After the Cut

After the Cut Ep. 4: Trust Repair with Psychotherapist Marcus Lynn | What Leaders Get Wrong After Layoffs

When a company goes through a layoff, the restructuring itself is only the beginning. What happens in the aftermath determines whether trust can be rebuilt or whether the rupture becomes permanent.

Featured Guest: Marcus Lynn | Psychotherapist & Founder, The Realist Therapist

Marcus is Gottman certified in relationship repair and infidelity recovery. He applies clinical attachment theory to corporate ecosystems, helping executives and couples repair high-stake ruptures, rebuild trust, and restore high-performing dynamics.

Connect: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marcuslynnThe Realist Therapist: therealisttherappist.com

Host Kanya Olivier, Co-Founder of @Company Bridge Program, sits down with Marcus Lynn, a psychotherapist and relationship repair specialist. With expertise in attachment theory and relational rupture, Marcus is the clinician executives call on when they're trying to understand what trust actually means to their team after a layoff, and what it takes to rebuild it.

This conversation is built for CHROs, senior executives, HR leaders, and anyone managing people through difficult transitions.

We discuss:

• The neurobiology of fear and anxiety in the workplace during workforce reductions
• Why moving too fast reads as self-preservation, not leadership agility
• How trust is built on predictability and why layoffs destroy it
• The difference between fixing problems and being genuinely seen by your team
• Why leaders don't get to decide when repair is complete
• The practice of diligence that actually rebuilds trust

If you're navigating the aftermath of a reduction in force, trying to understand why your team's morale hasn't recovered, or leading people through organizational change, this episode will shift how you think about what repair actually requires.

After the Cut is a limited podcast series from @Company Bridge Program, going inside the room with the executives, lawyers, therapists, and consultants who manage layoffs to ask what actually stayed with them. New episodes release the first Wednesday of every month.

About Your Host: Kanya Olivier is the Co-founder of Company Bridge Program, a South Florida-based firm advising and executing workforce transitions nationally.

We work alongside your existing leadership, HR, and General Counsel—never replacing them. Your General Counsel reviews and approves every phase of the process, ensuring total legal alignment while freeing up your legal team to focus on core strategic priorities.

Company Bridge Program helps senior executives navigate layoffs and workforce reductions with legal precision and organizational integrity. Considering a layoff and want to talk through your plan? Reach out for a free workforce risk analysis and consultation.

Watch, listen, and subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

Website, Book a consultation, HR hotline submission, book us to present or to facilitate a training for your HR Team: https://linktr.ee/CompanyBridgeProgram

#AfterTheCut #LeadershipDevelopment #WorkforceTransition

After the Cut Ep. 3: Leading While in Survival Mode | Executive Coach Jared Koesten on Layoffs and LeadershipWhen a company announces layoffs, employees look to leadership for one thing: strength. This episode breaks down why so many executives get that moment wrong, and what it actually takes to lead a team through a reduction in force without losing their trust.Featured Guest: Jared Koesten | Executive Coach & Founder, TEN Coaching & AdvisoryJared brings nearly 20 years of real-world operating experience leading people strategy, scaling organizations, and guiding CEOs through business transformations.Connect: LinkedIn | TEN Coaching & Advisory Host Kanya Olivier, Co-Founder of @Company Bridge Program, sits down with Jared Koesten, Executive & Leadership Coach for CEOs, Founders, and High-Achievers and founder of Ten Coaching and Advisory. With nearly 20 years of experience in people strategy and business transformation, Jared is the coach CEOs and CHROs call on when they're managing layoffs, restructuring, and reduction in force decisions under pressure.This conversation is built for CHROs, CFOs, COOs, General Counsel, and senior executives who are preparing for, managing, or recovering from a layoff. We discuss:Why leaders default to a scarcity mindset during layoffs, and the damage it causes: * The most common leadership mistake after a layoff: trying to be a friend instead of a leader* How silence and canceled town halls quietly destroy employee trust* A real leadership case study: how one managing director rebuilt a team's trust after cutting 65% of their workloadIf you're a senior executive, employment lawyer, or business leader navigating a workforce reduction, this episode gives you a real look at what it takes to lead through it, not just manage the logistics.After the Cut is a limited podcast series from Company Bridge Program, going inside the room with the executives, lawyers, and consultants who manage layoffs to ask what actually stayed with them. New episodes release the first Wednesday of every month.About Your Host: Kanya Olivier is the Co-founder of Company Bridge Program, a South Florida-based firm advising and executing workforce transitions nationally.We work alongside your existing leadership, HR, and General Counsel—never replacing them. Your General Counsel reviews and approves every phase of the process, ensuring total legal alignment while freeing up your legal team to focus on core strategic priorities.Company Bridge Program helps senior executives navigate layoffs and workforce reductions with legal precision and organizational integrity. Considering a layoff and want to talk through your plan? Reach out for a free workforce risk analysis and consultation.Watch, listen, and subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Click HereBook a consultation, HR hotline submission, book us to present or to facilitate a training for your HR Team: Linktree #Layoffs #ExecutiveLeadership #HRLeadership #WorkforceReduction #CHRO

