#leadership

The bickering between EQT elites and Zayo has beens now? Oh yeah, and the New Crown leftovers?

As we continue to feel strains and increased costs as a company perhaps looking at top exec costs would help cut off some of that. Are there business travels at that level that are really needed or lunches for those in those positions that really need to be paid for? How are leaders paid more and advancing levels when others are not? How many additional senior leaders do we really need? Our members need to be able to reach live, direct workers. Happy employees lead to happy members and business which organically leads to overall better business. Telling associates benefits are more, AIP is less, and growth will not really happen is tough for lower ranking associates. I wonder when that piece of the puzzle will be realized by the business. Further consider these associates are also members trying to make it in the world today.

What’s really frustrating, and honestly a little disturbing, is how many of our leaders have started acting like politicians. They ignore anything negative, spin reality, and only focus on whatever sounds good in a town hall or email. It’s insulting to our intelligence and completely out of touch with what’s actually happening on the front lines, where the real work gets done.

Until leadership stops pretending everything is fine and starts listening to the people doing the work, nothing will change. Just more talk, less trust, and a widening gap between the top and the rest of us.

This isn’t rumor, emotion, or gossip.

This is what the company itself has said, plus the math that follows from it.

No fluff. No slogans. Just reality.

Where Xerox actually is:

• Q3 cash generation did not cover costs; free cash flow driven by working-capital timing, not profits.

• Legacy business declining on a like-for-like basis.

• GAAP gross margin is 22%, very thin to support debt, restructuring, investment, and dividends.

• Significant debt added to fund acquisitions.

• Leadership has stated we do not have 2 years to fix this.

• Workforce reductions confirmed to continue into 2025–2026.

• Integration urgency now tied directly to SURVIVAL narrative.

• Merit / raises tied to profit (uncertain to say the least).

• Strategy locked: no pivot planned, only “execute faster”.

This is a turnaround under time pressure, not a routine quarter.

What has been signaled:

• The model is right, execution has failed!

• The company will run out of runway without faster performance!

• More layoffs are expected!

• Every function and region expected to “do more with less”!

• Employees told to stop prioritizing personal situations and put the company first!

• Execution failures = leadership changes!

The bets are already placed. No turning back. Sink or swim on execution.

Employee reality:

• Job security is performance- and speed-dependent.

• Raises contingent on profitability, not guaranteed.

• Higher workloads, fewer resources.

• Culture shifted from “corporate career” to “survival, sprint, sacrifice”.

Clear message: contribute at full speed or self-select out.

What happens next? Likely 12–18 month environment:

• Continued restructuring & RIFs

• Ongoing cost compression

• Integration friction + tech platform migration

• Talent drain and forced performance pressure

• Narrow focus: cash, margin, execution speed

Best case? Turnaround works, company stabilizes, slow growth returns.

Middle case? Extended grind — layoffs, morale erosion, cash tightness.

Worst case? cash performance fails... strategic alternatives come to play (asset sales / debt restructuring / Private Equity involvement).

All are standard outcomes in leveraged turnarounds; which one we hit depends on speed, cost takeout, and execution.

Bottom line:

• Xerox is no longer operating in “business as usual”.

• This is SteveB's plan A: execution speed vs. cash runway.

• There is no plan B. And plan A must work quickly.

• Everything else — morale, culture, careers — is secondary to operational survival right now.

Wartime rules are in effect. Everyone just heard it live.

The mood shift, the urgency, the tone, the pressure... all real.

This is what corporate in distress looks like when management says it out loud.

Now you know.

Nothing seems to have a good captaincy anymore. Sailors are shaking the boat. In Visa domain knowledge and love for systems is not rewarded anymore. New direction is looking at easy points. Share prices stumbling. Old people are let go. Maybe if there's any small indication, it is right time to part.

I mean, at these point executives have not only become tone deaf but truly cynical. At least we know that these surveys are completely worthless. No matter the results, they will label them as "opportunities".

I might not have liked all of Dan’s message but at least it was spoken plainly and honestly. What is really annoying and a little disturbing is that a lot of our leaders now seem to operate like politicians. They ignore anything negative or challenging and only look to talk about the positives. This is totally insulting to employees intelligence and emphasises the gulf between senior leaders with what is happening on the front line

And clueless management to boot!

Big companies are laying off and repositioning themselves to run more like a start up. Why? Because everyone has AI FOMO! Everywhere you look billions are being invested in AI. The work force is getting trimmed before companies understand whether or not AI can deliver on all that it's developers promise. Sending all your employees the message that they need to worry about their employment just days into your new position is not the definition of leadership. This is not how you build a winning team. The posts on this board are a reflection of Dan's leadership. You have yet to share the substance of your vision on just how Verizon will pivot. All you have accomplished so far is the demoralization of the work force. You are getting off to a very disappointing start.

