We've all posted (in cryptic form) some of the corrupt or dufus managers we've come across. What about some of the best managers you've had over the past assignment or two? Any? Any of those who you think could right the ship?
12 replies (most recent on top)
What is a “favorite manager”?
This is a true story….
I worked for a major oil company many years go before EM. During this period I was working their Houston headquarters office. I was transferred their UK office to take the place of another person transferring back to Houston. Just before I left my supervisor pulled me aside and warned me that the UK manager was a first class freak, a screamer, a bully, etc. My super told me, with a wink, that I might want to find the goods on this manager and ‘get him out of there’. ‘Do us all a favor’. At the time I thought it was odd that my sup was telling me this; I put it aside and made the move to the UK.
Well, sure enough, after arriving it did not take me long to find out it was true; the manager was a real jerk.
About three months into my UK assignment there was a small (but reportable) spill on the rig. It should have been reported to UK gov authorities but this manager told us to bury the report. I saw that as my chance. I wrote a letter on company letter head, included the spill report, and send it directly to the company country manager. Shortly after, there was an internal investigation and this manager was forced to retire. Mission accomplished. No one ever knew who send the letter and I never told. I was really scared at the time. I could have been fired. I had a wife and children to provide for.
Several years later I quit and hired on at EM. I had a full, great career at EM and finally retired several years ago. At EM I mostly had good managers with two exceptions (which I was able to weather through). My ranking did drop as I approached 65 yo but by then I was home free with respect to retirement.
I am going remember this event for the rest of my life….the chance I took to remove a jerk.
Definitely not mine. This company has given management free reign to do what they want with no repercussions. My manager posts to her twitter account during work hours about political things (wishing she could have been at the US Capitol Jan 6th, vaccines ki-l, etc). I do not understand how she can get away with doing this on company time, while the company aggressively targets staff who are working their @$$ off. Obviously, there is a double standard and this company has become epic now for lying from the guarded castle in Dallas to the peasants in Houston (and other locations). They always lied to Wall Street to protect stock price. Now, a staff can't even have a conversation with their supervisor without the supervisor reading from a script and dodging questions. And when a staff thinks they are telling the supervisor something "off the record", it gets earmarked as a target to be used against them at evaluation time. Anyway, it's toxic nonetheless, and is not getting better.
The culture is too far gone. A decade ago some good ones were still around. The purge of the REs over the last few years and the lies from Dallas wiped out the good ones.
I have had a 2 great managers during my 20+ year XOM career. The last one saw the writing on the wall and retired. As for the numerous Supervisor's I have had the majority of them were subpar.
Not anymore. There was a day....that is now long gone.
😀
OP, I know you mean well, but this is simply not a place for that kind of discussion. This is an anonymous forum for a reason, so that we could discuss work-related issues without a fear of being “prosecuted” for it, not a pace where we can “prosecute” others.
What if I think a certain manager is great, and someone else doesn’t and starts bashing him?
Or would you be glad to see your wife’s name being discussed on some anonymous forum? Think not.
The anonymity should work both ways, that means our coworkers/managers should stay anonymous as well.
I’ve had way more good managers than bad, but the bad ones have been really bad
Isn’t it obvious? Meritocracy has spoken! Darren of course!
Had a great SLS in BTR chem plant mechanical
Darren is the G.O.A.T.
Stock is back up and we are slimmer now.