And that leadership is fostered and found in all the wrong ways. They promote Leaders who are yes men and very nonmotivational. They don't promote people who know how to problem solve, minimize problems, keep things running, and bring new ideas to the table. How many Directors and AVPs do you see who can actually get in the trenches, assess, and make sound business decisions? All I ever see are foot stompers and get it done leaders.
10 replies (most recent on top)
To the person who wrote "Don't appear too knowledgeable about anything as folks these days are very insecure" .
This is so true; I have seen this a lot lately as whenever anyone tries to share information or knowledge at meetings/conf calls I see others speaking over them on calls and in meetings and then circle them like vultures discrediting and negating their knowledge and ideas.....
Agree -
- Never question anything
- If you tell it like it is, be a straight shooter and don't sugar coat everything then you are considered uncooperative
- Never ask why
- Better to become mute and stay low key, and don't show up then to inquire or question any decision made
- Don't appear too knowledgeable about anything as folks these days are very insecure
It can wait! Whatever boneheaded idea you came up with to grow the business, just sit on it. We used to say “no” to dumb ideas. Now, everybody champions bad ideas. And blame the failure on execution buy the bargained-for workers. Nope, it was just a dumb idea. Try working in a truck, on the phones, or on the sales floor for a solid eight (that requires 10) and then consider if your boneheaded idea makes sense.
It’s the 1030’s culture. Managers are managers not workers. They can teach anyone how to manage and keep them in that lane. Managers only need to know how to manage not how to do the work, that’s for the individual contributors.
Perspective and opinion from the lowest position of Management, what upper management says or directs to the masses is completely different than what middle management is directed to do by the same people. Honesty and truth is rewarded with retribution and retaliation. Threats to employment security is the sword swung. Middle management does this out of fear of losing their jobs. Not a pretty situation. Most lower management will stay silent for fear of becoming a target when quarterly ranking is done of all management personnel under a general manager. AT&T grows sheep and lemmings and exterminates all that don’t drink the koolAid.
Or hire someone who can say some few buzz words like "pivot " and "agile" like that buzz word child Marachel. Still clueless as to why people are quitting saying flexibility within T is none. Still insisting open work space, collab zone is the best in this century.
The three rules I learned early on with ATT is...
- Don't disagree with leadership in any way or any setting.
- Don't exceed service levels or standard performance levels
- Never demonstrate you have a better solution or idea
If you break any of these rules then you will be stationed in Siberia. Execs will read this a say it's not possible but every employee has a story to show this is exactly how middle level leadership works.
Nine out of ten chiefs of staff that I have seen are glorified admins who put together PowerPoints and populate scorecards for their VP. A few were very business savy and on the ball but most were check the box yes men.
For years I wanted skip-level meetings that gave the higher-up a view of my daily activities. Having been in IT, I wanted them to see the bureaucracy that overlaid my job and distracted from true accomplishment. We were taught pre-Ameritech-to-SBC-to-AT&T days of the "Golden Thread." It was the link from our job to the company's objectives and money-making business. If what we did wasn't supportive of the Golden Thread, then we shouldn't be doing it.
Our processes are not optimized yet management can't get them changed if they don't understand what they are and how they slow us down. Perhaps they don't want to do that. Push-back at the higher levels is not what they want to do.
They find someone they like.
Promote to Chief of Staff or Director under someone who did same route.
Within 2-3 years that person is now AVP.
It is a cycle of repetitive incompetence that breeds the same train of thought where deviation from the norm is ostracized and penalized from being considered from the promotion process.
Self created fudged scorecards of meaningless metrics validate the spinning circle of incompetence.