#management

After all the restructures and behind-the-scenes changes over the past few years, it really looks like the capable managers have been filtered out. The ones who knew the business, earned trust, and actually cared about their teams are no longer around. What remains feels intentional, like leadership prefers compliance over competence, even if that means morale and common sense take a hit.

I received a request from management to investigate how AI could be used so that all the developers could be laid off. At the same time, there's a need to give management some levers to pull so they themselves can't be laid off, since they supposedly make important, high-impact decisions. Fu--ing muppets.

I Nominate our CIO for the ‘best cio silicon valley’ award for 2025. He is the reason the company is doing so good. His vision, strategy and hard work is more than all the company execs put together. He truly deserves a huge hug and a bucketful of stock options. That inspite of having such a mediocre team. Hats off Sudhakar.

If you missed the 3 days in office average for 2025- you are about to get an “Inconsistently Meets” rating for the year. We had managers in our area that had to downgrade team members from “Exceeds” to I/M. It was escalated up to legal and management was told no exceptions.

Best managed companies listing:

https://drucker.institute/annual-data/annual-ranking-data-2025/

IBM at #8.

The press release:
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/12/09/3202657/0/en/The-Drucker-Institute-at-Claremont-Graduate-University-Releases-Its-2025-Ranking-of-America-s-Best-Managed-Companies.html

The announcement:
https://www.cgu.edu/news/2025/12/drucker-institute-2025-management-rankings/

The list:
https://drucker.institute/annual-data/annual-ranking-data-2025/

This may not resonate with all of you, but I’ve dealt with multiple toxic managers at this company and have needed a lot of external support around navigating this political hellscape until I can get out. Thought I’d share a post I found that made me not feel so alone in my experience. I’m sure at least a handful of people can relate.

“If I were a toxic manager trying to get you to leave:

1. I'd shrink your scope. That project you led for three years? I'm reassigning it. That initiative you built from the ground up? Someone else is taking it over.
   But your workload? That stays the same.

2. I'd make feedback impossible to act on. Vague. Contradictory. Changes depending on who's in the room. You used to know exactly where you stood. Now? You're guessing.

3. I'd stop acknowledging your wins. That deal you closed? Silence. That crisis you handled? Crickets. But that one mistake? I'l mention it. Repeatedly.

4. I'd erode your influence while increasing your accountability. You're responsible for outcomes but excluded from decisions. Expected to deliver but not consulted on strategy.

5. I'd isolate you. The meetings happen without you. The Slack channels go quiet. Your team gets reassigned. You're still here-but you're not really part of anything anymore.

Nothing here is fireable.
That's the point.

Because if I fire you, the company owes you severance.

But if you leave on your own?
You get nothing.

So I'll make you think:
"Maybe it's me. Maybe I've lost my edge. Maybe it's just time to go."

And you leave. Believing it was your choice.

————————————

If this sounds familiar, you need to hear this: You didn't suddenly stop being capable.

Your toxic leader sees you as a threat and shifted the game to make you doubt that.

All that strategic thinking they're sidelining? That leadership they're undermining? That expertise they stopped valuing?

That's exactly what you need to build something of your own.

Where your scope doesn't shrink.
Where your voice doesn't get silenced.
Where you're never labeled "difficult" for having standards.

You didn't outgrow your capability.
You outgrew a leader who needed you small.

No more shrinking.
No more second-guessing.
No more playing small under a leader who needed to make you disappear.

You've spent years building their empire.
It's time to build yours.

Do you answer or just respond when you get back? I feel like I’m being pressured because they have sent two emails knowing I am on pto this week. Why do people do this? I have my ooo message on and my calendar blocked for a reason.

Instead of developing people or rewarding effort, they just keep piling on more responsibility and calling it “growth.” No new title, no raise, no acknowledgment. You end up doing the work of two jobs while being treated like you should be grateful for the opportunity.

C-Suite is quietly looking to sell of re-purpose the Marshall MI site. What a huge mess! DF wrecked the local community economy. Would be a good location though for an Amazon DC.

About time. Business has been awful, strategy is non-existent, and products in the toilet. Sounds about right for someone to scoop up for $2B (overpriced)

He said: “The transition of our associates to Infinite is a strategic initiative to elevate client’s experience”

He needs to crawl (no pun intended) under his desk and hide. Not single onboarding document I completed last July was online - download, print, sign, scan, upload and email, do this 15 times, no a single online video, not a single document!

This is nothing than a tax evasion scheme crafted by Frank, now executed by Mike and his brown nosers! IRS will come hard on this company! Give it time!

Glad to see changes . About time we made an extreme pivot.

