#leadership

We are a much worse place with significantly more terrible, weak, shallow, and insecure leadership than when the COVID pandemic hit in early 2020. Im nervous that if the hantavirus becomes a pandemic that these human skinsuits will not react well or empatheticly. Anyone else feel the same?

I find it unbelievable how many VP's Optum has. One thing I learned was that when Optum acquires a company they assign them a title based on the money that they made in their last company. Hence, so many people having titles that significantly outrun their skills. Optum's VP's are a great example.

Howard Miller is relaunching under new West Michigan ownership and leadership. The company had previously announced plans to wind down operations. This closure led to layoffs in Michigan and North Carolina. Longtime executive Jim O’Keefe will serve as president of the revived company. The company will focus on its core clock and furniture categories.

Zeeland, Michigan

https://www.furnituretoday.com/financial/howard-miller-relaunches-under-new-west-michigan-ownership/

I come on the site to see what people are writing and thinking. I think is hilarious how most of you just complain and some of you call MD and JC names and how they are id--ts. You do realize MD created a $100B company and he is one of the richest Individuals in the world and JC Is the COO who has made millions. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!!

You guys are brave coming on this platform with no ideas, no solutions insulting individuals hiding behind your screen. If you are so miserable then quit. You know why you don’t leave, because you probably realize no one would want to hire you.

Do P4 lead software engineers need to give 1 month notice?

Months over month, us-based employee count is down 100 and India offshore contractors are up 400

India has 44 openings now in workday.

But I seen your leadership tells you that they are not offshoring. Fu--ing liars.

They hired for this yet laid off the most important people that had teams fall apart.

What even is this role?

At AT&T, I’ve learned that sustained success is rarely built on individual effort alone. It comes from being connected to the company’s priorities, engaged with the people driving the work, and committed to moving in the same direction as the broader organization. For many employees who have grown their careers here, relocating closer to Dallas has marked an important step toward greater impact and opportunity.

My own path has required real personal tradeoffs. I stepped away from what was familiar, adapted to new expectations, and chose career growth and responsibility over convenience. Those choices were not simple, but they opened doors to stronger relationships, greater visibility, and more meaningful collaboration.

Dallas is more than the company’s headquarters. It is a place where strategy, execution, and leadership come together. Being closer to key decision-makers and cross-functional partners creates faster communication, stronger alignment, and a deeper sense of shared responsibility for serving our customers and supporting one another.

That proximity also has clear business value. When teams are more connected, barriers are reduced, decisions move faster, and execution becomes stronger. Over time, that kind of discipline and coordination helps improve performance, strengthens the organization, and supports long-term shareholder value.

For that reason, moving to Dallas should be viewed as more than a personal career move. It reflects a willingness to invest in the company’s future, contribute more fully to the team, and help build a more focused, unified, and effective AT&T.

Why can’t fidelity just offer VBO? Or eliminate redundant leader roles which are overlapping such as EAL,GEL, EL, PAL, GPL PL, and multiple Team Leader. Wondering what really are they contributing?

USAA has a policy that all new roles are in office. Remote employees that post for new roles must move to an office location if they want a new role. It also has a policy that all roles are posted for at least 5 business days. This does not appear to apply to all people. Good ole boys get special treatment. The bank just hired a new chief compliance officer and the role was not posted. The new chief compliance officer is also remote and does not appear to have moved to an office location. What gives? Why is there special treatment for certain people while the rest of us remote employees are stuck in our roles unless we are willing to move?

Wait for the email. Stock now in the $8s, thats 1/3 of what it was when he came in, the market has lost all confidence in him.

They are just sorting out the replacement, he will be sending the more family time email to your inbox.

So what’s the deal with losing two senior leaders in a week? Are we finally seeing BM clean up shop before “retiring” as has been rumored for several years now? MH is probably tired of waiting to takeover.

Board and Leadership should be ashamed

We already had a culture of “every employee for himself” thanks to stack-ranking (based on dubious criteria) and other shenanigans.

Adding the constant threat of layoffs isn’t going to make people more collaborative and more willing to share information. You have to laugh at the ineptitude of whoever came up with this strategy! It’s like shooting yourself in the foot because it was hurting.

Management announced the shift to the "New Technology and Product Model" yesterday, effective June 1. They are framing the 1,000 cuts as a "skills reshuffle" to make room for 2,000 early-career hires.

