I joined with extensive experience and a genuine desire to bring something new and get stuck in. Managed Services leadership seemed to show little interest in improvement or new ideas at that point. I received no meaningful management, direction, or support from my initial line manager, and the department director was absent. Camera off, meetings missed, minimal engagement. Interaction with the senior leader within Managed Services typically only occurred when issues escalated, often in a confrontational way. Toxicity at its finest.
The role I was hired for was not the role I actually performed. I had minimal training, no documentation and very little guidance.
When I raised concerns, they were dismissed. My line manager at the time was the most disengaged and disinterested manager I have encountered in my career. There was little visible ownership of responsibilities, with work frequently delegated without appropriate oversight. He later moved into another role despite having no experience in that area.
The deeper issue sat within Managed Services leadership. The culture was toxic. Blame, raised voices, finger pointing, public escalations, and intimidation were common. Complaints did not lead to meaningful change. HR appeared limited in its ability to intervene effectively. Speaking up often felt like it carried personal risk.
This behaviour did not feel isolated. It appeared to be enabled from the top of ASG. Managed Services fostered this environment and regularly demonstrated aggressive and hostile leadership. Rather than being challenged, this was followed by promotion. That signals clearly what behaviour is tolerated and rewarded.
Finance added the biggest layer of complexity, aggression and friction. Processes were unnecessarily complex, frequently changing, and poorly communicated. Significant time was lost navigating avoidable bureaucracy and internal blockers. Decisions were often reversed or not followed through, deadlines shifted without notice, and information was difficult to access when escalated. The tone from Finance leadership was frequently dismissive, patronising, and combative. Often colleagues were openly bad mouthed and critiqued.
Angry and combative emails, along with unnecessary escalations, became routine. Finance leadership often did not engage in a consistent or constructive way, including missed responses and limited participation in meetings. The overall experience was chaotic, high pressure, and draining. For many teams, engagement with Finance became a significant source of frustration and lost productivity.
In every other organisation I have worked in, poor leadership and bad behaviour is addressed. Here it felt to be tolerated and rewarded.
Culture is not what appears on a presentation slide or in an all hands weekly meeting. Culture is how people feel on a Sunday evening.
Benefits are minimal, and elements of the role and compensation were not aligned with how they were initially presented during my hiring process.
Leaving was a relief. What could have been a strong role was ultimately undermined by leadership challenges, internal dysfunction, and a culture that tolerates behaviour that would not be acceptable in most organisations.
