Target reviews

Getting feedback about change beyond store level... they try to be transparent but fail in most cases. Quite a few store-level Executives who think the team members are in high school and micro manage.

Senior Management is where many can get disillusioned. The strong leadership development programs turn senior managers into mini-psychoanalysts, and their whole job is to constantly assess and re-assess their teams' talent, deciding who to groom for promotion and who to "work out." There is always someone being "worked out" and the team is aware of who it is 90% of the time, which leads to awkwardness and discomfort (but you get used to it?). You'll find that there are two "leadership expectations" that are most valued: "Relating Well to Others", and "Resilient and Adaptable." The key for "Relating well to Others" is being able to constantly have "statuses" over and over again with other leaders and peers to basically BS about "what you are working on right now." I was in one company pyramid, but I'm aware that this requirement for "statuses" with other leaders is present throughout the entire company. The "Resilient and Adaptable" piece is crucial because it is basically a catch-all to root out anyone that could threaten the "way things are." Resilient and Adaptable basically means "don't question the company," and in my experience those who most often run afoul of it are women, minorities, and those who question the fact that women and minorities are not valued. Make no mistake, this is a white male company, and though they have self-serving diversity quota policies for hiring and promoting, those who are hired and promoted are the most "Resilient and Adaptable." Also, if you are reading about Target you are aware of the credit card scandal. Management is panicked. Like, really panicked. They are cutting back in all pyramids. I wouldn't expect much hiring, but they don't want the PR hit of layoffs either, so it is going to be even more demanding for employees for the foreseeable future. What is nice, is their policy to "work out" bottom performers allows them to free up salaries organically, so they just continue to increase the work load with less people doing the work, raising expectations for minimum output, etc.