A big lesson... not to expect people or organisations to give what they cannot give.
Lack of leadership
When a conflict arose at work, I watched what was happening. A colleague running wild, who started complaining about everything more and more, lying, arriving late, taking offence at the simplest questions... I waited for strong action from my manager. But even at the very beginning, she had said that she really dislikes conflict and finds difficult conversations hard. Now it was time to set boundaries, time for a difficult conversation. I invited my manager to a meeting, because it’s my professional responsibility to discuss risks to our team’s results, company culture and individual reputations. And... Nothing happened.
On the one hand, I was disappointed because my expectation that my manager would do her job wasn’t met. But I realised something much more valuable: I was waiting for her to do what she had long been saying she dislikes, doesn’t want to do, won’t do.
I mistakenly expected something from a person who isn’t capable of it. The lesson is to really trust my own judgement of people, to admit to myself that everyone has limits to their abilities, and many people in higher positions do not have the skills that, in my opinion, they ought to have.
Career progress
I heard from others that you can’t build a career in this company. Many of the owners’ family members sit comfortably up high, and most educated employees chill, do a bit of work and that’s it. Relax in the office. The company offers security and stability, and the price is stagnation. Salaries aren’t too bad, you don’t overwork... But there are no prospects, no leadership, no good examples to learn from.
Human Resources said in a conversation that unfortunately, however regrettable, the company hasn’t yet developed stable career-development processes, and the owner’s son dislikes applying the label “Talent”, so we have no talent development.