Leadership are both ignorant and technically incompetent in this company. In succession planning, they look for similar traits and do NOT truly value diversity. Behaviors are deemed most important and people are promoted based on how much you toe the line with upper managements direction and conform to the behaviors believed to provide value. Upper management have no vision and are unable to empower their teams to make decisions and deliver value. There is such a focus on cost reduction, which we have been doing for years already, yet we lose sight of the importance of revenue generation, which is critical to dig our way out of the hole we are in.
It then becomes a self-fulfilling cycle, with more incompetent people being promoted and the organization not building respect and trust in their people who are actually doing the work. The lower echelons have lost respect for their management because they are not given the tools or empowerment to own their work, which breeds disenfranchisement and apathy. They lose their passion and this further breeds less trust from their management.
It's a horrible cycle that started with management's short-sighted understanding not appreciating the long term effects of their ranking approach, and not building ownership within the organization.
No one is held accountable for their work these days, which has changed in the last 10 years considerably. I cannot see an easy way out of this at this point. With the recent staffing cuts in Australia, Europe and soon the US and Canada, along with the cuts veiled in the PIP/ranking, it has further entrenched the disenfranchisement in the remaining workers. This is driving many good people to leave. With more staffing cuts along the way, I fear the company has no clue about the root problems existing in the current environment and the further cuts will exacerbate the issues.
The only thing to do is to pray the cuts do not release people who can truly make a difference and further push more good workers out who are desperately needed to get this company back to even a shadow of what it was. Unfortunately, I believe the company will continue to spiral further downward until all is lost.