1. 56 percent DEI
2. Failed macro strategy of increasing price plans when post covid people has lesser disposable income.
   3.Blanket outsourcing without thinking
3. Open checkbook on failed investments without strategic direction
4. Failure of chief revenue officers to create organic revenue for the last decade . A
   Few were let go after warming seats for a decade.
5. Incapable of lobbying with FCC for negotiating on spectrum auctions resulting in paying premium that put VZ in further debt .
6. Hibernating chief strategy officer. Does anyone remember the name.

Spread it. Ahole toxic bully is looking to come back here.
My husband's friend works at Korn Ferry. Apparently Seth met with them. He seemed desperate to find his way back into PepsiCo.

Holy he-l. Just when you thought it can't get worse, we hear this awful rumor.

My manager believes to follow the company direction (3 times per a week) and my team is forced to go while all other people I work with still work from home 100 percent.

Office is always empty and there are just a few teams I know comply with return to office directive.

Last layoff had nothing to do with it either. Nobody who still works from home got impacted

I am in DFW. Is your office empty too?

Long story short he/she asked if I have thought about looking for another job outside TR, just in case.

They’ve been on a downward spiral for ages. This is my fourth bank in 30+ years, and the last competent manager I saw was basically ancient history. Feels like they’re mass-producing these “leaders” in some cheap clone factory with subpar materials.

So I’ve been gone a year now as a field rep and when I left SMP had just rolled out. I remember having to adapt to the new hybrid position but was curious how much has changed since then. I do know reps had to take on quite a few more homes and wasn’t sure how the field was going to get everything done. Is management at least offering overtime and scheds/flags/some faults done remotely to help keep down the hours? Hope all of the field reps are doing well, a good life-work balance and aren’t overly stressed. Best wishes to you all! Thank you.

Between leadership that doesn’t seem to know where it’s going, middle management that can’t execute, and expectations that keep getting more detached from reality, the whole thing feels like a circus that somehow keeps getting louder instead of better.

When do employees find out? And then will they be walked out same day or 2 weeks still?

When do managers find out? Will it be same day or before their employees do?

I noticed an opening in this department. Does anyone have experience or know anything about working for this department? Do they use Verint? Do they micromanage the heck out of you? I presently work for Humana , just trying to get away from the horrible management I have presently.

The overall atmosphere, the way teams are managed, and the direction from the top just keep declining. There's no big, single event to point to, but the slow grind of it all is wearing. You notice it in every new policy and in every decision that seems disconnected from the actual work. This place has changed so, so much in recent years, and none of it for the better.

Salesforce message - hang on, we're almost there - like we are under construction or something - great impression on the customer. I have customers saying, what is that on your tablet - why is that screen flashing and saying that message. How long will this take. Is your tablet suppose to do that. Is this what I can expect from your company.
So what's amazing about salesforce that I think no one in management realizes is that you created a problem that never existed. Yup. You sure did. Good job slackers. You finally did something. You took an ordering / activation system - Opus, which worked pretty good, and ran it into the ground. Now that takes talent. You took a system in which one could activate a line of service, or order a product, and you added 5 minutes of latency and redundancy in which one will log in to another application - aka - Salesforce or covid as we call it, and watch the screens jump, flash and there is nothing you can do. But hey, there is purpose in this. Yes, purpose. This was done to destroy the company, this much we know.

The organization seems heavily weighted toward advisory positions rather than operational leadership. While credentials are valued, practical experience and accountability appear to be lacking at the management level. This has led to ineffective guidance, limited clarity in decision-making, and inconsistent execution. Financial performance may be sustained by legacy systems or market position, but management practices themselves show significant room for improvement.

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/lawsuit-claims-seattle-based-f5-overstated-cybersecurity-strength-before-revealing-major-breach/EVFK25KTSRDUXH5IXHL6JVZF3I/

I let my managers and directors know of the decline in quality for the last many years. And I was ignored.

What is the Board, Executive Management, and HR doing to improve the employee experience ? It seems like the only thing that is being done by overpaid executives is to hold monthly webinars on the topic du jour.

Mutual of America has an average employee rating of 2.6 out of 5 stars on Glassdoor, with only 32% of employees recommending the company to a friend.

Common complaints include poor management, lack of career mobility, and declining benefits, while some employees note competitive pay and good benefits.

Overview of Employee Feedback for Mutual of America
Glassdoor Ratings
Overall Rating: 2.6 out of 5 stars

Recommendation Rate: 32% of employees would recommend the company to a friend.

Positive Business Outlook: 31% of employees believe the company has a positive outlook.
Employee Reviews

ASPECT RATING FEEDBACK
Interview Experience 48% rated it positively; average difficulty score of 2.8/5

Management 34% would recommend management to a friend

Career Opportunities Limited mobility reported; some employees feel stuck

Work Environment Mixed reviews; some praise benefits, others cite poor morale and management issues

Technology Outdated systems causing operational challenges
Common Complaints

Management Issues: Many employees report deceitful practices and lack of transparency from upper management.

