zlacker

I've worked for several big companies where the CEO wanted people to ask tough questions at big meetings from the rank and file and so on. Front line managers had to prompt employees to ask question so it wasn't just awkward silence.

It's telling executives would think people would just ask tough questions on demand. It of course costs the CEO nothing to provide everyone else at the company tough questions / feedback, employees though need to consider their words carefully depending on who at a company is listening as there can be real consequences.

It's one of those things that I'm sure seems like it makes the executive look "open", but rather it just shows their ignorance / are out of touch with the life of a rando worker.

Not a surprise that kind of unawareness leaks out of the workplace as they operate in a space where they are often relatively free to speak their mind.

>>duxup+(OP)
The other thing is, there's no guarantee that a CEO that genuinely wants the rank and file to ask tough questions still won't instantly fire someone for the wrong tough question. Some CEOs are all about wanting to be challenged and pushed back by their employees until someone accidentally hits a nerve on a bad day, and there's very little recourse for most employees in the US if they get fired because they pissed off the executives.

>>BobaFl+V2
Yes, this. It's a clear and obvious trap.

>>duxup+(OP)
My Boss (the CTO at a mid-sized company) says he really appreciates my candor and ability to ask challenging questions, but based on his reactions when I do so I'm pretty sure what he actually really likes the IDEA of being an executive who invites diverse and dissenting input, more than having people do it.

>>skeete+Lc
To be generous, sometimes how one feels in the moment is different than how one feels when given time to reflect. So it may be that your boss really does appreciate it (just not right then).

>>duxup+(OP)
I was at a big company where this happened. I also knew of a person behind the scenes with admin access making sure softball questions were voted to the top.

Then they dropped voting when the questions got too real.

Then they lit up the staff by saying, “If you don’t like being here, then leave!”

Then they stopped taking questions and went back to fireside chat monologs that offered no real information.

One of the many Dilbertian experiences in my career.

I once accused a VP of creating an environment of “opaque transparency” in a large staff meeting… nobody laughed, though I got lots of private kudos after the meeting.

Much of the corporate world is smoke and mirrors. That’s the nature of the game unfortunately.

>>skeete+Lc
"Managers often say they'll reward something – perhaps they even believe it. But then they proceed to reward different things. I think people are fairly good at predicting this discrepancy...." - "People can read their manager's mind", Jossi Kreinin - https://yosefk.com/blog/people-can-read-their-managers-mind....

>>skeete+Lc
This happened with me -- VP said he wanted feedback but clearly didn't like real critical feedback. Then that VP tried to set up a denied promo, even though I was performing two levels above my then-current level. Finally the company got bought and levels were frozen and he was laid off (as executives are often laid off in an acquisition), so who knows what would happened.