Pros
Strong ICs who genuinely want to do good work and solve real problems
Cons
The Data Eng Manager is someone who performs for leadership, sweeping real problems under the rug and telling leadership that everything is under control when it’s really not. The manager has a reputation for being a huge blocker, and is known to be difficult to work with, creating tension for other teams who just want good data architecture to work with. The manager is also known to be a huge gossiper and has also thrown the BI team under the bus, telling leadership “Data Eng is good, but BI has a lot of issues”, with the goal of redirecting leadership to scrutinize BI instead of looking closer at Data Eng. There’s no Director, VP, or Head of Data so there’s a power vacuum, which is why the Data Eng Manager can easily manipulate the CTO.
The BI Manager means well, but has no real authority and because of that ends up treating people disrespectfully, causing unnecessary conflict. 50% of the BI team has quit in the last 6 months. Due to the poor retention, and since there’s no Director, VP, or Head of Data, the CTO is desperately trying to prevent further attrition by coddling them to the point where the BI Manager boasts “well I can just have the CTO enforce it” in order to force compliance with whatever she wants instead of actually listening to reason.
The Director of Data Science is no different - a toxic leader who avoids accountability and throws his own team under the bus in order to save himself. He manipulates people by using vague communication to create confusion and plausible deniability for himself when things go wrong. When these situations happen, he shifts blame downwards instead of reflecting on how his behaviors have caused real harm for the people within his organization. His lack of self awareness and low emotional intelligence is also causing retention risks, and leadership is questioning his ability to lead.