When a Dream Boss Leaves

Writing in Business Week, Liz Ryan has some thoughts on what should have happened when a dream boss resigned. An excerpt:

For sure, it would have been wonderful for the local human resources rep to have stopped by for a chat, not just with Allison but with each of the employees affected by the boss's departure (or all of them as a group). Sadly, too many HR people are clueless about their responsibilities to the employees in their care, who would naturally be concerned and in need of answers when their boss heads out the door.
But in my view, the HR person is not the principal villain in Allison's story. The person who has fallen down most on the job is her boss's boss!

Here is a manager who accepts a resignation letter from a manager on his or her team, writes and publishes a job opening, begins to interview candidates, and otherwise goes on about his or her business…all without any conversation with the managerless employees. That goes beyond poor leadership. Allison's boss's boss is asleep at the wheel.