The ongoing pandemic and the remote working situation has created an interesting team dynamic on my project. It appears that it is easier to schedule meetings where the goal is to undermine other team member’s work and then exclude them from further involvement.

The Seagull Manager is one who swoops in and starts squawking orders (usually done before understanding the problem), shits on everything, and then flys away. The Bully Manager surrounds themselves with a flock of Seagull Manager wannabes and they shit on everything together.

The world of faceless video conferencing has made it easier to behave poorly. In any type of normal relationship this would be labeled as dysfunctional. Unfortunately this has become the accepted way to operate.

In grammar school I learned to ignor the bully. Eventually they gave up or they discovered not to push too far.

I’ve discovered that it is best to take the high road when faced with a bully manager. For those left behind to deal with the bully manager and his minons, I will continue to help in the background as long as it make sense.

Over time the bully manager’s true colors are revealed and soon nobody will work on their project.

Our project has lost several very talented people. We are on our fourth program manager in as many years. The program manager shares his decision making with the other eight members of the leadership team through a voting process. But decisions can also be made by members of the leadership team with no checks and balances. I have never seen this type of structure nor know what description to apply.