In this episode of After the Cut, host Kanya Olivier sits down with Tirzah Gabourel, a global technology executive and enterprise transformation strategist specializing in artificial intelligence, data governance, and digital innovation, for a conversation about what's really happening inside the boardroom when AI adoption and layoffs start to intersect.Tirzah pushes back on the assumption that executives are simply looking for ways to cut jobs, and unpacks what leadership teams are actually wrestling with: growth under economic pressure, the difference between automation, augmentation, and transformation, and the question every responsible leader should ask before a workforce reduction happens, have we exhausted every opportunity for redeployment.Topics covered:* Why the pressure to adopt AI is more complex than the public narrative suggests* The difference between using technology to augment people versus using it to cut labor costs* What responsible AI-driven workforce planning actually requires from legal, HR, and the business* Why organizational adaptability, not speed, is becoming the real competitive advantage* Why human judgment, creativity, and empathy become more valuable as AI advancesIf you're a senior executive, employment lawyer, or business leader navigating a workforce reduction, this episode gives you a real look at what it takes to lead through it, not just manage the logistics.After the Cut is a limited podcast series from Company Bridge Program, going inside the room with the executives, lawyers, and consultants who manage layoffs to ask what actually stayed with them. New episodes release the first Wednesday of every month.Featured Guest: Tirzah Gabourel | Global Technology Executive & Enterprise Transformation StrategistTirzah brings over 25 years of experience leading global technology strategy, modernizing enterprise data systems, and guiding executive leaders through AI and digital transformations. Connect: LinkedIn | ZimVie: About Your Host: Kanya Olivier is the Co-founder of Company Bridge Program, a South Florida-based firm advising and executing workforce transitions nationally.We work alongside your existing leadership, HR, and General Counsel—never replacing them. Your General Counsel reviews and approves every phase of the process, ensuring total legal alignment while freeing up your legal team to focus on core strategic priorities.Company Bridge Program helps senior executives navigate layoffs and workforce reductions with legal precision and organizational integrity. Considering a layoff and want to talk through your plan? Reach out for a free workforce risk analysis and consultation.Watch, listen, and subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.Book a consultation, Layoff hotline submission, book us to present or to facilitate a training for your HR Team: Linktree #Layoffs #ExecutiveLeadership #HRLeadership #WorkforceReduction #CHRO

Workforce reductions are one of the highest-risk decisions a company makes, legally and reputationally. In episode one of After the Cut, employment attorneys Elizabeth Gouéti (Avinu Consulting, LLC) and Ashlei Ferguson (Employment Attorney, Microsoft) break down what goes wrong when HR, legal, and the business are not aligned during a layoff or reduction in force. This conversation covers real cases, including notifications sent to employees on protected FMLA leave, and a severance negotiation that grew from two weeks to four months after a legal misstep. Elizabeth and Ashlei explain why every workforce reduction carries both legal risk and a human cost, and how CEOs, CFOs, COOs, and HR leaders can protect their organization while treating employees with dignity through the process. If your company is planning a reduction in force, this episode gives you the questions legal counsel wants you to ask before you move forward. Topics covered: * Why HR, legal, and business misalignment leads to lawsuits * Notifications sent during protected leave (FMLA, short-term disability) * Real severance negotiation case study * Legal risk vs. human impact in workforce reductions * How C-suite executives can lead a workforce reduction with dignity and compliance Views expressed are personal and do not represent the views of Microsoft or any other organization. If you're a senior executive, employment lawyer, or business leader navigating a workforce reduction, this episode gives you a real look at what it takes to lead through it, not just manage the logistics.After the Cut is a limited podcast series from Company Bridge Program, going inside the room with the executives, lawyers, and consultants who manage layoffs to ask what actually stayed with them. New episodes release the first Wednesday of every month.Featured Guest: Ashlei Ferguson - Employment Attorney, Microsoft Ashlei Ferguson serves as Principal Corporate Counsel at Microsoft, leveraging extensive experience across workplace investigations, government labor oversight, and legal leadership to drive equity, compliance, and organizational integrity.Connect: Ashlei LinkedIn Elizabeth Gouéti - Avinu Consulting, LLCElizabeth brings over a decade of labor and employment law experience, guiding executive leaders through complex workforce compliance, employment litigation, and high-stakes culture strategy.Connect: Elizabeth LinkedIn | Website About Your Host: Kanya Olivier is the Co-founder of Company Bridge Program, a South Florida-based firm advising and executing workforce transitions nationally.We work alongside your existing leadership, HR, and General Counsel—never replacing them. Your General Counsel reviews and approves every phase of the process, ensuring total legal alignment while freeing up your legal team to focus on core strategic priorities.Company Bridge Program helps senior executives navigate layoffs and workforce reductions with legal precision and organizational integrity. Considering a layoff and want to talk through your plan? Reach out for a free workforce risk analysis and consultation.Watch, listen, and subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts: click hereBook a consultation, Layoff hotline submission, book us to present or to facilitate a training for your HR Team: Linktree#Layoffs #ExecutiveLeadership #HRLeadership #WorkforceReduction #CHRO

Every workforce reduction ends with a decision made and people let go. What happens after that gets talked about a lot less.

After the Cut is a limited series hosted by Kanya Olivier. Conversations with executives, consultants, employment attorneys, and mental health counselors who were in the room when the decisions were made and carried out. What could have been done differently. What it taught them. What they'd tell someone about to go through it.

This trailer is a short introduction to the series and what to expect. New episodes the first Wednesday of the month.

Like, share, and subscribe. Subscribers get a free 1 hour consultation. Workforce Risk Assessment, HR's Hotline, and more linked here.