Management-speak drives me up the wall, as it generally has the following three qualities:
- Obfuscates reality by avoiding discussing money ("our teams have performed wonderfully" instead of "you all made the company $X" which is a far more honest representation of mgmt priorities)
- Erodes trust by remaining constantly positive even in the face of major setbacks ("we're all feeling the burn" instead of "the decisions we made caused efficiency losses to your teams")
- Almost always occurs right in the middle of serious problems ("we are proud to announce the rollout of Useless Feature X" instead of "we are aware that you have all been screaming for Useful Tech Debt Payoff Y for months and unfortunately cannot deliver that yet")
So of course being an engineer/technical employee I constantly daydream about a straight-talking, zero-bullshit management culture that unflinchingly calls it like they see it and treats their employees like adult workers instead of children at daycare.
However, I have to wonder if this daydream is naive. Is there actually an unforseen downside when managers totally eschew management speak even at high levels (VP, C-Suite)? Is there something I'm missing--would the orgs crash if the managers stopped talking like Soviet propagandists? Anyone have experience with this?
It is easy to get into this kind of speech. Most decisions are made in teams or with teams, and being frank can mean stepping on someone's toes whose support you might need or who is a valued employee who made a bad call. If you speak of money, then the employees want more money. This is difficult to provide because giving more money to all of your employees is significantly greater and also a constant flow. You normally cannot reduce wages. This is why managers receive bonuses so easily: one-time payment and a limited circle.
Personally, when I don't treat people like children in daycare, they get offended. I might be too harsh, but it's not easy for successful people to accept criticism.
Lastly you must be positive as a leader and CEO. The wildest rumors start if you just show the soul grinding stress that is management.
Completely unsurprising since the modern corporation is centrally planned in a way that the Soviet Union could only dream of, and doesn’t have every capital-allied government actively working to undermine everything they do in any way possible in order to force their collapse.
[+] [-] quacked|3 years ago|reply
- Obfuscates reality by avoiding discussing money ("our teams have performed wonderfully" instead of "you all made the company $X" which is a far more honest representation of mgmt priorities)
- Erodes trust by remaining constantly positive even in the face of major setbacks ("we're all feeling the burn" instead of "the decisions we made caused efficiency losses to your teams")
- Almost always occurs right in the middle of serious problems ("we are proud to announce the rollout of Useless Feature X" instead of "we are aware that you have all been screaming for Useful Tech Debt Payoff Y for months and unfortunately cannot deliver that yet")
So of course being an engineer/technical employee I constantly daydream about a straight-talking, zero-bullshit management culture that unflinchingly calls it like they see it and treats their employees like adult workers instead of children at daycare.
However, I have to wonder if this daydream is naive. Is there actually an unforseen downside when managers totally eschew management speak even at high levels (VP, C-Suite)? Is there something I'm missing--would the orgs crash if the managers stopped talking like Soviet propagandists? Anyone have experience with this?
[+] [-] number6|3 years ago|reply
Personally, when I don't treat people like children in daycare, they get offended. I might be too harsh, but it's not easy for successful people to accept criticism.
Lastly you must be positive as a leader and CEO. The wildest rumors start if you just show the soul grinding stress that is management.
[+] [-] eschaton|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] number6|3 years ago|reply
[0]https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/38914131
[+] [-] r00fus|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] b1c1jones|3 years ago|reply