M&As: Your Team Is Watching You. Closely.
Over the course of a career spanning multiple mergers and acquisitions — some from the acquiring side, others from the side being acquired — and now through the work of supporting leaders through their own transitions, one consistent pattern has emerged.
The market strategy, logistics, and business opportunities behind the deal almost always command the lion's share of attention. The human dynamics inside the organization, despite best intentions, tend to receive far less.
When an M&A is announced, or even a private equity ownership change, leaders naturally focus on the main points of the update. The strategy, client impact, integration plans, and eventually, all the operational changes. "We are doing this because of ABC. It's good for us due to XYZ. For now, it will be business as usual."
The only words employees tend to hear in that statement? For now.
As leaders speak, employees are paying attention to something else at the same time. They are also closely watching how their leaders interpret the situation. Body language included.
It's human nature. Leaders immediately begin projecting their own reactions to the change, whether they realize it or not. Behavioral science calls this emotional projection. When people feel uncertainty, confidence, concern, or even resistance, those internal reactions often show up in facial expressions, tone, and everyday decisions.
Leaders rarely notice it in themselves. Employees notice it immediately.
Five Watchouts
These 5 tips can help leaders manage both themselves and their teams during the transition.
1. Manage your own narrative before you manage the organization's narrative. Leaders naturally form opinions about a merger early. Whether that reaction is excitement, skepticism, or concern, it tends to show up in tone and behavior. Take a moment to notice the story you are telling yourself about the change. Your team will likely adopt that story faster than any official message.
2. Assume your team is reading signals you did not intend to send. Employees study leaders closely during uncertainty. A too-quick comment, a skeptical reaction, or even an unintended smirk can easily be interpreted as inside knowledge or worse, dissent. Slow down your communication and be deliberate about what your behavior might be signaling.
3. Acknowledge uncertainty instead of trying to avoid or dismiss it. Leaders sometimes believe they must project complete certainty very early on in the process. In reality, credibility often increases when leaders acknowledge what is still unfolding. Employees tend to trust leaders who can say, "Here is what we know today, and here is what we are still learning. That includes me if I am being honest."
4. Listen for what is not being said. During major transitions, employees often hesitate to raise difficult questions. Silence in meetings does not always mean agreement. It may simply mean people are waiting to see how safe it is to speak. Leaders who create space for honest questions often uncover issues early, before they grow into larger problems. In coaching, these questions have helped open communication doors:
"What might we be overlooking or underestimating here?"
"What would help our team feel more confident moving forward this week or month?"
"What questions do you think people in the organization are probably asking right now?"
5. Focus on steadiness, not perfection. Employees are not expecting flawless answers delivered perfectly every time. That is what leaders often assume they expect. What employees are actually looking for is steadiness. Consistent communication, clear rationale and context, thoughtful decisions, and visible engagement from leaders create a sense of stability even when the broader situation is still evolving. Some humor and levity never hurts either.
With change, no one can control every outcome. Leaders who are naturally inclined toward control or managing every detail need to be especially mindful of not inadvertently projecting their own tension onto others. You will feel it. Employees will see it.
What every leader — at every level — can control is how they show up each day: with each other, and in front of clients who are watching the same cues just as closely.
In the end, your team will remember less about what was said and more about how you showed up.
About The Author
Chris Chaia is the founder of Onwards Consulting, an executive coaching and strategic marketing consulting firm, serving leaders and organizations navigating growth and change. She is also the architect and publisher of The Business of Coaching 2025, a global research study on the practices, habits and behaviors of coaching entrepreneurs.
