‘Yes, sir!’: Manager demands team leader motivate an overqualified employee to do boring tasks, so team leader motivates him to quit

Sienna Varady

Feb 8, 2024 12:00 PM EST

There are unwritten rules and workplace politics in the corporate world that you have to abide by if you want to keep your job.

The story that follows is from a tech consulting company's team lead. OP was in charge of two teams, each consisting of three members, for a total of six persons. OP was given a project at the time that required the assistance of all six members of his team. The company decided against pursuing new, cutting-edge technology in favor of sticking with what they knew in order to complete the task at hand. A few team members were somewhat surprised by this choice, but MaxPowers in particular was crushed. MaxPowers recently graduated from college and is eager to dive headfirst into the tech industry. As a result, this choice completely ruined his drive to succeed and advance within the organization.

When OP voiced his concerns to higher-ups, he was informed that MaxPower was the actual problem, not the company, and that it was up to OP to figure out how to 'motivate' his workers. By taking this advice to heart, OP inspired MaxPowers to pursue his passion and his goals all the way to a new company. Having said that, don't forget to read the story below if you're interested in learning how OP influenced MaxPower! After you're done, remember to read the story about the web developer who leaves the company high and dry after higher-ups shut down his concerns regarding the launch of a new product!