Variety of projects hindered by poor communication - Project Manager National Security Agency Employee Review

“Very understanding and helpful in both direct and indirect ways. They generally have a passive communication style and may sometimes appear somewhat abstracted due to various challenges; however, they remain honest, thoughtful, and understanding in their approach to human nature. While not perfect, they are reflective of complex dynamics and are helpful in many ways when supporting employees and contributing to the protection of the United States and the broader global community.”

“Sometimes the agency may overdo certain things, but the intentions are generally well-meaning. Over the years, I have developed a better understanding of the complex dynamics involved. Some employees may occasionally feel overlooked or indirectly affected; however, many aspects of the organization are still beneficial and necessary. At times, employees are expected to follow agency directives and sub-directives, even within branches that may face limitations or operational challenges. While individuals may not always agree with every related factor or decision, the agency often has broader reasoning behind the actions it considers necessary. There is both a complex and practical approach to many areas of its structure and orientation. The social and interpersonal dynamics are not always ideal; however, the organization generally means well in many respects. I would recommend maintaining durable and respectful communication with employees and individuals, especially in uncertain or sensitive situations. The environment can feel complicated at times, particularly when someone is unsure of where they stand, but people are often still considered and valued even when they may not personally feel that way.”

Okay. I had to dig deep to come up with this one: you can put on your imagination cap and tell yourself you're a super spy and can't tell anyone anything about anything. The stress and misery of the work is just making you mentally tough, like training to resist torture or something. It's obviously not true and is only fun for like 4-5 minutes tops, but I had to write something here.

Toxic leadership rules by fear and ridicule. They will leap at every opportunity to rub every single mistake in your face to publicly humiliate you in front of the entire office. If you ever ask any questions, you will be told off or sent a "Let Me Google That For You" link. If you do your work without gathering requirements because they were too important to answer questions and Googling "what does my boss want this application to do" as suggested didn't get you those answers, they're literally mad, and I'm quoting verbatim here, that you didn't "read their minds". If you don't do your work because you're waiting on requirements, well then you should be fired for not doing it. There's a derogatory stereotype that "government employees can't be fired," which is not true, and they will threaten you with firing for everything: leaving for a doctor's appointment that you scheduled weeks in advance, getting sick and calling in, getting sick and coming in anyway, going to the bathroom, breathing the wrong way, and so on. Then after all that time being told you deserve to be fired, you quit, and they bemoan how inconvenient it is that you're quitting and how hard filling positions is. The work isn't anything special, either. You may be convinced through official publications or some of NSA's open-source tools or other sources that this is going to be really awesome high-tech stuff. It's not. It's the same boring IT work you could find anywhere else for much better pay and far less organizational dysfunction. The veneer of secrecy is less "we can't tell you what we work on" and more "if you know what this job is going to be, you would never accept it." For my position, I was flown out for processing and for the interview, and the interviewers didn't even show up! Add several layers of bureaucratic red tape, severely outdated technology, and it becomes even more unpleasant. If you are in processing to work here and you can land a job literally anywhere else, go with that instead. Your mental and physical health will thank you.