Here is what non-confrontational talent review really causes

Walmart
twizzletot

Go to company page Walmart

twizzletot
Apr 5 18 Comments

I have a director reporting to me that has received “meets expectations” for four years.

Three months into managing her, and I cannot believe the dumpster fire that is her team. I’m shocked at how BADLY she has been allowed to perform. 76% attrition rate and she takes 18 months to fill a single role. Entry level people on her team are expected to do the work of a product manager because she doesn’t actually have an operational hold on anything. No backlog, sprint planning or basic project management. Audits happening left and right because she passes the buck.

No strategy.
No roadmap.
No team plan.
No one year vision.
No talent development.
Nothing.

And here is what it causes: I now have to clean up every other manager’s mistake. Because THEY didn’t have the balls to deliver hard feedback and hold someone accountable, I have a choice: continue or put her feet to the fire. Turns out, her previous managers KNEW this was a problem. But they did nothing.

Her team is now working with dysfunction as the NORM. Bad habits are part of the culture. So, to clean this up means that people will see change as a bad thing. Sprint planning is suddenly too much, and they never had to do it before so why now? Why do they need to join PI planning if they never had to before?

And now, she is on a coaching plan. Dun dun dun! I’m now the bad manager who came in and suddenly she is underperforming. This never happened before, so it must be because Twizzletots is in charge!

If you are a manager in any capacity, hear this:
Learn how to have hard conversations. Practice giving feedback. Practice accountability. Practice setting a standard and then being honest when people fall short. Don’t just give a “meets expectations” if someone has considerable issues that are simmering under the surface.
Give feedback the WHOLE YEAR so that you aren’t pressured to give a “meets expectations” or “satisfactory” because you feel guilty about not delivering a message all year.

Stand up and f****** LEAD. Because I’m in the process of firing this person, when she should have been fired a year ago. I’m in the process of cleaning up years of bad culture and practice. And I’ll do it - but Jesus Christ - hold your leaders accountable.

Rant over.

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TOP 18 Comments
  • Indeed
    333d66y

    Go to company page Indeed

    333d66y
    What do you do when you're the employee in this situation
    Apr 5 3
    • Indeed
      333d66y

      Go to company page Indeed

      333d66y
      When you're an employee reporting to a director and you have to operate as a program manager because your director has no strategy/road map/1 year vision/team development etc
      Apr 5
    • Walmart
      twizzletot

      Go to company page Walmart

      twizzletot
      OP
      Honestly, you can escalate this issue to their leader if it’s safe and their leader needs to know. If it’s not safe, and that behavior is condoned, you should leave.
      Apr 5
  • Coupang
    HMeb74

    Go to company page Coupang

    HMeb74
    Hey, from an engineer to you, thanks. Not enough accountability seems to be asked for from managers and directors in this industry while engineers are put on PIP left and right taking bullets for shitty management. Glad to know you are holding your director responsible for her actions.
    Apr 5 0
  • Pinterest
    📌🥴ㄱㄱㄱㄱㄱ

    Go to company page Pinterest

    📌🥴ㄱㄱㄱㄱㄱ
    We've got a manager like this. He was CTO and SVP over Walmart.com, but now he's running the engineering org into the ground here with cargo cult processes, overuse of offshore contractors, and driving insane levels of turnover.
    Apr 5 3
  • Zoom
    plot28

    Go to company page Zoom

    plot28
    Nice, wish you were at Zoom years ago. I’m on my way out but would have been nice for a leader like you to hold folks accountable for years.
    Apr 5 0
  • Financial Services Company
    TC: 870k

    Financial Services Company

    TC: 870k
    This is the only field where literal virgins get to be promoted into people management roles. They’ve never had to deliver tough news in a relationship or struggle through difficult conversations or reason through disagreements with someone. Then when it comes to the lower-stake setting of managing other people’s careers they are completely ill-equipped for the job.
    Apr 5 0