#leadership

The so-called leaders play politics and mumble through meetings and promote people who don’t even understand the work. Things are getting worse every day and nobody seems to care. Sometimes I feel like I'm watching a slow collapse of a once great company in real time.

This is real talk!!!!

Ilumina keeps beating its head over with useless PLM and MRP tool upgrades that neither add value to the company or increase the speed to get products to market. The only group to benefit from these activities is the workforce in India that has substantially grown ever since Jacob has taken over. Consequence will be our competitors taking over our market share and making us irrelevant, an afterthought. These useless initiatives are being spearheaded by our clueless leadership and middle management that neither have the best interest of the shareholders or employees, only their determination to maximize their own paychecks. Management teams like those that fester at Illumian are the ticks that ruin a company's value and culture. If there was a way to replace Middle management with AI, sign Illumina as #1 customer.

Same stories as the Trane posting. Leaders want you to keep quiet.

We don’t need extra stress on top of looming layoffs. Some might find it amusing that people are reading too much into that org chart, but they should also realize many are genuinely terrified about their jobs. For some, losing it would have serious, life-changing consequences. I understand people panicking. What I don’t understand is how those paid to run this place can’t handle something as critical as layoffs more competently.

FIS LOST A WHOLE DEPARTMENT BECAUSE OF HOW BADLY CS WAS LED. The client wants to do it themselves again. THIS IS CRAZY! The investors can feel the cost cutting as well when interacting with this company, the cs line must be awesome xD

What’s the big deal and why is everyone on my team obsessed with being one?

Verizon is a train wreck stuck in mud. They have not improved or learned anything in years. Different year same leadership mistakes. They need a Maga like shake up and stop being cheap on infrastructure. From network to systems they cheap out and customer and employees live with the failure. Taking the cheap road has allowed T-Mobile to pass us and customers lining up to leave. Our credo is fake news. We run from success. We hide from challenges. We strive to be cheaper today than we were yesterday. We blame our employees. We removed job satisfaction and replaced it with fluff and selfishness. News flash: This isnt changing so su-k it up buttercups.

If you've tried automating or using AI for this company you will know just how painful it is to try and push innovation. Multiple tiers of leadership, so many boundaries to break down, etc. Etc.

I find it funny that the company is choosing to use AI and technology advances as the message for headcount reduction. In my experience those outsourcing moves just adds to the body count while doing nothing to automate. There is no future in technology for this company because it continues to distance itself from the people who can offer those options. I have been pushing a solution that would reduce two entire departments, instead or pursing they just keep adding bodies to the BSC's.

XOM will be left in the dust by its competitors as they choose to advance technology while XOM looks to outsource and reduce its expertise.

Watch and see.

The day before I left Target, leaders were discussing if they should “update” the slides for her (the company needs a real supply chain officer that understands basic supply chain concepts)
Nice should not be the primary qualification. Just like her, Rob has also only worked at Walmart, but he is the real deal.

Engagement Pulse Survey (employee satisfaction survey) is going to be sent out early in November. The result of this thing seems to be nr. 1 priority of our management around here...

Our overlords care the most about two questions in particular in the survey:

1. Do you trust the management?
2. Would you reccomend Kyndryl as a company to work for?

The rest of the questions is fluff and they even admitted it openly the other day...

The last time most people did not bother filling it in and some of those few who did submitted answers that were less than praise (since it is an anonymous survey).

Consequently, there was a mandatory follow-up investigation session where one of the FLM's loyal minions was tasked to find out who the troubkemakers are... They went about it by saying on a Teams call: "raise your hand if you trust the manager"...

This time around we are all asked to go into a prep-session where we will be instructed on "how to properly understand the questions" prior to filling in the survey and we are encouraged to then fill it in together...

So - I expect we will go from the lowest employee happiness ever which (was the last survey's result to the highest employee happiness ever) and then there will be rounds of applause and patting on shoulders circling around in newsletters and the local talking heads will have stuff to talk about till the christmass and will be thanking each other and nominating each other for employees of the quarter based on this while we will be witnessing more stealthy firings, clients leaving, teams & roles blending and so on.

And this stuff is orchestrated by individuals who also send out non-anonymous feedback requests about their performance to their subordinates and then they read out loud the praise they get in front of all who had to participate.

CEE in a nutshell for all y'all.