Morale is horrible across the board. Unless you’re in leadership or close with someone who is, you’re on your own. U.S. employees are treated like they don’t matter, while offshore teams get better support, flexibility, and recognition. It’s discouraging and unsustainable- and yet no one seems to be able to stop it. US employees (not in leadership roles) need to unite and demand changes immediately.

We know leadership at a certain point is about potential- not actual merit or experience/ qualifications.

Who would you say our great leaders would be if it was really up to merit and qualifications?

Most of the Sr staff are replaceable, they actually do not implement or solve any of the work place challenges, but they like to report on other people work. You spend more time explaining what you have done so that they can repost if the work.
If the auditors actually pay attention to the attestation the would realize something is very strong with this company.

Everything is always fine when in reality most of their students are flawed.

There's is no real integrity or leadership.

Why does a RVP nitpick small things when the tile flooring needs to be repaired/replaced and the cases in the beauty department need new lights?!

Those who are on the list shall perish.

Who do we think from leadership should be on the list?

I’ll go first, Scampath.

What in the world is a Senior President?

DW making up new titles now?

Post Enterprise Reimagined, I am struggling in my new role. I had no onboarding, just a whole lot of department meetings with no context. My new leader has no experience in this work and spent their entire career in a different discipline. My partner in the work also has no experience in this discipline. We were thrown headlong into a project with no guidance other than, “You are smart. Figure it out.” A month later, my work was just doubled because we are short handed on our team because of layoffs. I am scared and sick and stressed out. And my leader has made it clear they don’t care. I am frustrated and angry. Anyone else dealing with this scenario? How do I handle it?

Who else is irritated that subsurface is taking their sweet time with this reorg? All the other upstream groups seem to be done and yet we have to wait until the end of the week because AF wants it.

The structure was bad before but it doesn’t seem like it’s getting any better.

If really talented CEO should not choose layoff to show money

He needs to guide the employees how to increase stacks value and how to increase customers to come VZ network

Layoff and show money as company growth any one can do for that we dont need talented people normal people can do this

eam

Looks like they really are taking the training wheels off the managers and letting them manage a little. It's funny though to watch them try to continue all the garbage McK generated simply to have projects to charge time against. Maybe now they will see the idiocy of it all and how / who REALLY made the new organization. Good luck managing the pile McK leaves behind.

Maybe he does?

Lessons learned?

Whats the story with Amber? Is she really an ace with Refining? Or another looney leg-opener? Sure seems like a very big talker.

It’s been five years since John Stankey took over as CEO in July 2020, when AT&T’s stock was around $23 a share. Since then, it’s dropped as low as under $15 and today it’s barely above where it started, roughly $24.

Five years. Billions in spending. Countless reorganizations. Massive layoffs. Zero value returned to shareholders or employees.

How does this guy still have a job? At what point does the board finally admit this isn’t working?

If this is what “leadership” looks like, it’s no wonder morale and performance are at rock bottom. The numbers don’t lie it’s time for real accountability.

who else is tired of these leadership changes in finance that make no sense? extra work training the new bosses, just for them to be sent elsewhere in 6 months.

Being part of a recent round of layoffs has given me a lot to think about — not just about my own career, but about leadership, accountability, and the values that guide organizations.

In many cases, it seemed that leadership roles were protected while teams — the people who did the day-to-day work that drove results — were let go. It’s a tough reality to process, but also a revealing one.

since he thinks co-location with the supervisor is so important.

Anyone, leader, know if 12/2 is significant? Hearing upper management are changing meeting invites to not attending. No other info and curious if anyone knows any.

As I mentioned Value CMO(VP) is gone as of yesterday. All moved to DK or KL. Very odd.

My boss spends her entire workday talking. All day, she is “stakeholdering” with people, then comes to us to get all the actual information. After that, she passes that half-baked information to superiors behind our backs, making it look like it’s all her work.

Many times, the leaders above don’t even know that we have spent countless hours solving problems or working on a solution. On top of that, she is too lazy to even put it together in slides — she expects us to do that so she can go behind our backs and present it to her VPs or what not ?

Do we need her ? I do not know but she will stay and people who are doing actual work will be fired.

Athina’s podcast is back…

Unsure who the he-l would listen to this. How “transformational” can a Strategy & Transformation officer be when their company's stock is only up 3% over her 5 year tenure????

