How to play a losing hand in an investment banking reorg

Dear FF,

I hear you, and frankly, this situation ain’t great. You’ve been layered, you’re reporting to a former peer, and meanwhile the people who made these decisions have probably already moved on to worrying about the next quarterly results.

It’s annoying, it’s a bit mortifying, and you have every right to feel flustered and frustrated.

Here’s the thing though: you’re also right that there’s not much you can do about it right now. The decisions have been made, the die has been cast, the announcements have gone out, and trying to fight this particular battle would likely make things worse rather than better.

So, what I’m going to suggest is that you make peace with the situation and get on with it, not because it’s fair or because you like it, but because it’s the most (or only) practical path forward.

Corporate reorganisations are messy, imperfect things. They’re drawn up by people trying to solve multiple problems or placate multiple internal constituents at once, often with incomplete information and competing priorities. Sometimes they work brilliantly. Often, they create as many problems as they solve.

The people who designed your new structure probably thought they were being clever or at least pragmatic, and in six months they might realise they got it completely wrong. Companies reorganise, then reorganise again, then sometimes reorganise back to something close to what they had before. Every senior banker has seen it happen more times than they can count.

What I mean by this is that these structures are not set in stone, even when they feel like it. Things change quickly and unexpectedly in organisations, particularly in investment banking where the tectonic plates shift constantly due to market conditions or internal politics. A structure that seems permanent today might be completely different a year from now. People leave (willingly or otherwise), people get promoted, groups get merged or split, and suddenly the org chart looks nothing like it did.

Sometimes there’s a kind of organ rejection, if you will, where the new structure just doesn’t take and the body corporate has to try something else.

Your job right now is to keep doing good work. That’s it. Not to make a fuss, not to sulk visibly, not to undermine your new boss, and definitely not to spend your days fuming about hierarchy and status.

Those things matter; I’m not going to pretend they don’t. But they matter less than your track record and your relationships. If you do solid work, maintain good relationships with clients and colleagues, and handle this situation with grace, you’ll be fine. If you spend the next year radiating resentment and checking out mentally, you’ll damage yourself far more than this reorganisation has.

As for reporting to your former peer, follow Elsa’s mantra and let it go. Yes, it’s awkward. Yes, it stings a bit. But whatever. If you get along with him, that’s actually a significant advantage. A bad boss can make your life miserable regardless of whether they used to be your peer, your junior, your major-domo, or the CEO. A decent boss whom you have a functional relationship with is worth holding onto, even if the situation isn’t what your ego would prefer. Treat him professionally, support him where you can, and don’t make the relationship harder than it needs to be.

The other thing worth remembering is that everyone watching this situation will notice how you handle it. The person who takes a reorganisation in their stride, who doesn’t create drama, who just gets on with the work, person builds a reputation for being solid and reliable.

The person who can’t let it go and who makes their dissatisfaction everyone else’s problem builds a different kind of reputation entirely.

None of this is to say your feelings aren’t valid; they absolutely are. You’ve been dealt a frustrating hand, and it’s reasonable to be unhappy about it. But there’s a difference between acknowledging those feelings privately and letting them drive your behaviour at work. Feel what you feel, vent your spleen to your partner or your mates outside the office if you need to, and then go in each day and do the work.

The best revenge, if you want to think of it that way, is to be so good at what you do that when the next reorganisation comes around, or when opportunities arise, you’re the obvious choice. Keep plugging away, stay visible in the right ways, and don’t let this set-back define you.

We all get knocked down but we just have to get up again.

Encouragingly,

Craig