To those in Tech/Product: How is your leadership actually mapping this? Is your "squad" being dissolved into these larger teams, or is this just a way to cut senior headcount before the RTO mandate hits in September? Curious if anyone has seen the new org charts yet or if we’re all just flying blind until June.

Don't pick up any extra work! If you do, you're just validating this leadership in thinking we can do more with less. You're making it seem like it was justified that they removed people since everything is getting done with fewer people. They don't give a damn that means that those who are left are breaking their backs trying to keep things running. They just see it's getting done and patting themselves on their backs. So don't do it. Make yourself busy whenever asked to do this or that if it was not part of your job before. And if you're worried about how that'll reflect on you, I've been doing it for two years and I'm still here.

He had just under 3 years, turnover went down from $14billion to $12billion. Share price down from $24 to $9 staggering -65% decline.

AI dream not producing any revenue, employees underpaid, Execs doubled their pay, layers of useless people given fake roles like Cumhire, Danny, and others. Its become a joke.

Wall Street is fed up of next quarter, next quarter excuses, never generating revenue. Bye bye Rahul you did very well out of it.

bravo you accomplished crooks and used car sales men !

This African proverb explicitly warns that in an emergency, you have to stop trying to "be right" and start trying to survive. If you keep bickering, you’re essentially choosing to allow the house to burn down just to win the argument. This is the perfect depiction of what is happening at BNSF and everyone is playing right into it. Managers against employees. Employees against managers, Employees against employees, managers against managers. HUGE Trust issues. Is this a huge daycare??? The competition loves how BNSF is having its managers go after their employees and pitting everyone against each other. "A house divided against itself cannot stand" -Matthew 12:25 The leadership is probably the worst i have ever seen. If you want to thrive, take Buffets advice and "Stop writing people up" Even he saw the ridiculousness in the way it was being ran. Looks like its gotten worse unfortunately. So glad I left that toxic place. Never in my life did I see more people against each other than at the bnsf. That culture shift starts at the top. If you want your company to change, then YOU have to change.

Once again, they're going after veterans, experienced folks, quick thinkers, and problem solvers. Exactly the people teams need to function. You could almost believe they don't care about the company's future. And they don't. As long as the top and the shareholders get their value, nothing else matters. I just wonder when the bottom finally gives out.

Nike leaders keep saying that they are flattening the org to keep things simple, but GT is still a mountain of management.

If most employees still have 2 layers of managers, 2 of directors, 3 of VPs, and 2 of C-suite leaders, what exactly was 'flattened'?

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2026/05/07/medtronic-leaving-sonoma-santa-rosa/

AVE in Santa Rosa literally helped build the coronary and SH business for medtronic, otherwise they would be still selling just batteries

It’s very sad what they did to Santa Rosa over the years. I started my career there and spend 10 wonderful years it su-ks that GM and his bunch of cronies will keep buying more houses in Florida and Hawaii while the average people with kids and mortgage lose their jobs.

GM has to be the worst CEO in this company’s history. Great job GM

Today I came to a realization that Medtronic has lost its heart that made it what it once was. The mindsets to get ahead now are more in line with wall street (wolf of Wall Street reference) than with a company who gives people a second chance at life. Try to model a different leadership style or speak up and well….

Frontier did a round of lay-offs today. Not sure if company wide or just IT. A lot of senior leadership leaving. Off the books by June 5th.

At AT&T, I’ve come to understand that the true path to long-term success isn’t just about individual performance—it’s about alignment, proximity, and shared commitment to the mission. For many of us who have advanced in this company, moving closer to the operational and strategic center in Dallas has been a turning point in our careers.

I made personal sacrifices to climb the ladder of success—leaving behind familiarity, adjusting to new routines, and prioritizing the demands of the role over comfort. Those decisions weren’t easy, but they created real opportunities for growth, visibility, and collaboration that simply aren’t as accessible from a distance.

Dallas represents more than just a location; it represents focus, teamwork, and accountability. Being physically closer to leadership and cross-functional teams strengthens communication, accelerates decision-making, and reinforces the shared obligation we all carry to deliver for customers and for each other.

From a business perspective, this alignment matters. When teams operate with tighter coordination and fewer barriers, execution improves. That kind of operational efficiency and cohesion is ultimately good for performance—and by extension, supportive of long-term shareholder value and stock strength.

