Chapter 4 Episode 2: Mutiny

Marie gets closer to Jenni and starts to understand the pressure she is facing from Natalie. Shaine accepts a pay cut to make up for the salary disparity, but it is too late to avoid mass mutiny. After a dramatic incident in the office, Marie is sent home on sick leave. During her time off, Marie is approached by the previous employee, UX Designer Jason, who wants to re-join Zebra Apps because he believes there is hope after Marie has started working on the retention issue. VP of Sales Jaque manages to get Marie back to the office to fix ASLO's quality issues and save Zebra Apps from financial demise.

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Anne Katrine & Ivanna

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SPEAKER_02 0:42

Mary didn't even bother attending the daily scrum on Tuesday morning. She felt like she had seen enough. Instead she has scheduled a call with Jenny in the afternoon. Jenny was waiting for Mary in the conference room on the engineering floor. Mary smiled at her and sat down. She was in a solemn mood, having passed board after board of the abandoned post-its as she was walking down the hallway to get to the meeting room. It's like a whiteboard grave out there, Mary remarked. There was no room for them in the basement, Jenny said. Mary smirked. That is true, she said. Unless Shane actually manages to clean that mess up. Jenny looked sternly at Mary. I told him to stay out of the basement, she said. Why? Mary said. At least he was making himself useful. Jenny shook her head. Mary felt a sting in her stomach. She leaned into the table. He may actually be capable, she said. But we have put him in an impossible situation. None of them are capable, Jenny said. Mary raised her eyebrows. None of them, she repeated in surprise. Have you heard about the issues we are having with Aslow? Jenny asked. Yes, someone mentioned that we are having issues, Mary said. But I don't know their nature. Now Jenny leaned into the table and looked from side to side. We are seeing so many bugs, Jenny said. Then she moved in even closer. And our customers hate our new layout, she said, and pushed her chair back. Mary looked at her. Jenny, these are the engineers who built Aslo, she said. They are very capable. They were capable, Jenny said. Now they are all slackers. Mary clenched her jaw. Is that why you are telling them to code, code, code? Mary asked. Jenny looked straight at Mary. That is their job, she said. Is it? Mary said. Or is it to create a product that our customers will love? Same thing, Jenny said. Not the same thing, Mary said. What you call coding involves more than sitting at your desk and writing code. You need to understand what your customers need. You need to brainstorm with your teammates. You need to learn what others are doing outside Zebra. You need to experiment and fail and try again. Don't you HR me, Jenny said. I've been an engineer my whole life. I've seen the likes of you telling engineers to prance around and innovate. I'm gonna let you in on a secret. Code gets written by actually writing it. I do not dispute that, Mary said. Or your experience and expertise in this area. Jenny said and rolled her eyes. Mary took a deep breath. Do you remember during your interviews for this job? How you said that you had always been seen as an outsider to the male coders you worked with, and how you wanted to be in a company led by a woman? Mary asked. Natalie's hardly a woman, Jenny said. Mary retracted her chin. What do you mean by that? Mary asked. I've never worked under a more masculine leadership style, Jenny said. Mary thought for a moment. I guess you're right, she said. Natalie is very musculine in her approach. Do you know how hard she pushes me to deliver results? Jenny asked. I do not know, Mary said, but I do see that she pressures Mark. She pressures all of us, Jenny said. Mary looked at her and could swear that she could see Jenny's eyes tear up. But as soon as she spoke, there was no quiver in her voice, not at the slightest. She has set me a target that our quality needs to go up by fifteen percent, she said. From month to month. Fifteen percent, Mary said. That seems high to me. That is unobtainable, Jenny said, and put her hands on her lap. When did she set this goal? Mary asked. Shortly before Anne left, Jenny said. Or was fired. Jenny looked at the floor. Don't worry, Mary said. Mark had already told me that Anne was fired. Jenny looked up. She tried to rabble, Jenny said. And Natalie wouldn't listen at all. Did you support her in her uh rebellion? Mary asked. I was brand new, she said. I didn't have any chips to spend with Natalie. But did you agree? Mary asked. Jenny leaned into the table again. Yes, she said. Then she leaned back in her chair. But look where it got Anne, she said. Mary thought for a moment. Let me get this straight, she said. Natalie set this new quality goal for you. Anne rebelled. You moved all the stand ups to a virtual setting and got rid of the boards, and was compensating by talking to everyone individually instead. And then Anne got fired. And we have been sloping deeper and deeper into quality issues ever since. Jenny nodded. Ever so slightly. But Jenny, Mary said, do you actually believe that having developers sitting around their desks and coding, coding, coding without talking to each other about issues is going to get us the best possible results? Jenny looked up at the ceiling. Obviously not, she said. Then she looked at Mary. And all the engineers hate me, she said. And I'm an outsider again. Mary looked at her. But this time it's my own fault, Jenny said. Then Jenny exhaled and lowered her shoulders. Mary, Mark said. Mary Mary looked up. Which recruitment agency do you think we can rely on for the CFO position? Mark said, repeating his original question. It was later in the afternoon, and Mary was in Mark's office, brainstorming how to attract the right kind of CFO talent. But Mary could not stop thinking about the