Anyone else sick of every manager beginning discussions with the case for change discussion? How about sharing a compelling vision of where we are going or how we are going to turn this thing around? Where is that discussion? I think much of the negativity is due to management’s continual focus on the case for change and how bad things are for the company right now rather than inspiring us with a message of where we are going, how we will get there, and what each of us is expected to do to contribute. What is our mission? Right now there isn’t one. We are just flailing about. If you asked 10 people in the hall what is our mission you would get either blank stares or 10 different answers. Management really needs to get their act together and for once develop a plan by themselves instead of paying some consultants to make a plan to make a plan to - you get the idea.
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@1xgs – I believe you misread the title. It's case FOR change, not case of change. You just get the case; change sold separately.
Fortunately, nitrogen tire fill-ups are free at Costco Tire Centers.
I don't need an entire Case full of it. Just give me a handful of change; actually I need only 4 quarters to fill the air pressure in my car tires.
The “case for change” had a component with “brutal truths” on KPIs which demonstrated how poor our performance is.
The only brutal truth they chose to ignore is that management failed and the way out is with new leadership.
No change is real until executives take responsibility and the Board fires the entire management committee.
All posts saying parrot your bosses and parrot what bosses want gives you a successful career in ExxonMobil is so true. I argued with my bosses, I had great ideas, colleagues and operators liked me, I had good track record of success and I was PIPed, left in 3 weeks and thanks to my technical skills got a job quickly. I am sure had I agreed with my bosses and parroted them, I would be still at ExxonMobil. But I am happier in my new job, so no love lost. Sometimes bad things have to happen to let life give you a better opportunity, so if anyone is let go, do not worry, there are many jobs out there, they may not be in oil and gas but many industries no the value of engineering and you can change the course to a different profession. 10-25% pay cut may be inevitable, but you will find a good job and you will be happy, not to worry.
@1auc+189KODqu Oh that’s good! I’ll remember that one. #TellItLikeItIs
@1lzd — I'm afraid y'all didn't quite understand the definition of 360° feedback. It means that feedback comes back around to bite you!
And we all will never forget that 70% of the criteria for selecting those laid off this round included "long term cultural fit". We all know how that is interpreted.
@1lzd+189KODqu Feedback "not a team player" is the result of expressing any ideas not 100% aligned with management. How many times have we heard whisperings in the hall of someone who ruined their career because they "pushed too hard" in challenging the ideas of a more powerful manager who then torpedoed their career.
@1byq+189KODqu Yes anyone who has tested the often proclaimed lip service management gives to wanting feedback, new ideas and to be challenged has quickly suffered the PIPoff. Everyone else has noted the reward for their efforts and adjusted their behavior accordingly.
@1byq+189KODqu Somewhere in India there is now an IT analyst blocking search results for "unconscious bias" lol.
@1byq+189KODqu We've all seen it. More than once I've seen a high up manager decree what the cost estimate should be for a project so that it can be funded with the engineering team then scrambling to somehow make the numbers pass the laugh test. Somehow no one in engineering is surprised when the budget is blown and the project becomes a dog for the corporation. But hey at least the high fliers have moved on by then with zero repercussions to their career. They were the heroes who got the project going, were promoted and then had zero accountability for the lies the project was sold on. Funny how that works.
Unless there is 100% change out at the VP and higher levels (and this will obviously not happen), there will be no fundamental change in management behaviors. Particularly now it is just too risky to buck the system. Anyone who does can expect to quickly be assigned to a meaningless, sidelined role (and there are always plenty of replacements waiting in the wings).
@rqx — This is a real issue. A few years back upstream had McKinsey in for a project. The consultants remarked that EM had the absolute worst case of “sunflower management” of any Fortune 500 company they had ever worked with.
Sunflower management—Tendency for groups to align with the views of their leaders, whether expressed or assumed.
https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/strategy%20and%20corporate%20finance/our%20insights/the%20case%20for%20behavioral%20strategy/most_frequent_biases_in_business.pdf
If you search “unconscious bias” on the Sharepoint you’ll find the slide pack.
In the Upstream we had to swallow a full year of “case for change” before they unveiled the “new” organization, basically with no change, except for minor cosmetic changes to company names.
Same old failed id–ts in charge of the same failed business. The case for change stops at actual changes.
Now, I’d only believe them if corporate takes a pay cut and they terminate the senior leadership.
Get real my friend. The management has clear mission:
Parrot what the bosses above say and keep on repeating what they think bosses will like.
Their mission (every single manager from lowly leads to executives in Dallas) is to keep the bosses happy and move onto next greasy appointment and keep on making money.
The mission exists: The question should be do you as an honest employee want to accept the mission truth?
@xpg+189KODqu Needs to start at the top and I'm not seeing it. It makes zero sense for this not to be part of the discussion. The longer we wait the worse the situation will be. When is the right moment for our management to actually LEAD?
All leadership in my realm are just following the playbook they were given to get through this crisis. No one is stepping out to offer independent thoughts or motivation lest they get themselves in hot water. Hopefully, that will come later
Agree 100% OP this is a serious issue management needs to recognize and address. They will never get everything we are capable of unless they realize they need to inspire the workforce. It is what LEADERS do. The many posters on here making statements like don’t be lazy obviously have never worked for a real leader and seen what an inspired team can accomplished vs a team that is just punching the clock to earn a paycheck. There is a whole lot of clock punching going on right now. Be glad you have a job does not inspire people.