In that sense, moving to Dallas isn’t just a personal career decision. It’s a commitment to the broader team, to the company’s direction, and to building a stronger, more unified organization.

Even our doctor is getting replaced with a Indian. Seriously, how is the mental health at this company? Every coworker i know in the past doesn't talk any longer, its like everyone is zip. Absolute worst company, and worst treatment of humans of any company i've ever worked.

Another round of layoffs planned for the first of next week. Nice job Marcus, what a visionary!

This feels lame. It was clearly prepared and just a long running poor AI voice reading. How can the CEO do that? The head of our company cannot speak at the earnings call?

Just because you hate someone doesn't mean they live in your head rent free. Jeff Clarke is a proven useless id1ot! It's an acknowledgment of fact, nothing more. More people should acknowledge truth and fact rather than burying it and wondering why nothing ever changes for the better.

Digital team was bracing for an impact .. hardly anyone impacted. It was surprising given how much Dan hates our digital experience.
All 3 layers of directors are intact before they hit working level team.

I read on teamblind reports that another former Apple Cobbler Senior Manager left the Skunk works. By the sound of it they were axed not voluntarily left on their own and no replacement announced sounds like corp. restructuring. DF was the first domino, wishing my CA colleagues the best. Polish your resumes!

If you look at DH’s plan, and the way he speaks on earnings calls, he is copy/pasting from a playbook from Nike.

Hire a bunch of Mckinsey consultants to ruin the bank.
Then hire said consultant to become CEO to "revive" the bank.
Corporate America is such a peculiar place.
You can't make this stuff up if you tried.....

Video with Gunjan:
https://www.wsj.com/video/us-bancorp-ceo-on-reviving-a-banking-icon/88A15F0D-41C8-4511-A4F5-9954AE1833AA

listening to Chris Stansbury talk about his race car while at the same time talking about shutting down legacy telecom along with our jobs is really quite amazing. He gets the gold and we get shafted.

What Current CEO Mike Lyons Actually Said
This is the most damning confirmed piece. When Fiserv's Q3 2025 earnings collapsed and the stock fell 40% in a single day, the new CEO didn't soften the blow — he pointed directly at his predecessor. Lyons said that Bisignano's earnings targets "would have been objectively difficult to achieve, even with the right investment and strong execution." But instead, Fiserv had in recent years deferred needed investments and cut costs in pursuit of shoring up short-term profit margins. Congressman John Larson
That's an extraordinary statement from a sitting CEO about a predecessor — essentially a public acknowledgment that the financial targets set under Bisignano were, at minimum, reckless and perhaps deliberately unachievable.

The Clover Manipulation Allegations
Multiple class-action lawsuits lay out a specific and detailed mechanism of alleged fraud:
The company began phasing out Payeezy in 2023 and "forcibly migrated" as many as 200,000 merchants that had been using the older system to Clover beginning in late 2023 and continuing through the first half of 2024. Yahoo Finance
The company reported $2.7 billion revenue from Clover on gross payment volume of $310 billion for 2024, "accounting for half of Fiserv's year-over-year revenue growth." Little did investors know that the numbers were being boosted by forced migrations, the lawsuit alleges. Greensheet
The specific deception alleged is that Bisignano told investors the opposite was true. Bisignano stressed that 90% of Clover's growth stemmed from new merchants, with only 10% from "back book" conversions — existing clients voluntarily switching. The lawsuits allege that was materially false. Zlk
Shortly after these conversions, a significant portion of former Payeezy merchants switched away, which is why Clover's growth metrics collapsed so sharply once the migration pool dried up. Rosen Legal
The truth came to light on April 24, 2025, when Fiserv reported Clover's payment volume grew just 8% in Q1, a material step-down from 2024 growth rates of 14–17%. After the news, Fiserv stock dropped 18.5%. It dropped another 16.2% the following month after Fiserv said Clover's slow growth would persist through 2025. TipRanks
The class action was filed by the City of Hollywood Police Officers' Retirement System and names Bisignano, Lyons, CFO Robert Hau, and Chief Accounting Officer Kenneth Best as defendants. Fiserv has said it disagrees with the claims and will vigorously defend itself. BizTimes

