Struggling to Regain Basic Management and Leadership Priciples Required to Suceed - Senior Engineer HP Inc. Employee Review

Unfortunately, as with many companies that experienced high growth through the 1980's and 1990's they have driven the company into a protectionist position. They are now led primarily by program management and finance principles of avoiding risk and rewarding those that avoid risk. There is no real tolerance across many of the current HP sites for delivering true innovation and contribution to the world. There is a lot of talk, but the actions of managers from the lowest level is completely contrary to that required to foster an environment of success. To paraphrase a senior technologist that left the company a few years ago - "I will be rewarded more highly if I do the wrong thing for HP". I hear this same concept from many of the top performing technologists - the ones that actually deliver concrete contribution. Another senior technologist lamented the layoff of an engineer critical to the success of several projects while other engineers failing to provide any contribution other than sucking up to management are retained. The result is that top performers are leaving - and as you can see from the financials, HP Inc. consistently fails to produce the contribution required to sustain growth. I left HP recently because I was offered a much better opportunity and because I knew that I would be more highly rewarded at HP if I did the wrong thing for HP. I would not do the wrong thing just to gain a personal reward. Some Key Issues: At many sites at least 80% of the first level, 50% of the second level, and likely 50% of the third level managers have no real experience in leadership. They have jockeyed their way into these positions because they could not promote by any other means. They are politicians and bureaucrats that care little for their people or for HP. They do what they need to do, to protect and advance themselves. Management does not know how to recognize contribution and consistently rewards low performers that suck up to management. Very few managers know what their people do or the significance to the business. They were not competent as engineers, technicians, ...etc - so they have no idea what competence or excellence is. At some sites significant hiring of new college graduates is in progress. Unfortunately, at some sites this is accomplished by laying off older competent employees to make room for the younger employees. It is too bad to see a company that used to be the best technology company in the world to work for resort to laying people off to make room for younger people. This is how you create a toxic work environment. You need to win new hires by being a great company! The toxic management climate is detrimental to work life balance. With years of layoffs and managers protecting themselves at the expense of their people, the culture is poor in many areas. One technologist commented to me that he was thankful for a long commute so that he could decompress from the environment before he got home to his family. Unfortunately, many other people of integrity do not succeed in decompressing and end up taking the toxicity home with them. The top talent leaders and innovators are leaving many sites because they see little future for HP do not feel like they can do their best work at HP.