Pros
Here are the facts: we are a small organization. If you can't roll with the punches and aren't open to thinking that a part of this organization is your own to build and grow, then you won't get it. Be excited by a challenge, be excited by opportunity and growth. Understand that no-one is going to give you a step by step check the box job here. You have to know how to work as a member of a team, and as with any team, you have to know how to manage around people who are roadblocks. If you are not so completely entitled and jaded that you think you deserve a successful career served to you on a silver platter, you will enjoy working at XPRIZE. We get to work on amazing projects, the benefits are very good, we are given a lot of time off, we have flex work, and we work with some pretty amazing people. If you are expecting senior managers to listen to tirades about how incompetent YOU think certain people are, its time to get over yourself. Either commit to making meaningful change and doing what you were hired to do, or stop complaining.
Cons
Some people don't understand their role in the organization, and it causes a lot of unnecessary friction. Decide what you want to get out of your career here, and make it happen for yourself. Do you need HR? For some things, yes. But they are not your replacement for a manager, so stop blaming them for your inability to have a meaningful and effective discourse with your own manager. If your manager isn't cutting it, then put your big boy pants on and ask yourself this question: Is there any chance this will change, and if it doesn't, can I hang in there? If your answer is no - do yourself a favor and leave. Don't expect HR to sweep in on a white horse and fire your roadblock - that is not their job. I have personally never experienced any trust or confidentiality issues with HR, and I am not aware of anyone else who can legitimately make that claim. A smart applicant will ask about turnover in the position they are applying for - and then weigh that risk, or ask additional questions until they get comfortable with the environment they are thinking about joining. Its a personal decision - its just a shame there are a few people who seem to think that they get to speak for everyone.