Recent org changes have made long standing structural and leadership issues worse. The problem isn’t the teams it’s a pattern of short-sighted leadership decisions that keep adding inefficiency and ki-ling morale, SP and MM ARE NOT the right path. Both too self-important and ego driven for any clarity possible. The number of people on this page alone is an indication of how bad it’s gotten as MM has been a topic on this page for years, those who openly questioned aren’t here anymore, not a coincidence.

Structural & Leadership Gaps

• D&D expanded under leadership with weak technical grounding and poor operational judgment.
• Decisions are based on optics and “culture first” over scalable, efficient delivery.
• The result: redundant tools, unclear ownership, and wasted spend doing the same thing.

Talent & Morale Erosion

• Many skilled hires walked into instability they didn’t cause and can’t fix.
• People are burned out, disengaged, and blamed for inherited problems.
• Leaders who manage up well but not down are driving the decline blaming everyone but themselves.

Culture & Reputation Risk

• Morale is at a breaking point.
• Expanding the remit of a leader with no relevant knowledge or skills tied to these issues sends the wrong signal.
• Continued inaction risks more and operational instability at a critical time.

What EMT Needs to Do

• Launch an independent review of leadership effectiveness and technical capability, ask the staff in a truly anonymous way because trust is gone.
• Simplify tools and processes stop paying for redundancy.
• Rebuild trust with transparency, consistent engagement, and measurable goals tied to outcomes, not self-serving politics.

The situation is still fixable only with top-down action. EMT needs to step in now to stabilize the org and restore credibility. If not, the erosion will only accelerate.

No more DEI type managers. Got them nowhere. Unfortunately it looks like they are positioning a token.

Half the company could disappear tomorrow if we just removed everyone who only goes to meetings and relays updates. Let the ones who actually do the work run things for a change.

They keep pushing to replace us with cheaper, outside teams who clearly don't know our systems. Now it takes three of them to do one job, and everything is still falling behind. I am so frustrated that management thinks this is a real solution. All it does is create more mess for us to fix later.

When Mike dumps all over the employees does he at least wipe? We all know he doesn't flush unless the company or employees are in the toliet!

Our team has been short by at least three people for months, and our manager keeps acting like it’s normal. The few of us left are juggling way too much, and it's only a matter of time before things start falling through the cracks. If they're hoping this is going to work long term, they're in for a rude awakening.

If you are full of ideas and energy, this might not be the place for you. The system here slows everything down with endless layers of approval. Unless you have friends in high spots, your voice will never reach the right people. You are better off taking that drive somewhere that lets you actually build something. Exxon is not it.

Spent an evening with some five9 team members tonight and someone that joined from the product team told me really alarming details about the senior layers of management still left. I knew this company was badly managed, but that team is in another zone. If you work with a PDM team, please try to give them your support.

Just seeing how fast MN and his admins jump to downvote this!

What is your best guess on when Geoff and his BOD get bounced? Rumors are flying (again)

Mike laid down a massive log on the employees. Is he done or is he going back for seconds?

Understanding remote workers are part of Phase II (according to DEs email), but anyone know if managers in NY or LA who have direct reports that are remote were given a chance to justify their roles? Even if they were hired as remote OR do we think the decision lies with Senior Leadership and they will be let go this next big round which is rumored to be 10/28?

Terrible…
Less benefits…
Less PTOs…
Sweat shoppish management …
Job cuts…
No diversity and that means not a single American in any layer above me or even around me…

Ohh wait that was the similar in ELV IT too.

IT had layers and layers are Indians. Several of them totally not competent by far. Speak English in a weird way with disregard and disrespect to grammar, pronunciation and several times etiquettes. And worst they keep hiring Indians ONLY. How? They bring cheap -ss Indians as contractors and then convert them. Companies like UST are partners in that crime.

They don’t even want to engage with white Americans nor do they want you around. They keep talking to each other in their mambo jambo local language and keep warming smelly food in the kitchen.

yeah damn it, this happening in USA.. not in Bangaladore.

Incoming CEO says effective immediately, I’m taking over, current CEO is no longer ceo, current CEO will also not be chairman of board and 10% layoffs across L7+.

If the company needs immediate restructuring, it has to come from very top.