conversation she had with Jenny. It was unlike any other interaction Mary has had with her. Jenny usually held herself like a dock worker, tough, rude, and to the point. Seeing her vulnerable and understanding some of the dynamics she found herself in made Mary question everything she assumed about her. And made her question how to approach the looming mutiny in the engineering department. Was it within Jenny's hands to change anything at all? Damn it, she thought. It's a system problem, just like Anne preaches. Boy are you distracted, Mark said. Is everything good on the home front? What? Mary asked. You're just staring into empty space, Mary, Mark said. Just like Natalie before her divorce. I'm not getting a divorce, Mary said. At least not on my account. Mark laughed. Now I've got your attention, he said. Sorry, she said. I had an interesting conversation with Jenny today. You know what? he said. She was here right before you came in. What did she want? Mary said. Her heart sank. It was interesting indeed, Mark said. She asked if we could lower Shane's salary to the level of the other engineers. Mary raised her eyebrows. That is a radical move, she said. Yes, Mark said. And I asked her to speak to Paul. It would be a great signal to the other engineers, but we need to make sure that we are on firm legal footing. You are actually considering it, she said. It seems like he's a lot of trouble, he said. So even if we lose him, that might not be a big loss. But if we bring him on par with the other engineers, maybe they will include him and can actually contribute. Mary looked at him. It's a way to nudge the system towards equilibrium, he said. Mary laughed. Now you sound like Anne, she said. Well, he said, she wasn't entirely wrong about everything. Mary smiled. I think we should go with CXO recruitment group, she said. Mark looked at the brochures they had laid out on his desk. I think I agree, he said. Or we should consider doing our own research, Mary said. And who do we have internally that can pull off a recruitment like that? Mark said. Mary looked out in the hallway as if scanning the HR department. I know that you could, Mark said. But you're too busy fixing the culture problem around here to have time to chase CFOs and their big egos. Mary looked at him. He was wearing a kind smile. It was a compliment. So how do we tell them? Paul asked. It was Wednesday morning, and Mary met Paul in the kitchenette. They were both getting coffee. I still can't believe that it's legal, Mary said. And that you are on board with it. I don't like dysfunction any more than you do, Paul said. And offering Shane twice the salary of his peers has created a lot of dysfunction. Mary was about to say something. I know that I approved in the first place, he said. Why did you? Mary asked. Frankly, I didn't think you would tell anyone, Paul said. Mary looked at him. Then Paul cracked a smile. Then Mary began laughing. Are you serious? she asked. I do have a sense of humor, Paul said. Mary stopped laughing. Not sure if he was serious or not. I think the question is how we tell Shane, Mary said. Jenny and I already agreed, she said. I will meet him. Jenny will also be there. He will be upset, Mary said. I'm a grown man, Paul said. Mary looked at him and nodded. But we need to consider how to tell the other engineers, Paul said. I can take care of that, Mary said. Good, Paul said. We're doing it later today. When you go, you go, Mary said. Paul smiled, picked up his coffee and walked out of the kitchenette. Mary fished out her phone from her pocket and called Jenny to agree on a game plan for telling the engineers. That afternoon the engineer's department was gathered in the canteen. Mary pacing while waiting for Jenny to show. Shane came in and sat down. He smiled at the engineer next to him and settled in his seat. Then Jenny walked in. She walked towards Mary. He seems okay, Mary said. He was relieved, Jenny said. Mary looked at Jenny. You were right, Jenny said. We did put him in a difficult position. Mary nodded. Ready? she asked, and gave Jenny the microphone. Hi everyone, Jenny said. The room hushed. Someone muttered, not online this time, eh? Mary looked around to see who it was, but could not make out where the sound came from. We have identified pay disparities among the engineering team, Jenny began. That I know have been a concern for many of you. The room went silent. In order to support our values of collaboration and commitment, we have decided to even out the pay disparities, she continued. You all know that there has been cases of extreme outliers. These individuals have accepted a revised pay on par with the rest of the engineering cohort. The entire room looked over at Shane. You took a pay cut, huh? Someone shouted. This time Mary noticed that it came from Ibrahim. Fool someone else shouted. We also want to take a closer look at the current salary levels of the rest of the cohort and make adjustments to ensure coherence, Jenny said. At every table someone was saying something. Mary looked around. Shane was the only person sitting quietly. Her stomach nodded. This was not the direction they had been hoping for. Then something flew past her and hit Jenny on the arm. Mary looked at the floor. It was a plastic bottle of water. Jenny looked at Mary, and they both looked around the room. Some of the engineers were standing up now. Collaboration and commitment? Abram shouted. How about the value of curiosity? Yeah, several engineers shouted in support. You keep trying to sweeten the deal with soda, he continued. And now with money. And all we want to do is do good work, Dennis shouted. Yeah. Another couple of engineers shouted. Let us work, Dennis shouted. Mary looked at Shane. He was looking at the floor. Willie was sitting at the same table. Still, as one of a few engineers. Everyone else was now standing. You can have your soda, someone shouted. And another bottle flew through the air and hit the wall behind Jenny. This time it was soda.

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Hey, Harry shouted. There will be no more throwing. She stood in front of Jenny. There will be no more coating, Dennis shouted.

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And walked towards the exit. A couple more engineers walked behind him.

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We want freedom, Ibrahim shouted, and raised his hands in the air. Freedom, half the engineers joined in. Freedom, Freedom, Freedom.

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Ibrahim shouted again, this time being by all of the engineers. No, wait a minute, Mary tried to interject. She looked over at Jenny and grabbed the mic out of Jenny's hands. Wait a minute, Mary said, this time amplified. But even through the mic, her voice died down in the chant of the crowd. Then it died down inside Mary's head. She suddenly felt dizzy, and all sounds turned muffled. She could hear her own heartbeat. The blood drained from her face. Have I had lunch today? she thought, as she crouched to the floor. Mary, a voice said. Mary, it repeated. Mary opened her eyes. Willie was hovering over her, wearing nothing but a vest. Then Mary felt something soft under her head. I am laying on his sweatshirt. Mary realized. She looked around. She was still in the canteen. It was quiet now. About ten engineers were standing in a circle around her. You scared us there, Willie said. What happened? Mary asked. Suddenly you collapsed, Willie said. Well, you scared me, Mary said. The engineers looked down at the floor, then at each other. Where is Jenny? Mary asked. She laughed, Willie said. I think she went to get help, another engineer said. Mary sat up. An engineer came out of the kitchen with an apple in his hand. He gave it to Mary. She took a bite. Then Joseph came out of the kitchen with soda. Here, drink this, Joseph said. Mary opened the can and drank a big gulp. I knew I should have brought you lunch to your office today, Joseph said. But then I thought that I might have missed you. I don't usually faint, Mary said. You don't faint when you eat, Joseph said, and put a hand on Mary's shoulder. She took another sip of soda. We don't usually throw bottles at our boss, an engineer said. The others laughed. Mary looked around. The engineers who met her gaze stopped laughing. What is up with you? she asked. What makes you so angry? Willie sat down on the floor next to Mary. A couple of other engineers did too. I am a great engineer, one of them said. Yeah, you are, another one teased. I am, the first engineer said. And my kid's school uses Aslo. They used to love it. Now the teachers pull me aside to ask what is happening with us. The latest release is like a throwback to the nineties. My kid's school is the same, another engineer said. I can't stand to lend my name to the latest release, a third engineer said. Mary looked around. Why don't you just change it? she asked. It's your code. No one person can change the code of an entire release, an engineer said. We all contribute to it. And we have no idea what the other is doing, Ibrahim said. He stepped into the circle surrounding Mary. Mary looked at him and frowned her brows. I let my temper get to the best of me, he said. I know. That makes the two of us, Willie said, and smiled at Mary. It's mutiny, Mary said. The engineers looked around. Maybe it is, Ibrahim said. Some things need to change, Willie said. Mary nodded. But not like this, she said. The engineers nodded. I'll drive you home, Joseph said. Something can change tomorrow. Mary had not anticipated this message. Jason had texted her the day before, asking if they could meet in the coming week. But Mark had insisted that Mary takes time off after she collapsed in the canteen. Even though her doctor had supported Joseph's theory that this was mostly a matter of low blood sugar and the emotional drain of the mutiny. This meant that she was not coming to work until Wednesday at the earliest, but she was too curious to learn what Jason wanted to talk about, so they agreed to meet for Sunday brunch. She had arrived at the cafe early and found a seat at a booth. She ordered coffee and a fruit cup. Her doctor had suggested that she should snack more during the day to keep her blood sugar from dipping too low. I have a hard enough time to remember to have lunch, Mary thought to herself. Now I need to remember to eat multiple times a day. She had almost finished her coffee, but had not yet started on her fruit when Jason walked past her. Jason, she shouted. He jumped. Oh, sorry about that, she said, holding her hand out. Mary, he said, panting, you scared the crap out of me. I didn't mean to, she said. I'm just happy to see you. She got up and walked over to him. He opened his arms. She gave him a big hug. How are you, Jason? she said, holding her arms on his shoulders. Well, he said, that's what we are here to talk about. He ordered avocado toast and coffee. Mary ordered a cross and more coffee. It's not what I wanted, Jason said. Developing software for war, Mary said. Don't make fun, Jason said. I have my reasons. I know, Mary said. I did not know how impacted you are by the war. I'm not impacted at all, he said. People are dying not far from here, and I am not impacted at all. Here I am, having a lovely brunch on a Sunday, when kids down to 18 years old are dying for my freedom. Mary looked at him, searching for words. It's not right, he said. No, Mary said. