I spend nearly half my day in meetings. Maybe 10% is useful; the other 90% is managerial BS. Making managers feel busy? If a meeting can’t wrap up fast, it had no purpose from the start. At WF, we don’t solve problems, we just schedule them.
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This is what happens when you use sh---y smooth brain stack rank tactics and lay off tens of thousands of people and offshore their jobs. Your productivity goes down the toilet while everyone does everything they can to appear to "add value".
Biggest pet peeve for me: someone schedules a one hour meeting. Covers contents in 40 minutes. Keeps talking and asks if anyone else has anything to bring up for the next 20 minutes. Guys- you don’t get paid more if you fill up the entire meeting time. Just say goodbye and end the conversation.
I had a vendor support guy tell me “you guys will schedule a meeting to schedule the next meeting, won’t you?!”
You could not go.
@b0 The board and OC need to bring in Simon Sinek to see what real leadership looks like.
@OP, you’re spot-on—Wells Fargo’s meeting galore is managerial BS, not progress. @ak is right: we-ponized KPIs and bureaucratic layers crush morale, not “all banks are like this.” Managers should drive smart, AI-powered outcomes, develop collaborative teams, and align with customer needs, not bully with command-and-control meetings. This “wagile” mess, obsessed with metrics over quality, ki-ls team spirit and innovation, risking a crash like EPL’s failure. AI can’t fix Wells Fargo’s siloed chaos—Amazon’s cutting 14,000 jobs with AI. JPMorgan’s AI slashes costs 30% and boosts sales 20% with Agile teams, while our “team” is a ghost. Wells Fargo’s fear culture stifles all. The Agile Alliance says psychological safety fuels collaboration, not bullying facilitators forcing check-the-box tasks. BE’s platforms and Columbus hub won’t save us without massive reform. Document abuses anonymously, join Wells Fargo Workers United, or file EEOC complaints. Read The Fearless Organization for fearless banks like JPMorgan. My mission: fearless workplaces. There’s a better option!
Right, this is the main issue. Everyone focuses on KPI type metrics, which become check the box exercises for just about everyone, rather than outcomes. KPI's can be useful, except that any metrics inevitably become we-ponized and people end up just looking for ways to game it. It's id--tic. Outcomes never seem to matter. We almost never have any sense of what the vision is, or where we are going. The management is aweful. There are so many layers of bureaucracy that serve to just completely muddle any sense of vision or purpose by the time it reaches the worker bees.
I realize some transformation was necessary, but this is ridiculous. WF isn't even recognizable anymore. I have never seen morale so low. The only game they seem to know how to play is a short game, which frankly, doesn't seem to be working out so well. How many billions in buybacks coupled with massive layoffs and for what? Sub-par share price increase compared to peers or the indexes? The company continues to deteriorate and it's not even really making a big difference in share price. We have stupid one trick ponies leading us and destroying the bank in the process.
No agenda? I decline. Meeting to circle back? Nope. Tell me what you’re missing. Invite me to a meeting with no context? Decline. I don’t get together just to rehash things. Tell me what you need and I’ll get it for you. Otherwise, hit me with an IM or an email.
Only half your day? I spend 70-100% on a call. And my favorite are weekly, bi-weekly and monthly status meetings that also follow up with status email questions etc. Executives are obsessed with metrics more than quality output. Meet a deadline? Great job even if the deliverable output su-ked!