Michael, be bold and take charge.

https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/TDC/teradata/revenue

The person or people who think SM and the board are doing well and continue to drive excellence, have a look at the last 5 years of revenue, profit, and operating income. We’re in a similar position now than before SM joined. 5 years; the exact same outcome. Who’s at fault? Sales? Support? Engineering? Or is it the direction leadership is taking us?

He thanks everyone for an incredible year and all the hard work.

He also says not everyone will receive their full, earned bonus. Some will; others will receive less.

Let me put this plainly, Mr Chief Executive: if employees receive anything under 100% of their earned bonuses, we will lose critical talent with irreplaceable institutional knowledge—losses compounded by past redundancies. They’ll vote with their feet.

Others may stay on, but if they’re paid only 60% of their bonus, expect about 60% effort going forward. Think very carefully about the next move, PD. Can Avaya really afford to lose more legacy talent? Won’t that hobble the plans you and the Board have—plans that reward specific leaders with bonuses tied to a single target?

Think. Very. Carefully.

It’s clear that Fidelity cannot and will not develop managers to be leaders.

Is there a strength that the firm has that could reshape my opinion of the firm? Things were better before the pandemic, but it doesn’t seem like work will ever go back to being a great place to work.

I’ve been kicked down so many times that even the bare minimum is more effort than the company deserves. It’s not just me, it’s my whole department and probably just a leadership style.

There needs to be a process to demote or fire the managers who were hired during the pandemic, with no experience or qualifications.

Are there any technical people leaders anymore? Seems like they are focused on bringing in leaders that have no skill, but claim to be great coaches. We are in a death spiral and need technical leaders who can help solution, not leaders who want to focus on asking if you are done yet. And the new PLs who want to help you with career coaching? GTFO. I don't need career advice from someone who has just arrived on the scene when I've been here for years. I need a leader that can remove roadblocks. We are so lost.

Name the role that encompasses this toxic behavior!

(The biggest red flag at work is when no one ever disagrees with the boss to their face. Unless you want to be a target).

Here’s why:

1. People are scared, not respectful, because speaking up feels like a career ending move.

2. The boss is insulated from reality. If leaders only hear what they want, not what they need, they become dangerously out of touch. That’s how companies rot from the top down.

3. It breeds a culture of fake smiles and resentment. Everyone plays nice in meetings, then tears the whole thing apart in private.

4. Bad ideas go unchallenged. Without pushback, people make poor decisions.

5. High performers leave. Fast. Talented people don’t stick around in echo chambers. They want to contribute, challenge, and grow, not tiptoe around egos.

I met a new SD at lunch this week who recently joined. The guy pulls no punches. Super smart I hope he won’t lose patience with this place. He isn’t afraid to say what all the engineers in the room are thinking that most SDs and VPs are too stupid to understand.

Twenty-four years in the same system — and what we celebrate is endurance, not progress. HR calls it loyalty. Most of us call it survival.

Look at that photo parade of executives. They’re not symbols of a healthy company — they’re evidence of what went wrong. These people are responsible for Verizon’s decline, not because of who they are, but because of what they failed to do. They traded competence for branding, strategy for slogans, and accountability for optics.

Upper management turned visibility into the goal. Titles grew; real responsibility shrank. While they polished personal brands and ran PR campaigns, the work that keeps the company running — the network, the customers, the finances — quietly eroded.

This isn’t a comment on gender or diversity. It’s about a leadership culture that values appearance over results. They didn’t inherit a broken company — they perfected how to hide failure. And now, as another round of layoffs nears, they’ll post about “resilience” while others pack boxes.

Smiles don’t fix towers, routing, or cash flow. The pictures tell the story better than any press release.

Your attention, please! Very important. Tremendous discipline ahead.

Prepared for: Compensation & HR Committee
Date: October 2025
Subject: Proposal to Adjust Executive Benefits to Support 2026 Cost-Discipline Goals

Executive Summary

As the company advances toward its 2026 cost-reduction and efficiency targets, aligning executive compensation practices with these objectives will reinforce fiscal discipline, improve shareholder perception, and strengthen internal morale.
By modestly reducing discretionary executive benefits and tightening incentive structures, the organization can achieve both direct cost savings and stronger credibility in cost-management communications.

Implementation Path

1.  Amend the 2025–2026 LTIP design to weight free cash flow per BOE and cash return on capital employed (CROCE) more heavily than TSR.
2.  Revisit perquisite policies for NEOs (aircraft use, club dues, financial counseling).
3.  Announce executive pay moderation internally concurrent with cost-optimization updates to reinforce shared responsibility.
4.  Frame public disclosures to highlight “leadership alignment with shareholder discipline.”

