Wells Fargo

There are always nice people in every job – folks who actually want to do a good job and be helpful.

If you want to be a eunuch, then Wells Fargo is the place for you. While they present an attractive image in their mission and value statements, the reality is quite different. The majority of people you interact with are dispirited, disillusioned, mentally exhausted, and unmotivated. They are just treading water until it is time to retire.

I have been in business for 27 years and worked previously at Wells over 20 years ago. The amazing thing is they have not grown as an organization in those past two decades. The same dominance-based structure is firmly in place—one that withholds information from the employees in order to allow the managers to feel they are in control. Perhaps they believe they are adding value? It is a pretty sad state of affairs when territorialism and protecting your image are the main goals of the so-called leadership (in actuality, 'rudderless ship' is the best analogy).

Saul van Beurden is very compelling and seems open-minded and helpful, but the reality is you will never work for anyone like him. Your managers will be barely literate and emotionally stunted individuals who never say 'Thank You' or acknowledge your work. No, folks, a paycheck really is not enough.

Purportedly, they are implementing Agile, but it is really Agile in name only. The teams are completely disempowered and unable to plan, given the shifting requirements and paucity of information. Again, it feels like this is a control issue where the many levels of weak management don't want to face their approaching obsolescence.

Sad state of affairs—so many people wasting their lives working in meaningless jobs. It is a paycheck, and that is the best you can hope for at WF.

Start to clean house:

1. Send out anonymous surveys to find out what is really happening in the trenches.
2. Request honest reviews from employees about managers and their effectiveness.
3. Audit IT groups: security and compliance policies are not being followed (e.g., we are instructed to connect to PROD environments and use PROD data from non-PROD servers).

Again, anonymous surveys are the best way to pinpoint these wayward managers.