Here’s the cold, hard truth: you’re being played. The “Inconsistently Meets” rating? It’s a corporate manipulation tactic to make you feel like you’re not as good as you actually are, so they don’t have to pay you what you’re worth. This is about control, not your performance. They want to reduce your bonus, freeze your salary, and still expect you to bend over backward. And let’s be clear: if you’ve got glowing feedback but still get dinged with a poor rating, it’s not about your work. It’s about their system of cost-cutting and keeping you in a box.
As for staying after 15 years? Look, loyalty is great, but corporate loyalty is a one-way street. The fact that they’ve pulled this on you after over a decade means they value your time and effort about as much as their bottom line—which is to say, not much. Sure, you’re paid “pretty darn well,” but are you really happy, or are you just settling for the paycheck because it’s comfortable? Because “pretty darn well” doesn’t cover up the fact that you feel like you’re wasting your potential.
And let’s talk about your question: Is it crazy to leave? No, it’s not. In fact, it would be crazy to stay in a place that’s actively diminishing your value. If you're not moving forward, you're moving backward. And staying in a toxic environment where your potential is being stifled? That’s a career death sentence. Every day spent in that kind of place is a day you're losing to a company that doesn’t give a damn about your growth.
There are better places out there. You might have to take a slight hit to start fresh, but if you’re serious about long-term executive leadership, there are companies that will value you for what you bring to the table and not just try to extract as much from you as possible while giving you the bare minimum in return. You’re not wasting your talent by leaving Wells, you're wasting it by staying.
If you feel like you’re being held back, it’s time to ask yourself: Are you here for the paycheck, or are you here for the growth and the potential to actually be the leader you know you can be? If it’s the latter, stop waiting for Wells to change. They won’t. Move on before you waste another year in a place that’s clearly not invested in you.