Proposed Adjustments to Executive Compensation (2025–2026)
• Reduce “All Other Compensation” by 50% (≈ $0.26 million)
→ Symbolic alignment with workforce austerity.
• Cap annual incentive payouts at 80% of target for 2025–2026
→ Estimated savings of $3–4 million.
→ Reinforces a direct tie between cost efficiency and reward.
• Suspend deferred compensation match and non-core perquisites
→ Estimated savings of $1 million.
→ Immediate cost savings; signals fiscal discipline.
• Freeze CEO and NEO base salaries for 24 months
→ Estimated savings of $0.2 million.
→ Visible commitment to cost control and leadership accountability.
• Replace 25% of RSU grants with performance shares linked to Free Cash Flow per BOE (FCF/BOE)
→ Cost neutral over time.
→ Strengthens long-term shareholder alignment without increasing expense.

Total projected direct savings: approximately $5–6 million annually, with significant reputational and cultural benefits.

The people "leading" this company are some of the worst people I have ever worked with in my entire career.

When I started here, I thought I was joining a serious tech team. Turns out it is more like a finance group pretending to understand tech. The culture feels empty and the talent that used to make things run is mostly gone. It is strange to watch a once solid place lose its identity bit by bit.

I know the usual peeps on here will say it is your fault for staying, but it does make me angry and sad how the EC and senior leaders show no humanity to employees. They may have tough business decisions (yeah, yeah, I know as a result of their stupidity) to make but they can’t be decent or kind at all. Basic stuff like asking how people are, 1-1 sessions, managers remembering your kids name, at the start of a conversation or meeting asking what people have been doing (before launching into their script) bla bla bla ….. it just normal human behavour. You do this with your neighbours at home so why can’t they manage it at work ??? Very sad 😞

Have you ever checked our hard-working leader’s Teams status. Check it right now. It’s 2:30 PM CT in Dallas yet it shows he has been away for 3 hours.

He is the CEO of a Fortune 50 company. I understand he may have business travel, but you can always login to the WiFi at the airport, plane, hotel, or pretty much wherever you are.

Also, if you ever check his status in the evening around 5 or 6, he always shows last seen 30 min ago, 1 hr ago, or 2 hrs ago.

So he takes long breaks during the day. And doesn’t work a minute past 4 PM. Yet myself and my colleagues are hard pushed clocking in 60+ hours to meet our bullsh-t convergence goal.

Guys, this guy only cares about himself. Only the best lifestyle that is possible for himself, nothing but the worse for his employees.

Well it’s about time they cut some wages up top! Should have gone deeper and just let some people go that aren’t doing their jobs or making any kind of difference! There are a few that need to go!

Rat has a history and quite a wild history.. look what is going on with ELV SLT

https://x.com/realmattforney/status/1976735339843580370?s=46

This whole thing’s being handled so badly it’d almost be funny if it wasn’t so sad. Too bad these are the ones deciding all our fates. We all know we’re sc--wed.

Does anyone NOT have concerns about our beloved gladiator-style performance ranking system? You know, the one where 25% of the workforce—excluding fresh recruits still learning where the bathroom is—must be ceremonially tossed into the “Below Expectations” pit, regardless of actual performance.

Let’s pause and admire the sheer elegance of this approach:

• Step 1: Hire smart, capable people.
• Step 2: Force them into a Hunger Games-style cage match.
• Step 3: Declare 1 in 4 unworthy, because spreadsheets demand blood.

What’s the rationale, you ask? Simple. It’s not about ethics, fairness, or logic—it’s about visionary leadership. The kind that reads Shakespeare's Macbeth for bedtime stories and thinks empathy is a performance liability.

And while we’re redefining “culture” as “competitive trauma bonding,” let’s give a standing ovation to the Executive Committee for their bold commitment to sociopathic excellence. Speaking of which, here’s a helpful link for anyone curious about symptom #1: Choosing Therapy: Signs of a Sociopath.

https://www.choosingtherapy.com/signs-of-a-sociopath/

In closing, we should humbly suggest the Committee reflect deeply on this practice. Perhaps even consider a retreat with Spring Hill —ideally one with mirrors, therapists, and a copy of Leadership for Humans.