Her name is Natalie H@wke and she made her post public (which is going somewhat viral on LinkedIn):
This week, I walked away from Ford for the last time.
It was a difficult decision to leave my team, especially my developers, but a necessary one to protect my values and well-being. The environment had become draining, disheartening, and fundamentally misaligned with the kind of work I believe in.
I stayed as long as I did because of my team. They deserved someone who would fight for a better environment. I still love Agile development and product management. I still believe in both. But there was no longer space for either to thrive.
Ford promotes a concept called the Ford Operating System. A set of values known as FordOS Behaviors. On the surface, they look great. But dig just a little deeper, and the contradictions become impossible to ignore:
🔹 Excellence
• Deliver it — but only exactly how you're told
• Own it — but not too much; don’t challenge leadership
🔹 Focus
• Do only what matters — unless leadership mandates otherwise
• Bias for action — only if it's controlled from above
🔹 Collaboration
• Seek to understand — only with permission, and only if the questions don’t ruffle feathers
• Solve together — so long as the solution aligns with what’s already been decided
The worst part? This creates a culture of fear, where performance reviews aren’t based on impact or outcomes, but on obedience. Living the FordOS values in practice often leads to being labeled “difficult” and being punished for it.
That fear runs especially deep in Ford’s RTO “strategy.” Employees receive threatening emails if they fail to meet RTO mandates. But there simply isn’t enough space, not enough desks, not enough parking, not even enough chairs. On the first day back, people had their cars towed because the lots were overrun. Others have been forced to work from cafeterias, couches, barstools, even microwave counters. Fistfights over desks have been reported. And yet leadership insists: “We do our best work face-to-face.”
Who gets into a literal fight over a desk?
Someone terrified of losing their job over a mandate they have no control over.
And toward the end, I finally saw what so many women in tech have long experienced. I used to believe that things had improved, because I hadn’t faced it myself. It turns out I had simply been lucky to work with leaders who valued my contributions. Respected my voice. That luck ran out. I found myself being interrupted, second-guessed, and talked over.
Through it all, I worked with some of the most brilliant, thoughtful people I’ve ever met. But even they couldn’t do their best work with their hands tied by outdated mandates and a culture that rewards compliance over innovation.
I didn’t leave because I gave up. I left because I know I can do more, create more, lead more, and thrive more outside of a system that stopped valuing individual contributions.
I don’t know what comes next. But I’m ready to find out.
And to all the people I met along the way: Thank you. I’ll always be grateful.