While JK is a smart and well-intentioned leader, his leadership of the Subsurface centralized function has fallen short of business expectations. There is a noticeable disconnect from frontline realities, minimal engagement with customer feedback, if it is being asked for at all, and little understanding of who is actually delivering results or not.
However, all of JK's direct reports have swiftly secured their new jobs (barring a few EOIs) and are now demonstrating a lack of empathy toward the broader team, many of whom have already endured over 6 months of prolonged uncertainty. This situation highlights a combination of indecisiveness and leadership behavior that falls short of the support and transparency expected.
Many of the employees representatives have never worked with the people they are meant to represent. Rather than leaning on hard data, PMP ratings, LTIP, past promotion, supervisor inputs, selection appears driven by the ancient corporate art of "friend-of-a-friend" whisper networks. In this system, excellent social skills are more important than actually delivering value. It is unclear whether "good at networking over coffee" is now a formal selection criterion.
The upcoming reshuffle in the new groups from NH and NC seems poised to favor familiar faces, social climbers, politickers, and yes-men, leaving behind high performers and execution driven leaders. If this trend continues, we risk eroding BU experience and undermining accountability.