Project Services: High Performers, But Advancement Tied to Conformity Over Capability
Pros
* Talented and hardworking team members across the department. * Opportunities to gain cross-functional experience and exposure to a variety of projects. * Team members are often supportive of one another despite leadership challenges.
Cons
* Project Services leadership operates with a narrow, rigid definition of what a “successful” project manager looks like, and advancement often depends more on alignment with a specific leadership style than actual performance or impact. * Employees with different cognitive or communication styles, including neurodivergent individuals, may find their strengths undervalued, while his or her deviations from the norm are scrutinized. * There is little room for authenticity. Employees may feel pressure to conform to be seen as leadership material. * Even infrequent mistakes can become long-term reputational markers, with limited opportunity for growth or reset. * A noticeable gap exists between positive performance feedback and actual career progression, even for tenured high performers with strong stakeholder feedback. * Managers are not consistently positioned or empowered to advocate effectively for their team members. * Policies, including hybrid/work-from-home expectations, are applied inconsistently, impacting trust and fairness. * Leadership culture can feel cliquey, with visibility and advancement influenced by informal networks rather than transparent criteria.
