Dear Bitter VP,

I realize that things are changing rapidly within your organization, and you can't tell everyone the details of all of the things that are happening. However, I'd like to suggest that outright lying to them is maybe not the best way to handle the situation.

I know you have some bitterness over the fact that you are not as well-liked as your predecessor, but you haven't really done anything so far to engender the trust of the people that you're expecting to fall in line behind you.

Just a few thoughts:
  • If you claim to have an Open Door Policy, you should consider actually opening the door on occasion.
  • When asked a direct question, consider occasionally giving a direct answer. If you *always* sidestep even the easy questions, people will simply stop asking you any questions at all.
  • Have enough respect for your employees to deal with them directly if they actually come to you themselves for clarification.
  • Don't lie. (Really, that's just a good rule for all of us, whether in our professional or personal lives.)


I wish your employees the best, and I'll truly miss working with such a dynamic and intelligent group of people who seemed to be truly interested in solving the problems they were presented with on this project. I hope you decide to start treating them like the valuable professionals they are, instead of the unruly children you seem to think they are. They deserve better than that. And you'll get better work from them if you show them a little respect.

As for me, I'll be moving on to help solve other problems at other organizations, because that's what I do. I hope to find another team of people who are willing to dig in and do the difficult work that I'll challenge them with on a daily basis. And, as always, I hope to find leadership that does more than pay the occasional bit of lip service to the need for better customer and user experience.

Best Regards,
The Architect of Your Nightmares