leaders find themselves in the difficult position of trying to support grieving employees while dealing with their own grief and managing the logistics of change.
Brent Schniers
Our firm recently experienced the unexpected loss of a beloved colleague, Scott Forbes, who was a respected part of our Transportation Team and a mentor to many – both inside Garver and throughout the AEC industry. His death has caused me to pause and reflect on his life, and my own, and on how best to steer a team through a time of individual and collective sorrow. And though there’s no precise roadmap for navigating grief, I’ve learned that there are some guide signs along the way – steps leaders can take to both manage their own emotions and help navigate their organization through a tough time:
■ Remember that people grieve – and handle stress – differently. As my family can attest, I take solace in physical work, so you’ll find me outside doing that. ■ Be authentic with your team and communicate your own feelings. Acknowledge that the employee’s death has an impact on you personally. As leaders, we need to be the calm in the storm, but we also need to remember that it’s OK to be vulnerable and that vulnerability is its own kind of strength.
See BRENT SCHNIERS, page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER APRIL 1, 2024, ISSUE 1531
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker