Hmmm to answer your question honestly, I do actually believe the people at the very top tiers of management are completely behind what they say. I sadly also believe that the way we are 'managed' at the lower tiers is disastrous .... IMHO.
Indeed. It is the disconnect between the two that I was trying to explore.
I don't think we are going to ever get rid of the statistics. At one level, it does tell the business a lot of information about how effective the workforce are being /collectively/ following current practices. That helps quantify the practices ... and lets you improve them in the future.
However, those same statistics don't help you measure performance of one individual well.
Changing the disconnect really requires the senior managers to let the engineers loose, and to get the junior managers to both accept and understand this, and figure out how to "manage" their staff in an environment where (shock) they have to rely on the staff to make sound decisions, that aren't measured well.
As I read the statement above, I see statements on service with a glimmer of hope - that they (the senior bods) see the engineer priority shifting from a "stick to time, stick to stats" mantra, to a "solve the problem" mantra.
But that statement is for semi-public consumption. What matters is whether the priority actually filters through the automatic systems that allocate your work, and filters through the attitudes of the junior managers.
I agree it looks like their heart is in the right place. Let's see if the actions follow...
