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How to be a leader when the vibes are off

chaoticgood.management

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Re: How to be a leader when the vibes are off

#151

Post by pjc50 »

nsedlet wrote: post #26

Another factor with the vibes being off (at least in the US): mass outsourcing of jobs thanks to remote work. You used to have to be a multinational company with global entities and offices. Now you can be a 10-person startup with half your people outside the country. When the world went remote many folks were happy with the better work-life balance. But it means that we compete in a ruthless global labor market. Tha…

> companies rejecting remote work is good for the American worker

It's good for American real estate owners, who end up with more money as a result of this, both from offices and from staff who have to live in nearby high COL areas.

Re: How to be a leader when the vibes are off

#152

Post by pjc50 »

ratelimitsteve wrote: post #54

checking in as someone who successfully ducked two rounds of RTO by just getting a different job. The first one absolutely outright told us they were bringing us back to an office where there isn't enough room for all of us. They justified it by saying we're hybrid 3 in 2 out and can figure out amongst ourselves who will be in when in order to optimize desk space, and on days where we have all hands or some other rea…

> The trust is broken because someone looked at the trust and said "I'm gonna break that to see if there's money inside."

This sums up so much of modern society. And in the resulting migration to low trust, a lot of opportunities for mutual benefit are going to go away, in order to enable a few people to engage in looting.

Re: How to be a leader when the vibes are off

#153

Post by pjc50 »

itsnowandnever wrote: post #69
tschellenbach wrote: post #60

There are literally subreddits about how to abuse the trust of remote work, but there have always been people doing that. I think the main thing that changed is that amazing revenue multiples that made it possible for companies to ignore these issues are no longer there. Meanwhile the costs of everything, including salaries has skyrocketed. So I think it's lower valuations + higher costs -> more pressure on efficienc…

well, and let's be honest - most CEOs and boards get the same advice from the same advisors and peers. and the advice since Elon took over Twitter (not that I can say he "started it" but it was around that time I started hearing C-suites say he was right to let everyone go) has been to implement more draconic policies at your software companies. that interest rates have been higher and liquidity in general has been t…

> it'll get better soon

We're only just beginning the AI-sourcing workslop era, that's going to be a few years of confusing chaos.

Re: How to be a leader when the vibes are off

#154

Post by no_wizard »

bluGill wrote: post #149
nenenejej wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the answer? unions?

There is a tine to speak up. at meals with close family. At meetings with your boss. The right question at company meetings - though there are wrong question here: think long and hard before ask. You can speak up it meetings with your team but be careful of the tone. You need to come off as overall having the companies back but this one thing you can't support. Or maybe things will change again. There are lots of opt…

As a collective we would have done well to have organized long ago. Unions or professional associations with teeth (e.g. like the Bar for lawyers, CPA boards for accountants etc) seem to be the only realistic options

Re: How to be a leader when the vibes are off

#155

Post by gdbsjjdn »

bluefirebrand wrote: post #79
gdbsjjdn wrote: post #38

I can't over-emphasize the role line managers play in decoupling the delusion expectations of leadership and the ground truth of employees' lives. I think a lot of CEOs would burst into flames if they saw an average IC's day, but those ICs can still be high performers and achieve the goals of the business. Having automonomy and flexibility is huge for ICs. The role of the line manager is to provide plausible deniabil…

Her manager probably did her a huge favor Yeah, navigating disability leave can be a little rough Not as rough as being PIPed out though, which was probably the other most likely path in front of your friend

Nope! Her manager had no concerns about her performance and has expressed regret about the situation because it has made everyone's life harder. The manager likes her and wants her to stay at the company, but because she's a "problem" for HR they want to fire her.

Re: How to be a leader when the vibes are off

#156

Post by wcarss »

tomp wrote: post #150
mfru wrote: post #134

This reads like "How to follow orders and resignate". Only shows that companies are dictatorships where workers don't have a say

Dictatorships are far more efficient. That’s why military is a dictatorship. That’s why “design by committee” has such a bad rep. The only problem with dictatorships is that you can’t change them. Also countries shouldn’t fail, so an orderly “change of power” process is needed. But you can change companies, and companies can fail.

Also, the purpose or end of a country is not to produce some widget at high efficiency for a client, or to rapidly respond to the whims of a despot. It is just a structure around the essential activity of humans simply living their lives.

Re: How to be a leader when the vibes are off

#157

Post by gdbsjjdn »

InvOfSmallC wrote: post #128
gdbsjjdn wrote: post #38

I can't over-emphasize the role line managers play in decoupling the delusion expectations of leadership and the ground truth of employees' lives. I think a lot of CEOs would burst into flames if they saw an average IC's day, but those ICs can still be high performers and achieve the goals of the business. Having automonomy and flexibility is huge for ICs. The role of the line manager is to provide plausible deniabil…

I agree with her manager. She needs to preserve her health. Involving HR doesn't mean the manager is not with her.

It's not a case of the manager not supporting her, it's a case of the manager putting something that could have been informal - "I'm happy with your performance and if you need to take some breaks during the workday I support it" - and made it a formal thing that is risking getting her fired.

The manager in question has admitted they fucked up and didn't realize how much HR would try to force my friend out for being a problem.

Re: How to be a leader when the vibes are off

#158

Post by bluGill »

no_wizard wrote: post #154
bluGill wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a tine to speak up. at meals with close family. At meetings with your boss. The right question at company meetings - though there are wrong question here: think long and hard before ask. You can speak up it meetings with your team but be careful of the tone. You need to come off as overall having the companies back but this one thing you can't support. Or maybe things will change again. There are lots of opt…

As a collective we would have done well to have organized long ago. Unions or professional associations with teeth (e.g. like the Bar for lawyers, CPA boards for accountants etc) seem to be the only realistic options

There are lots of places that treat their employees well, work for them. There are a lot of complainers who yell about little things but are unreasonable. We have other options.

Re: How to be a leader when the vibes are off

#159

Post by jordanb »

tomp wrote: post #150
mfru wrote: post #134

This reads like "How to follow orders and resignate". Only shows that companies are dictatorships where workers don't have a say

Dictatorships are far more efficient. That’s why military is a dictatorship. That’s why “design by committee” has such a bad rep. The only problem with dictatorships is that you can’t change them. Also countries shouldn’t fail, so an orderly “change of power” process is needed. But you can change companies, and companies can fail.

I've known quite a few people in the military and "efficient" is a word they never use to describe it.

Re: How to be a leader when the vibes are off

#160

Post by oytis »

scott_w wrote: post #125
darth_avocado wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know if I’m misinterpreting the blog, but this feels like it suggest you just fall in line with the upper management while providing lip service to the plebs. As an IC I’ve always despised managers who’d be a very sympathetic ear in 1:1s but always be “part of the system” when it mattered the most. Yes it’s always good to not get into public arguments with the upper management, but this gives off a lot of “pl…

So what is your expert advice? A manager runs their mouth off publicly, gets fired/made redundant, and gets replaced with a manager who does buy into the company line? What concrete differences in behaviour would you expect to see?

Ideally if a manager cannot stand behind what the company is doing barring minor or temporary disagreements, they leave. That's what I've seen the best managers doing before - not sure how it works in the current market though
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