Punished for disagreements - Product Owner Ascensus Employee Review

I’ve worked at four companies. This is, by far, the most toxic and demoralizing experience I’ve had. While I’ve had both managers I loved and ones I didn’t mesh with, I’ve never been in an environment where speaking up or asking questions was so strongly discouraged—or punished. If you disagree with leadership or challenge decisions, you may find yourself pushed out or terminated. I saw this happen more times than I can count. Leadership values compliance and “yes”-culture over innovation, integrity, or critical thinking. There is a deep misunderstanding of what product management actually is, especially at the leadership level. It often felt like decisions were being made by people who had read a book or taken a course on Agile or product development—but had never truly practiced it. Asking questions or trying to help clarify priorities is taken as insubordination rather than collaboration. On multiple occasions, questions I asked in good faith were used to question my competence, when in reality, they were part of standard agile discussion. Some team members—including strong Scrum champions—did try to advocate for better practices, but those voices were quickly silenced or removed altogether. Team metrics are regularly reviewed in ways that made little sense and had no tie to actual outcomes or customer value, further showing a fundamental misunderstanding of Agile principles. If you’re late in your career and just looking for a paycheck and remote flexibility, this may work. But if you are in product and care about doing meaningful work, growing in your craft, or being in a psychologically safe environment—you will find this to be a significant step back. I’ve always cared deeply about my work, sometimes to a fault. But this environment made me check out in a way I never have. In a strange way, I’m grateful for that—it helped me reprioritize. But I’d caution anyone in product, tech, or leadership roles to think carefully before joining.