Landing a job, working, developing skills and moving up is not a solo sport. Regardless of an organization’s size, relationships with bosses, peers, subordinates and external contacts are all key.
Is your career success and employment happiness dependent upon what you know or who you know? It’s both.
Cronyism, blantant favoritism, etc. are wrong, always. You must be good and contribute at what you do; but working away in isolation and expecting the skies to open for your unlimited advancement isn’t the ticket.
10 replies (most recent on top)
Retired several years ago, but this is my story: job posted for which I had a lot of experience, but there was already a handpicked person who already had the job "in the bag" When management became aware that I had also applied, the job was suddenly withdrawn and reposted several weeks later under a different title, with some qualifications that I did not have, but the other person did. Needless to say, they got the job. The old saying is it's not what you know, it's who you bl*w!
In IDT it is 100% WHO you know. WHAT you know does not matter in any way whatsoever. It is why there is a cluster of useless non technical IDT Managers and IDT General Managers under know-nothings such as Kate under Robbert. She could not gauge technical skill if it bit her on the toe. Neither could any of her direct reports. And this is seen as Alright in that world. Technical skill does not matter because nobody at or above a JG2 in IDT understands how to qualify or quantify it. This is also why everything produced by those teams is a bloated complicated security hole laden mess. If anyone would spend even 30 seconds looking at the stack under Kate Shell could be brought to its knees by a hacker in less than 24 hours. Nobody cares. Nobody!
"It is not intuitively correct that cronyism and blatant favoritism are wrong."
- Machiavelli
Post ID: @fs+1jtzyv234
Often Shell doesn't pick the best; they just have the best they can get. There are often mistakes too. Let's cry about it. Here's a tissue, wipe your eyes and blow your nose. I've cried too.
Yes, managers do hire and fire based on reputation. Often there are great folks who aren't known by the hiring manager. It may not be fair, but it isn't wrong either. They're making the choice with the information they have... nobody can know everything and everyone. Yeah, that hurts. Life isn't fair. What is the alternative? In this world there isn't an almighty all-knowing judge especially not at Shell. Its an evil world we live in.
Now Shell does have bad policies that endorse DEI. Trust me there are no policies protecting cronyism/favoritism/nepotism, in fact there are policies against cronyism/favoritism/nepotism.
Should we as adults seek to change what we can't control, like demanding people have superhuman ability to judge, or what we know is wrong and can control it like DEI policies? It could kind of make sense to re-write and strengthen policies on cronyism/favoritism/nepotism... but that is such a small set of cases compared to DEI.
WhaAAAAA! WhaaaAAAA!
The point is that shell doesn’t pick the best. This is not a de&i thing which a lot of people want to make it. The point is that they do a re org and fire a lot of people, but they claim its fair and everyone has a chance - but in reality, one senior manager from a department selects who stays and who goes. And, if she hasn't come across your name it’s game over. Also shell is big so if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time you’re out. Even if you did the best job.
Post ID: @f4+1jtzyv234
You present a false argument of the potential choices.
What if instead we picked the best person for the job... even if they are part of the majority and even if they come from a successful background. There is a HUGE gap where companies could profit by picking the best person for the job instead of a DEI Hire, a cronyism/favoritism/nepotism hire. And sometimes the best person meets DEI, and believe it or not sometimes it is the boss' son, cousin, niece, or nephew!
What if the best baker is the baker's son or daughter... we don't need to take turns. Or what if we picked tall people to play basket ball and what if their kids were tall and good basketball players too; should DEI apply to that? So what if they're self interested or me-first, who'd go to work if they weren't paid or were underpaid?
Remember the choices aren't just DEI or cronyism/favoritism/nepotism. The choice can also be to pick the most qualified... you could split hairs and talk about best for short term and best for long term.
As so many commenters seem to echo, let’s be sure to rid ourselves of this corporate DEI stuff once and for all. Replace it with the new mantra HMFE: Homogeneity, Me-First and Exclusivity.
It can now be done in the Company to show solidarity with the new US Administration where 10 figure net worth is the threshold to join the cabinet club.
Face it, whether cronyism/favoritism/nepotism OR DEI is abhorrent or just good business practice depends on how it affects you.
Can’t deny that.
No favoritism, nepotism, and cronyism should be allowed in publicly traded companies. Go start your own business and run it that way if you wish. There is nothing I can do to fight it but I hope people get laid off or automated away wherever these practices thrive.
In shell, your cv and experience mean nothing, no one will even read them. You just have to be known to the senior manager that fills the boxes on the never ending re-orgs. Quite sad, but very true.
Second to that, you need to be lucky to be in a region that has growth and not one that’s getting reduced for selling off,
If you help managers with improving their department de&i stats then you will be prioritised. But hopefully that unfairness might reduce with current USA 🇺🇸 politics.
I’ve seen many people get promoted who have no business being in that job. The only reason they get the job is because of who they know. Shell is contracting so now more than ever it matters if you’re liked and well known.