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Mary considered eating a piece of her fruit, but her stomach did not feel like it could contain even the slightest bite. But, Jason said, I also realized that it is completely outside of my control. Mary looked at him. I couldn't get into the intelligence unit. I couldn't be sent to the front, and now I can't even convince my company to donate equipment to the war efforts. It's the same as with Aslo, he said, shaking his head. It's as if we are all closing our eyes and pretending that this has nothing to do with us, he went on. I think you're right, Mary said. Jason looked at her. There's nothing you can do, she said. His upper lip quivered. And it doesn't concern you, she said. It's not your war. And it's not your country. Mary, he started, I'm not saying that you shouldn't care, she interrupted him. But you do need to realize the potential impact you can have on a situation, which is not a lot. That's why we are here, he said. Do you want to come back? Mary asked, partly as a joke. I've seen your new release, Jason said. Mary smiled. It's bloody hopeless, he said. They both laughed. You've had Drew do the UX, he said. He's great at many things, but this is not one of them. I don't know Drew, Mary said. Really, Jason said. He's the tall engineer with flaming red hair. Oh, Mary said. Then I do know Drew. I should really learn the names of our engineers, Mary thought to herself. Also I heard that you had a mutiny last week, he said. Mary could feel the blood flowing to her face. What have you heard? she asked. That you tried to even out the pay disparity, he said. But that it was too little too late. Who is keeping you up to date? Mary asked. Willie is, Jason said. And Tom. And Dennis, and Ibrahim and Lily. And a couple of others. Well, Ibrahim and Dennis were the chief troublemakers themselves, Mary said. From what I hear, so was Willie, he said. Just not this time around. They are desperate for a change, Mary said. Then she looked down at the ground. We are all desperate for a change, she said. People think that you are that change, Jason said. Mary looked at him. To her it did not seem like the engineers were her biggest fans. Who said that? she asked. The engineers, Jason said. And I am saying it now. He smiled. I Mary said. I don't know about that. You have finally broken the stalemate, Jason said. Even Anne couldn't do that. What stalemate is that? Mary asked. Between the focus on looking busy and actually creating value, Jason said. You are making people believe again. Mary could feel her eyes tearing up. So you do want to come back, she said with half a smile. Jason paused. Yes, he said. I believe in you. Mary could feel a tear running down her cheek. I might not be able to influence the course of the war in Ukraine, but I can make sure that we never release something as butt ugly as what we just launched for Aslo, he said. Then both Jason and Mary laughed. Mary was sitting in her car after she and Jason had said their goodbyes, and Mary had promised him to speak to Mark to make sure that he was on board with Jason coming back. She was smiling from ear to ear. Her chest felt warm, warm as if a ray of sun had taken up residence in her ribcage. She was about to turn the key indignation when she heard a buzzing from her purse. Her purse was in the passenger's seat next to her. She fished out her phone and looked at it for a couple of seconds. It was Jack calling, the VP of sales. Why would he? Mary thought to herself, but slid the slider to pick up before finishing her thought. Happy Sunday, Mary, Jack thundered. It is, in fact, Sunday, Jack, Mary said. It won't matter that it is Monday tomorrow, Jack continued. I hear that you are grounded until next week. Mary frowned. Did Mark personally tell you that? she asked. No. Natalie did, he said. Sounds like you had quiet the event in the canteen the other day. Mary looked straight ahead for a couple of seconds. Of course Natalie knew about the incident. But Mary was not there to tell her the actual course of events. Mark had sent her home as soon as she had told him