[djmcmath]

I'm leaving a job for a new position, and am creating some turmoil on my way out. Apparently, I've been a stabilizing force in the organization. Since I've announced my departure, three other people have also decided to leave.

What problems do we have? All of the above, and then some. Our "team" exhibits all 5 of Patrick Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions, in spades. Leadership rejects all efforts at design and fails to reward success and failure appropriately. Integrity is a word used to describe hard drives, never people.

I ran into one of my coworkers from the sister team -- owned by different leadership, different contracting organization, etc. -- that the problems are the same there. One of their real leaders -- a natural at managing disparate software and hardware integration programs -- was demoted for BS political reasons. Team morale is through the floor, she's looking for new work, and a lot of the team is following her out the door.

Is it this bad everywhere? I can't make myself believe it is. I've worked in some good places before, with good people. I think that the bad employment picture of the last couple of years has induced people to stay in jobs that are unhealthy when they wouldn't normally do so. With the employment situation picking up -- at least in the DC area -- I predict people leaving bad jobs in droves.

Just my $.02.

Dan