If you are a woman, you may be told not to display your negative reactions. This happened to me, and over 5 other female colleagues in this company. Compared to all-hands meetings where top male leaders go on unhinged, paranoid tirades suggesting that employees take advantage of the company's mission as an excuse to be lazy. If you are an individual contributor, it is likely that you will be asked to cover for your manager's weaponized incompetence. Leaders don't read, or listen, or pay attention. And then they scrutinize with half of the necessary information. You will not be asked if you can take something on, you will be told it is manageable, even if you push back. If you attempt to proactively protect your boundaries to avoid burnout, you will likely be told that you have a "victim mindset". And you may even be told "the rest of your team was able to do it, it's not that hard." Despite the fact that most employees are in a constant state of exhaustion. There is acute burnout, but that is on top of a constant emotional burnout. It is very soul crushing to know that holding firm to a boundary just means that the task will be shopped around to the person with the weakest boundaries. Someone always loses. "Luminaries" like Adam Grant and Brene Brown will be touted as examples for why individual contributors should always seek critical feedback, but the concepts around difference of thought or courage in vulnerability from these same "luminaries" will not come to life in this company. The idea of directly challenging a leader at BetterUp, even a manager, is almost laughable. It's a bit like a cult, really. BetterUp's externally facing brand and mission do not apply to employees or Coaches. Our CEO has said almost exactly that on company calls before. Read anything BetterUp publishes publicly, reverse it, and you have the internal experience.
