Abstract

The case describes the importance of empathetic communication by founders and top leadership in an organization. It seeks to emphasize the need for compassionate approach when communicating with employees, especially during layoffs. The case first highlights the nature of Vishal Garg (Garg), founder and CEO of Better.com (Better) for identifying opportunities to set up and quickly grow a business. However, there were allegations and lawsuits filed by investors and his ex-business partner. He also came in for criticism for blatant self-dealing by some of his investors. The case then describes his indifferent approach towards employees at Better and his aggressive emphasis on performance and productivity. Employees alleged that Garg had never trusted them or appreciated their hard work and efforts that made Better a unicorn. Then the case focuses on the approach taken by Garg when he fired close to half the company employees over Zoom calls over a period of five months (from December 2021 to April 2022) in his quest to take the company public. He decided to terminate employees over the Zoom call and his communication was casual and nonchalant. Garg’s temperamental leadership style and approach to layoffs led to various repercussions including attrition among many senior level employees and two board members. This leads to the question of whether Founders need to be trained on empathetic leadership coupled with humility and avoid an arrogant cutthroat attitude when it comes to managing financial and human capital in order to meet the requirements of investors for consistent higher returns.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the need for the founder to ensure that the quest for rapid company growth does not dilute the culture of trust and confidence of employees
• Explain the importance of effective communication in managing layoffs

Keywords

Leadership Style; Leadership Behavior; Corporate Governance; Leader-Member Exchange theory; Ethical Leadership; Employee Morale