The Stock Sale and Tax Benefit — The Numbers
Upon his confirmation to serve atop the Social Security Administration in May, Bisignano divested from his investments in Fiserv, as required by law. Those sales netted an estimated $530 million. GovExec
Bisignano sold Fiserv stock between May 16 and July 1. The same shares today are worth just $229 million — meaning that selling earlier in the year avoided losses of approximately $300 million. FA Magazine
And crucially, the government ethics rules created a significant tax benefit on top of that. In May, he was granted a certificate of divestiture, deferring capital gains tax on the Fiserv sales provided he invested the proceeds in approved assets such as Treasury bills or broadly-based mutual funds. This provision allows him to indefinitely postpone capital gains taxes by reinvesting the proceeds in other assets. The deferral also included an extra 150,000 shares worth $25 million held by his wife and in family trusts. FA MagazineYahoo Finance
This tax break, part of a loophole installed in the 1990s, has previously been granted to other high-level appointees like billionaire banker Howard Lutnick and former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. So the mechanism itself is legal and established — but the timing and circumstances here are what drew scrutiny. Yahoo Finance

The Congressional Referral to the SEC
This escalated beyond advocacy groups. Congressmen Larson and Himes formally referred the matter to the SEC, requesting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the financial reporting of Fiserv during Bisignano's tenure and the timing of his required stock divestiture. They wrote that "the timing of Fiserv's updated guidance and resulting collapse in Fiserv's stock price raises significant questions about the timing of Mr. Bisignano's nomination and confirmation." Congressman John Larson
Senators Wyden and Warren separately wrote to current CEO Mike Lyons demanding information, noting that "Mr. Bisignano appears to have failed to manage Fiserv effectively, and may have misled investors and the public about the company's financial status." PSCA

What Is Confirmed vs. What Is Alleged
To be clear about the legal landscape:
Confirmed facts: Bisignano sold roughly $530 million in stock between May–July 2025. The stock subsequently collapsed 40%+ in October. His successor publicly said targets were unachievable and investments were deferred. A certificate of divestiture was granted, providing substantial tax advantages. Multiple class-action lawsuits have been filed.
Alleged but unproven: That Bisignano knew the true state of the business when he sold. That the Clover migration was specifically orchestrated to inflate metrics and mislead investors. That the timing of his government nomination was connected to knowledge of impending stock collapse. Fiserv has denied all allegations and is contesting the lawsuits.
Under investigation: The SEC referral means there is at least congressional pressure for a formal investigation, though no SEC action has been publicly confirmed.

The Broader Pattern
What makes this situation particularly notable is the convergence of several things happening in tight sequence: an improbable government appointment, legally required divestiture at near-peak prices, a tax-advantaged structure that deferred hundreds of millions in capital gains, guidance that the new CEO immediately described as unreachable, and a stock collapse that followed within months. Whether that sequence reflects wrongdoing, extraordinary luck, or some combination remains to be determined by courts and regulators — but it is, at minimum, a fact pattern that warrants the scrutiny it's receiving.

This is the periodic reminder that while L and D field advisors are performing well the same can’t be said for their leaders and so called directors who don’t do much of anything.
This bad performance starts with Tractor Man and goes all the way down.

I have been in the company > 5 years working in various Orgs. This migration to O365 and Sharepoint has been a disgrace. Google sheets and Looker dashboards all losing functionality and requiring work. And having to run every tiny piece of work through the weeds of Planview.
How is this improving our company?
How is this improving collaboration?
Sorry for the rant and it might be off topic. BUT THIS IS A SHAMBLES.
When will the leaders be held to account instead of the poor workers dealing with their mess?!

• More layoffs
• More AI spending
• Very high turnover
• Free cashflow problems
• AI replacing junior workers
• Reorgs everywhere
• URA / Stack ranking
• RTO/RTT/RTH
• Fake accommodations for disabled employees
• Missing senior leadership

Why does FIS take on the responsibilities for funds outsourcing their Transfer Agent (TA) and then do a cr-ppy job a la Franklin Templeton? Eager to sign the contract, woefully unprepared to fulfill its terms. Every move of FIS senior leadership is based on the short term. It's creaking along robbing Peter to pay Paul on the bottom line. When they fail to meet the terms they have to pay huge penalties. It's the same mistakes over and over.

