Now that the company no longer materially exists and my stock turns into toilet paper; I am able to speak freely.  It was interesting watching HQ Trivia grow.  Leadership used individuals, not teams, as the fundamental building blocks of HQ Trivia.  Managers didn’t have their employees’ backs if they took risks.  Clear goals but each role was not consequential, peers were not reliable and assured about making a difference.  I didn’t see teams that execute as a community.  For reasons that aren’t clear, leadership didn’t strive to put aside their differences to merge attention towards and obsession with what is good for their employer.  Drugs and a lack of a tribe lead to their burnout.  There is promising research demonstrating when employees adopt a tribe mindset, they are more engaged and less likely to burn out.  Sadly, the peer reviewed studies didn’t become well known till 2018/2019.   

A few of the externally sourced leaders would work together but would let their rivalry, competing for advancement, resources and positioned their departments against each other in conflicts.  Common sense dictates the intragroup conflict will have negative effects on organizational outcomes.  When presented with this information, it isn’t clear to me why HQ’s Board didn’t course correct this specific sub-optimal challenge.  

I wish the HQties the best in their future endeavors. May they learn from this opportunity to grow.