How come that reorg, drive for efficiency, reinventing, right-sizing, or whatever is the current fancy name for cuts, almost never affect layers upon layers of management, but always us, lowly working folk? It is silly to expect from the same people that drove you into the ground to rebuild you up. On the other hand, I would assume that people actually doing the real work already know how to do it best, so it would make sense to keep those. But that’s me. I obviously have a wrong view on merit, exp, responsibility, value creation, talent, and other marginal stuff that used to be underpinning of any healthy company.
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Managers still aren't safe in phase 2. We were told as such.
I mean they got rid of 20% of VPs, so out of the total it’s much bigger % of LT than anyone else. Also haven’t hit E band yet so just be patient.
Work model: the management talkers that take credit for the work of other people are fte and doers are etw with slas and strict deadlines
The talker also typically calculates which rooms the doer can enter and keeps them out of the ones where they want to claim the work for their own gain. Seen it many many a time!
OP, I wouldn’t say layoffs “almost never affect” management. Since December several managers at several levels have been let go.
@qiy is also correct. There is definitely a class of talkers at Nike whose primary talent is co-opting other peoples’ work as their own. Those people know who they are. Most everyone else knows who they are too. It really is amazing to see someone stand in front of a group of people and take credit for work they KNOW they didn’t do or possibly even have any involvement with. Especially when that person knows full well that the people who actually did the work are standing in that same room! It takes a special kind of shamelessness to do that. Nike is full of such shameless people too. It’s too bad these layoffs didn’t target those people.
@qiy+1rgc6cV3 - Absolutely 100% spot-on. In my mere two years at Nike I have the same observations. The talkers get ahead, while the knowledgeable doers are left behind. It’s amazing to see it in so many areas of the company.
In an unhealthy management org like Nike (and a lot of other companies really), the doers spend their time and energy making things work better through data, expertise, and processes, while the talkers spend their time and energy stealing from doers and creating networks to consolidate their positions and climb their way up.
When layoffs occur, the talkers are in the higher management positions where they are either more known to the folks with decision powers, or have created a false brand for themselves that they are driving valuable company work, which they of course rely on the doers for but never attribute proper credit to. Nike is rampant with folks taking internal, or even very public credit, for work they have never touched.
This cycle repeats itself year over year, with doers leaving and talkers entering, and the percentage of talkers grows at the upper levels, but also starts to creep down towards the doers. This comes to a head when there are so few doers and they are surrounded by bosses and peers who are talkers, increasing frustrating, decreasing motivation, and resulting in an implosion of reduced productivity.
In a healthy management org, doers still do what they do best, but managers are listening to them, giving credit, encouraging opportunities, and providing exposure. They are talking for the doers, not just themselves. They also hire with the help of doers with the mindset of creating more product value through expertise, not just to do the work for them, or consolidate their positions in coming years. This creates a strong atmosphere of trust and psychological safety within the org, which promotes collaboration, innovation, creativity, and makes people actually want to come to work and do what they do best.
Nike is a pretty mature company. It takes years or even decades of toxicity to seep into and erode its foundations. Unseen at first, but slowly cracks start to show outside the foundations, and the collapse then occurs suddenly and catastrophic. These layoffs might feel huge to a lot of folks, but the numbers are very small if you compare to other company layoff numbers in the tens of thousands. You all already feel, there are still plenty of folks in the upper echelons or even peers, that sit in the talker category and have prevailed. It is but another large crack in the foundation, and it will take a strong and brave switching of the guard at the top, that solicits feedback from the doers, to truly make a difference.
TBF, c-level, VP's, senior directors and directors made up about half the positions let go (so far). So "phase 1" was clearly aimed at managers.
Phase 2 (which I'd estimate is another 1000 people) is probably going to more about individual contributors (ICs) -- though I wouldn't think anyone is safe in phase 2