Bellack, a Project Manager at Google for 15 years, recently brought attention to the company's problem of 'fiefdoms.'
Jonathan Bellack, a former Google employee with over 15 years of experience, has expressed criticism towards the company's leadership. Despite Google's efforts to compete with AI leaders like OpenAI and Microsoft by launching its products, Bellack argues that the leadership's indecisiveness has resulted in a lack of clarity and cohesion.
Having served as a Project Manager at Google for 15 years, Bellack recently brought attention to the issue of 'fiefdoms' within the company, where certain teams behave as if they hold control. He emphasized that the root problem often lies with senior leaders who avoid making tough decisions or resolving team conflicts.
According to Bellack, this avoidance by senior leaders leads to crucial decisions getting delayed due to prolonged debates among mid-level managers. This delay opens the door for non-tech departments like policy, legal, and finance to intervene. The former employee noted that senior executives found it easier to discuss risks or costs than to address conflicting opinions and move forward collectively. In his conclusion, he observed that towards the end of his tenure, a Project Manager would face more repercussions for disagreeing with Global Affairs than for failing to launch valuable software within a reasonable timeframe.
In his post, Bellack stated, "During my 15 years as a PM at Google, I frequently witnessed the presence of fiefdoms, but engineering was seldom the underlying issue, and project management was seldom the remedy. The primary issue was a gradual breakdown in the effectiveness of numerous senior leaders who either lost the motivation or capability to make decisive choices or address team conflicts. Decision-making processes that should have been swiftly handled by VPs/SVPs were extended for months through circular debates among mid-level managers, often using junior staff to compile proposals for successive leadership reviews."