Things you think at work but don't say
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wrote on 3 Aug 2023, 16:15 last edited by
Let's say there's a person I know who works for a large company.
Anyway, the larger company has all of the normal DEI bullsh1t and stuff you'd expect from a corporation. The CEO is a black female. Recently we've had a senior VP depart and was replaced by a black male. Similarly, another leadership position was just filled by another black male.
A (white male) colleague called the person I know (hypothetically of course) and was like, "So, any thoughts on recent company changes?" to which the person replied, "Yes, lots of black leadership are being put in place." to which the colleague remarked, "Wow, exactly what I was thinking!"
It's a shame because with all of the DEI chatter, now it's hard to NOT think about a person's skin color when they are hired instead of looking at their merit. It's unfair to the person who was hired and unfair to even have that mental reaction to those who work at the company.
Of course none of this can actually be said out loud, let alone to management. There is 0% upside to saying something and 100% downside. And thus it continues...
It would be nice to really get to a merit-based approach and stop the conversations about how much melanin is in someone's skin.
Side note 1: The person I know, hypothetically of course, did say they heard the CEO say she wanted to work with black colleges (HBCUs) for recruiting. Which if reversed would be in the headlines by noon.
Side note 2: The company's benefits guide has all of the normal stock photography in it of families being together, being healthy, etc. It takes like 17 pages to find an image of two white straight parents. Hypothetically, of course.
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wrote on 3 Aug 2023, 16:29 last edited by
One story we tell ourselves is that people who succeed without earning it, always feel nagging self doubt. I think that is overblown. People are perfectly comfortable being on top regardless of how they got there. The issue with the DEI stuff is about the resentment. And I suppose the lack of competence, but it’s hard to say with a straight face that large corporations are ever competent regardless of DEI nonsense affecting their hiring.
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wrote on 3 Aug 2023, 16:37 last edited by Doctor Phibes 8 Mar 2023, 16:37
In my own personal experience, you don't need to be of colour to get promoted, but having a brown nose sure helps a lot.
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wrote on 3 Aug 2023, 16:57 last edited by
Welcome to the party, man. I'm in a more left-leaning profession and this stuff has been going on for a good decade now.
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wrote on 3 Aug 2023, 17:54 last edited by
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Let's say there's a person I know who works for a large company.
Anyway, the larger company has all of the normal DEI bullsh1t and stuff you'd expect from a corporation. The CEO is a black female. Recently we've had a senior VP depart and was replaced by a black male. Similarly, another leadership position was just filled by another black male.
A (white male) colleague called the person I know (hypothetically of course) and was like, "So, any thoughts on recent company changes?" to which the person replied, "Yes, lots of black leadership are being put in place." to which the colleague remarked, "Wow, exactly what I was thinking!"
It's a shame because with all of the DEI chatter, now it's hard to NOT think about a person's skin color when they are hired instead of looking at their merit. It's unfair to the person who was hired and unfair to even have that mental reaction to those who work at the company.
Of course none of this can actually be said out loud, let alone to management. There is 0% upside to saying something and 100% downside. And thus it continues...
It would be nice to really get to a merit-based approach and stop the conversations about how much melanin is in someone's skin.
Side note 1: The person I know, hypothetically of course, did say they heard the CEO say she wanted to work with black colleges (HBCUs) for recruiting. Which if reversed would be in the headlines by noon.
Side note 2: The company's benefits guide has all of the normal stock photography in it of families being together, being healthy, etc. It takes like 17 pages to find an image of two white straight parents. Hypothetically, of course.
wrote on 3 Aug 2023, 18:12 last edited by@89th said in Things you think at work but don't say:
Side note 1: The person I know, hypothetically of course, did say they heard the CEO say she wanted to work with black colleges (HBCUs) for recruiting. Which if reversed would be in the headlines by noon.
Is this hypothetical CEO aware of what the average SAT score for a HBCU admission is?
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wrote on 3 Aug 2023, 18:32 last edited by
Don't you mean Privilege Aptitude Score?
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wrote on 3 Aug 2023, 18:32 last edited by
This hypothetical CEO will, should she continue down this path, fail and her tenure will be over. The sad thing is she will probably see it coming and hop to another company she can ruin.
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wrote on 3 Aug 2023, 19:48 last edited by Doctor Phibes 8 Mar 2023, 19:49
Speaking of things you think at work but don't say:
I actually need convincing that being a senior manager is really hard.
Based on some of the characters I've encountered over the years, being successful isn't beyond the realm of abject knuckleheads.
Prove me wrong.
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wrote on 3 Aug 2023, 20:08 last edited by
My favorite thing to watch is when a relatively high level manager, who used to be an engineer, is cornered into looking at a problem that nobody under them has solved yet. Watching them attempt to maintain a reputation for being a high level technical talent who achieved their way to their position, is something special. And the sad aspect is watching the greenhorn engineers under them eat it up, as if they really are learned experts. They literally never are. Technical aptitudes are not how one advances in large business hierarchies. There are aptitudes at play to be sure, but not technical ones.
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wrote on 3 Aug 2023, 20:16 last edited by
When you get to management, what you really have to show is movement, even if you're just moving ashtrays around. This applies beautifully and effortlessly to IT, where you can change all sorts of things and really affect nothing.
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wrote on 3 Aug 2023, 21:24 last edited by
I specialize in movements rather than movement
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Speaking of things you think at work but don't say:
I actually need convincing that being a senior manager is really hard.
Based on some of the characters I've encountered over the years, being successful isn't beyond the realm of abject knuckleheads.
Prove me wrong.
wrote on 4 Aug 2023, 02:07 last edited by@Doctor-Phibes said in Things you think at work but don't say:
Speaking of things you think at work but don't say:
I actually need convincing that being a senior manager is really hard.
Based on some of the characters I've encountered over the years, being successful isn't beyond the realm of abject knuckleheads.
Prove me wrong.
My buddy just got promoted. I told him congrats, because the higher you go, the less you have to do.
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Speaking of things you think at work but don't say:
I actually need convincing that being a senior manager is really hard.
Based on some of the characters I've encountered over the years, being successful isn't beyond the realm of abject knuckleheads.
Prove me wrong.
wrote on 4 Aug 2023, 04:38 last edited by Aqua Letifer 8 Apr 2023, 04:41@Doctor-Phibes said in Things you think at work but don't say:
Speaking of things you think at work but don't say:
I actually need convincing that being a senior manager is really hard.
Depends. The good senior managers I've worked with all outworked the teams under them. The wastes of space did far less, and some of them even believed their own bullshit.
Seems that for every 1 of the former out there, you'll find at least 10 of the latter.
The diamonds in the rough were the ones who just did the thing, never took the job or themselves too seriously and were generally alright to be around.