Maybe there's an exception here and there, but several years of layoffs and loss of talent through attrition followed by promotions of the wrong people has left behind the worst possible managers. Add to that the mess we have at the very top, and you get an answer of why Ford is in as much trouble as it is.
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Our CAD manager wears the same Ford blue colored shirt every day, He literally stinks. The only good thing about working from home is not smelling him as he walks by.
With this leadership (at all levels) the company can't survive for too long. It will fail sooner than later. Playing politics and games can go only so far.. What a mess!
Believe me, many managers feel the same way about their own reports...
The people performance problems are systemic and widespread at all levels nowadays - yes including the local IC teammate that's cynical, and toxic about everything who lost their motivation and technical edge years ago.
Businesses promote the people that have no business being managers. That's the problem.
The problem is the try and "train" supervisor and managers to be leaders. The problem is, it seems phoney to the people that work for them. Either you have the natural ability to lead, or you don't. I had lots of good supervisors and managers, that i worked for. But boy did i ever see some bad ones in my 25 yrs. Lots of them! GSRs cover for them, and LL6+ take credit for the things the GSRs do, so they never surface as poor management. Pathetic
Ford promotes the sycophants 99% of the time. Like someone below said, there are people who are focused on delivery and those focused on getting ahead. Unfortunately Ford is the worst I have seen when it comes to promoting those who make it look like they are focused on delivery, when they are the complete opposite.
"There are no good managers at Ford anymore" - That isn't true. I was laid off in August and my people leader was one of the finest engineering managers I've ever worked for. When I was "on loan" to another team, I also reported to that team's manager and though he was excellent as well.
There are good and bad managers everywhere. The best are usually those with an MBA in business management combined with natural ability.
Lack of accountability and continued promotion of folks who are smart in knowing how to get ahead vs folks who are delivery focused. Anything above LL6 needs a sponsor. If they made the decision that you are not promotable then you will not be promoted no matter the circumstances, unless new management is in place. Took me 15 years to figure out it was never going to happen.