Work-Life Balance: Concerns about excessive workloads and project mismanagement.

Employee Morale: Reports of low morale, nepotism, and a toxic work environment.

Benefits: While some employees appreciate the benefits, others note they have declined over time.

Summary of Employee Sentiment
The feedback on Glassdoor indicates a significant divide among employees at Mutual of America. While some appreciate the benefits and recent changes in leadership, many express dissatisfaction with management practices, career growth opportunities, and overall company direction.

Deep cuts need to happen in tech even though that won’t fix sales.
The problem is that any survivors will have no motivation to work if the same tech leadership is in place. AC, ES (all vp down to sr managers and in some cases managers. None of them talk to each other and no root cause tech issues are ever fixed.
Truly weak leaders that micro manage or are completely checked out and no, a manager 101 course will not fix that.

“So, I literally came up with a plan to become a CISO, and I executed on it.”
https://fortune.com/2025/12/19/at-t-executive-manifested-his-chief-information-security-officer-job/

All of GT may be a dumpster fire, but CP&I somehow manages to be the main attraction. At this point, logic has officially resigned. JS’s directs and their teams are sprinting in every possible direction like headless chickens, enthusiastically throwing work at the wall with zero business alignment and even less clarity.

My engineering manager now treats strategy like a daily horoscope - every morning comes with a brand-new “priority,” allegedly inspired by whatever whim floated down from JS overnight. Meanwhile, CP&I is aggressively hiring engineers for teams where absolutely nothing is happening… while simultaneously loaning people out to PLM because, surprise, that’s where the work is.

In a truly impressive feat of leadership gymnastics, JS laid off all contractors, declared a noble shift to a 100% FTE “engineering excellence” model, and then - plot twist - brought in external vendors to help with engineering development. One can only marvel at the cost of this enlightenment.

As for ITC, it’s probably best described as a very expensive travel club. A leadership group of about ten makes frequent pilgrimages there, producing no visible outcomes except invoices. Rough estimate: ~$200K burned for vibes and frequent-flyer miles.

All in all, CP&I remains a fascinating social experiment. With VA now inheriting Technology, I’m genuinely curious to see whether this saga ends in transformation… or just a bigger, better-funded mess.

Has anyone actually looked at an org chart recently? DDAT has more directors, VPs, lead directors, AVPs than they know what to do with.....yet they push the bottom feeders to do 4x the work for a 2016 salary. Its becoming simply gross. Ive also noticed some teams where the entire team is "away" all day long, yet here i am a loyal ethical employee being micromanaged l. Nothing makes semse in this company at all.

Looks like next year will kick off with the merging of BFS into AFO. This is aligning with the one title tech as mapped out earlier. As a previous DT I hate to hear this because AFO does not treat people well. If I was a DT still I would move to construction asap. Otherwise be prepared for a lot of residential work and a whole new set of guidelines you will NOT like.

Knowing the management excellence and expedience, and the fact that there was no real plan beyond merciless cuts, who knows how long it will take for the dust to settle and for there to be even a semblance of an organized workflow. My team is already feeling the pain, and it’s only going to get worse in the coming months. We were stretched thin to begin with. It certainly didn’t help that they somehow managed to get rid of the very people who actually knew what they were doing.

Middle managers should be clearing paths, growing talent, and preparing teams for the future. Too many here do none of that. Here, problems always get ignored, issues mount, and nothing ever improves. Sometimes I wonder what’s the point of having them at all.

Why are store managers and/or H.R. need to be in the store at 6am if they are not picking, packing, or on a call?

Shouldn’t H.R. and the store manager be in store when the majority of associates are actually working ? It makes no sense for an H.R. or store manager to leave the store by 2 or 3.

It’s crazy to see HR don’t do family background check for such big company.

On the day before the holidays the Manager would make sure you left by 11AM. I remember my manager was off that day but another Manager did a walk about the building telling everyone to go home.

Now if you are lucky they tell you after 3pm.

If you are told to underrate someone who earned better, how do you justify it to yourself? Does that ever sit wrong, or does it eventually become routine?

The decision-makers at Mattel are stuck thinking one quarter at a time. There is no long-range vision, just constant reaction. It’s like they’re having trouble realizing that popular trends can last anywhere from a month to years and you can’t base a whole business strategy on just that. That lack of foresight is painful to watch.

Has anyone heard? Seems management knows but haven’t officially announced

Where in the strategy of the Lexmark acquisition was there the action to railroad Xerox completely. Xerox is far from perfect (and Lexmark is far from perfect as well. They did lose £600M last year) BUT Xerox does have a heritage, does know some stuff and has done some good stuff and yet Lex are railroading every decision - ignoring Xerox people, no regard for any Xerox experience and ignoring everything that has ever been done. Why don’t the EC just pay off Xerox people and leave the apparently-Lexmark-wonders to manage it all?