Theres a phrase i keep hearing around Fidelity lately.,. usually said quietly between meetings ... or dropped into side conversations when nobody senior is around... "this place aint what it used to be." i don’t even think people say it with anger anymore. mostly it sounds tired. like people have repeated it enough times that it stopped feeling dramatic and just became accepted reality. Ive been here long enough to remember when fidelity actually felt different, and no, i’m not pretending it was some magical workplace where everybody skipped through hallways smiling at each other because obviously it wasn’t... nope. there were always POLITICS, red-tape/bureaucracy, sh-t leaders, pointless meetings, all of that existed back then too... but there used to be this fine sense that leadership at least understood employees were human beings first and workers second. there was a ton of fu--ing pressure, absolutely! but there was also trust... We all felt like they were contributing to something stable. Managers could actually manage. we believed hard work mattered. loyalty certainly mattered. relationships mattered and were meaningful. now it feels like everybody spends half their day trying to decode silence instead of listening to actual communication...

The communnication piece is probably what changed the most. Every reorg comes wrapped in this crazy vague language. Every Townhall somehow manages to say nothing (while making everybody more anxious and pi---d at the same time). Lies galore. Official updates feel so carefully polished that people stopped trusting them many, many, many years ago. you can literally feel employees trying to read between the lines during leadership calls because nobody believes they’re getting the full story anymore. and maybe leadership thinks uncertainty protects the business, maybe they think controlled messaging prevents panic, i don’t know... but what actually happens is people create their own explanations. Rumors (and all these posts on layoffs.com) become more believable than official statements because at least rumors feel emotionally honest... Morale drops because employees feel trapped in this permanent state of ambiguity where nobody knows what’s happening until it’s already happening. some of the strongest mgrs i know look completely drained and fu---d up now. They’re expected to reassure teams about decisions they had no role in making. they deliver messaging they clearly don’t believe in themselves. Not a little bit... Middle management at Fidelity increasingly feels like emotional shock absorbers for exec decisions...

then there’s the RTO situation... which I think broke something culturally that execs still dont fully grasp. this was never just about commuting. that’s the part they seem to miss every single time they talk about collaboration and culture and hallway conversations and whatever other corp sh-t buzzword gets recycled that quarter!! during hybridwork, people rebuilt their lives around the expectations the co itself created... families adjusted. people moved. some employees finally found balance after years of burnout... it was something new. and the thing that frustrates people most is we already proved the work could get done. productivity stayed as high as it's ever been. teams just worked, things clicked... clients were supported and notobdy was complaining... bus performance remained strong.. then suddenly the messaging changed, but leadership rarely explained why. instead we got carefully managed language, vague references to culture, soft pressure, badge tracking, attendance monitoring, and this growing feeling that presence became more important than contribution again. people notice when trust quietly gets replaced with surveillance...

what makes all of this harder to swallow is that fidelity is still successful. the company performs well. leadership talks about growth constantly. and yet employees feel less secure than ever?? that disconnect changes people over time. you start seeing high performers emotionally detach because they realize performance alone no longer creates safety. long tenured employees feel disposable. loyal employees feel disposable. everybody starts understanding that no matter how much they contribute, they’re still ultimately just another line item during workforce planning discussions somewhere behind closed doors. and once employees internalize that reality, culture shifts permanently. people stop investing emotionally and stap talking truthfully. we preserve energy for life outside work because deep down they no longer believe the company will protect them in return. i don’t even blame them anymore.......

the strange thing is the best part of fidelity still exists, and it’s mostly the people working beside each other every day. coworkers still help each other. teams still carry impossible workloads together. managers still quietly shield employees when they can. some of the most thoughtful, intelligent, genuinely decent people i’ve ever worked with are still here, trying their best inside a culture that increasingly feels transactional and emotionally distant. ironically, i think peer level empathy is the only thing keeping parts of this company functioning normally right now. NOT the culture slides... also - not the branding campaigns. not another executive speech about values. just exhausted people trying to support other exhausted people while pretending everything feels normal...

Maybe that’s what makes this whole thing feel sad instead of angry.

Cause I still want Fidelity to succeed. I think a lot of us do. People don’t spend this much time talking about cultural decline unless they actually cared about what the place used to represent. i just think there’s a growing number of us grieving a version of the company that made them feel human before operational... and once that feeling is gone, it’s impossible to rebuild no matter how many internal campaigns or leadership videos get released afterward...

long post huh. no matter what, i wish all the best and hope that, somehow, things will improve.