She needs to go, this toxic S&T culture starts with her, absolute corrupt coward who acts like a dictator

Interesting article published by MIT Sloan

https://archive.is/bPmXE

Spill if you hear any juicy information.
Layoffs, reorganization, realignment.
Maybe JRC is selling us...

Last year we were on a 3-day RTO schedule and things were working fine. Then, because of the (now admitted) broken presence report, everyone was punished with a 5-day mandate. Since then, leadership has acknowledged that the data wasn’t accurate and that the small group of actual abusers has already been dealt with. They’ve all either left or been terminated.

So why are the rest of us still paying the price?

It’s time to end the punishment and bring back a balanced 2/3-day model. The people who stayed have proven their commitment to this company, even through frustration and burnout. Rolling back to 2/3 days would be a genuine show of trust and a much-needed morale boost.

If leadership truly wants to rebuild culture and retain talent, this is the simplest and smartest way to start.

The MEG “improved offer” announcement should make a few folks inside CVE uncomfortable. The question investors should be asking isn’t whether the Vawn assets are material to Cenovus, it’s whether the side-deal Strathcona received treats all other MEG shareholders fairly. Because if a private buyer gets a sweetheart deal on sold assets, that’s a transfer of value - plain and simple - and it raises serious questions about compliance with securities-law principles of fair and equal treatment. It’s also striking how the MEG board hides behind its advisors (BMO, RBC) instead of defending its own judgment. “Our advisors told us it was fine” isn’t a fiduciary defense - it’s an abdication of duty. If this ever gets real regulatory attention from the ASC - or even the SEC - the paper trail around valuation assumptions, fairness opinions, and board communications will matter. Until then, rank-and-file CVE employees get to watch leadership pretend the assets were sold at fair value while staff job cuts hang in the balance.

Leaders are afraid to communicate, afraid to get in the news, afraid of baby-napoleon-pulte, afraid to have ideas. The only word left in their vocabulary is efficiency. They think they are being political savvy tracking people’s calendars, emails, badging. I am not blaming them. Just feeling sad for them. What a culture:(

Mr. Stankey, it’s clear you care deeply about rebuilding AT&T’s culture and driving results. But the 5-day return-to-office mandate is not delivering those outcomes. It’s quietly draining productivity, eroding morale, and accelerating the loss of high-value talent, particularly among younger and mid-career professionals.

In the year since the mandate began, the data tells a stark story:
• Voluntary attrition among under-40 employees has risen dramatically across the industry where rigid RTO policies persist. AT&T’s own attrition rates mirror that trend.
• Stock performance has lagged both Verizon and T-Mobile since the RTO push, suggesting Wall Street isn’t buying “butts in seats” as a business strategy.
• Office occupancy metrics nationwide show that mandated presence rarely exceeds 60% compliance. Employees comply on paper but disengage in spirit.

More importantly, the promised benefits of RTO (collaboration, innovation, culture) simply aren’t materializing. Employees report fewer in-person meetings, more hybrid video calls, and a deeper sense of distrust toward leadership. You can’t rebuild culture through compulsion. Culture is earned through empowerment.

Meanwhile, competitors are winning talent with flexible, hybrid models. Companies like T-Mobile, Verizon, Google, IBM and Microsoft have settled on 2-3 in-office days because the data supports it: productivity, engagement, and retention all rise when employees have agency over where they work.

AT&T has an opportunity here. Not to follow the trend, but to lead it. Imagine the signal it would send if AT&T were the first major company to publicly admit that five-day RTO was the wrong call. Reframing it as a “Return to Trust” would instantly shift perception from rigid to visionary.

You have the chance to show that leadership is about listening, not doubling down dictator style. The workforce is ready to deliver. They just need to know their leaders trust them again.

Revisit RTO. Shift back to a 2-3 day hybrid model. Watch what happens when respect replaces resentment.

That’s how AT&T becomes a company people are proud to work for again.

These people gave each other the leg up and none know what the other is doing! I was impacted and frankly I’m relieved! I know the workforce is hard and we all need our jobs but a couple of months paid to figure it out sounds better then the BS Ive been dealing with! I wish you all the best and my prayers go out to all impacted! But since this new leadership has taken over over it’s been a disaster and the ones who laugh at the ones impacted, the ones who were kept, undeserving if based on metrics and performance, your time will come! You survived not for being a leader but for kissing the right butts!

Seriously. Go to another bank. Find the strength of racism that exists no where else only at our finest USAA. even more odd, most employees are actually supportive and help one another at other banks. We have a deep rot here. its why we only attract the most d-list leaders.