Culture - Zero transparency. A team gets hacked and it gets hushed up, no lessons learned. People leave and you never know why. Everything happens behind closed doors. Nothing is really data driven, just what senior people want. Communication is horrible, with people often ignoring direct emails.
Management - Finger pointing is the norm. Bad mouthing and placing blame on other teams and subordinates is fairly common. Leaders are seldom held accountable for anything as long as they smile and tell the CEO what he wants to hear. Sycophants tend to be promoted with loyalty to your manager more important than loyalty to the company. Some managers won’t hesitate to lie or sabotage things to promote their agenda. Many mangers have no idea how to lead or help subordinates grow their careers.
Political Grinder - Work hard, make an impact, have the credit taken by others. Politicians thrive by sweet talking the CEO/CTO and bashing others. Most the best people leave after a year or two (sometimes quicker) when they realize things won’t change and that loyalty to your manager is more important than the results you produce for the company. The endless stream of people who think this will change is a goldmine for the grinder though.