about what happened. She never had a chance to tell her aversion to anyone else. That red hot bowl of lava started to heat up in her gut. Jacques tore her away from her train of thoughts. Are you still here? he asked. Yeah, Mary said, still here. He's understanding you, he said. Who is? Mary asked. You're a Mark Boss, he said, treating you like some delicate flower and sending you home to rest up. You're the toughest brot I've ever come across. Mary smiled. It was like an actual compliment. Did you feel the urge to tell me this right this instant? she asked. You should know that I have noticed that about you, he said. But that is not why I'm calling. What can I do for you? she asked. I can't sell a damn thing these days, he said. You are calling HR to complain about sales, she said. Jack laughed. I know that you have been talking to Jenny's folks about their teamwork and stuff, he said. And I think that is the root of our problems. The quality of Aslo has been going down, and now the word is starting to spread. When my guys are visiting our customers, all the customers want to talk about are the bugs in the system. Mary nodded. I have heard that our latest UX was appalling, she said. It is not just a UX, Jack continued. Features that were perfectly fine before are malfunctioning. It is as if the different parts of the system stopped talking to each other. Mary smirked. It is because the different teams working on Aslo stopped talking to each other, she said. Yeah, I heard about Jenny's shut up and code policy, he said. That is not the kind of self-management that I believe Richard and Natalie had in mind originally. I'm still not sure why we are having this conversation, though, Mary said. Jacques went quiet. Look, Mary, he said, I can't do my job unless you do yours. I can't sell squat unless we make better software. And we can make better software unless you fix engineering. Our interests are aligned here. I see, Mary said. I'm calling to offer my help, he said. Whatever you need to get this train back on its tracks, you've got it. Organizational psychology is a hidden talent of yours, Jack. Mary teased. Don't be snarky, Mary, he said. Mary wondered if she had gone too far. Jack, she said, can you get me back to work for tomorrow? I'll call Natalie right away, he said. He hung up. Mary stared at the black screen of her phone. From an executive that had spent a year avoiding her. He has suddenly come to value the softer side of running a business. Mary's phone rang again. This time it was Natalie. I hear you have been grounded, Natalie said before even saying hello. Hello, Natalie, Mary said. Mark is really protective of you, Natalie said. But this seems excessive. I am feeling just fine, Mary said. I want to come back to work. I can see why not, Natalie said. Will you tell Mark? Mary asked. He will find out soon enough, Natalie said and hung up. Mary raised an eyebrow. Was that a yes? A no? Will he find out when Mary shows up to work tomorrow? She looked at her phone. Maybe Mark was being protective. Then a tiny thought emerged at the back of Mary's brain. Maybe he had good reason to. But the thought disappeared before it had seen the light of day. Mary sighed. She did not want to take Mark by surprise by just showing up to work tomorrow. She dialed his number. Hey, Mary, he said. Natalie just called. Hi, Mark, she said. I wasn't sure if she would. I appreciate you trying to warn me yourself, Mark said, and then paused. About going above me to my boss to get yourself out of sick leave, he continued. Mary could feel the blood flowing to her cheeks. I she said, but nothing more came out. She will take everything you've got, Mary, he said. Mary's eyes were flickering from side to side, as if looking for clues for how to respond. Of course I want you back as soon as possible, Mark continued. But not if it cost you your health. Mary's chest felt warm again. Not lava warm, sun ray warm. Like it did after she spoke to Jason. I want to come back so we can talk about Jason, she said. Jason, Mark said. What about him? He wants to come back, Mary said. I had just had brunch with him. Mark went quiet this time around. And here I thought I could give you some space to recuperate after your little mutiny, he said, his voice sounding warm. And you spend your weekend recruiting back our lost employees. He sighed. Mary, you will be the death of me, he said.

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You're listening to Maneuvering Mondays, a podcast about transforming work culture. Tune in when we invite guests to comment on this part of Marie's journey. What are your thoughts on Marie's situation? Have you had a similar experience? And what would you have done? Check the conversation on our LinkedIn page and let's maneuver Mondays together.