[tombert]

I don't really disagree with anything in this post, but it's a bit sad. I understand the "why" of the scenario, but it will never not be frustrating to me when I have to "prove" that I'm creating value because I didn't tailor my work to optimize for whatever system the company is using.

Like, I just want to solve problems with code, I hate that I also have to constantly advertise how smart and useful I am because managers are so myopic that they can't figure out if I'm valuable.

It brings out the worst in people; you get people holding meetings about stuff that could be summarized in an email in order to give the illusion of working hard. Pages and pages of documents that will never be read are created because if you don't create them then it's hard to say you were doing stuff. Hundreds of tickets pile up in Jira that will never get done because you need to give the appearance that you're actively important in the improvement of the product(s).

I get it, it's the world we live in, but I don't have to like it.

[madaxe_again]

It also makes me sad that someone is earnestly and honestly trying to hack through these weeds, when someone with the gift of the gab will sit in that performance review, jazz hands their way through it, and go for a barbecue at the manager’s house that weekend, while having done precisely 22 minutes of arguable work in the last quarter.

I mean, I know. I’ve been that asshole. Useful to still have a paycheck while you’re getting a startup off the ground. I got so much practice at “the dog ate my homework but here’s a fresh coffee” as a kid it was ridiculous.

[tombert]

Absolutely.

I had a job once where my manager and the CEO were both fairly frequent smokers, and so the people at the company that smoked would go outside and join them on their smoke breaks. I noticed that these people were frequently the ones who got bonuses and the benefit of the doubt compared to the people who didn't smoke, I think simply because they had more exposure with the leaders.

I didn't (and don't) smoke, so it was always a bit awkward for me. I suppose I could have just hung out with them as they smoked and I didn't, but I never did that.

[madaxe_again]

Yeah, I literally took up smoking for business. British retail magnates pretty much all chain smoke. Going and hanging out at the smoking area at a trade show was a great way to meet prospects, and more than a few deals were shaken on while we nipped out of a sales meeting for a fag.

Horrible for your health. Great for your career.

[MattPalmer1086]

It's not that your manager can't figure out who is valuable. They probably have a good idea about that. What they can't easily do is protect or promote people whose metrics don't fit whatever KPIs that the senior leadership are currently pushing as essential.

I have to get my team to do the things the company expects, even when it's dumb or annoying. I can't get good bonuses for people who aren't visibly hitting the right targets.

Unless your total mission in life is to reform the company (good luck with that), you go with the flow. Having a good rant about it helps sometimes. But managers don't have much power to change the whole system.

[tombert]

Sure, I understand it’s part of the game we have to play, but I don’t have to like it.

[MattPalmer1086]

Yep! I understand the desire to measure to get a picture of what's going on, but the usual arguments about measures just become targets and are often counter productive applies.

I do wish we could simply trust human judgement a bit more. Not sure how we could arrange things so senior leadership would go with it though!