Sadek Sleiman of Panduit Tried to get me fired Orland Park Illinois

I worked with Sadek at his employer and I observed a unique individual. I do not know the source of his behvour and refuse to speculate. Some may conclude it is due to his upbringing, but I can only report the facts.

The fact is Sadek tried to have me fired. I reported Sadek's interactions, which primarily consisted of two patterns: sel-contradiction and lack of cooperation, on a regular basis to management.

The evidence is proprietary but freey availabe to any company IT persnnell with access to IBM's Jazz tool.

Sadek was already working on the project when I was asked by management to join him to form a team of two. Even though we were attempting to use the Scrum methodolgy, Scrum requires 3 or 4 people, depending on the source. So a team of 2 cannot, by definition, perform Scrum. Yet management indicated this as my claim, even though it is well documented on established sites like scrum.org and the scrum alliance.

I had observed the company was claiming to do Scrum yet found no Scrum practices evident. The Scrum meeting was a simple status meeting. There was no reconcilation meeting, which some refer to as the "soul" of Scrum. Even the iteration planning meeting was not done according to Scrum. Teams did not self-organize and work was assigned. The team worked as individuals, not as a team. The only individual who seemed to be performing well was the Product Owner.

While I was there a consultant hired by management reported a large number of issues including examples of technical debt and poorly performing code. He also found most issues were created wthin the previous year. Ths ws consistent with my observation that there were no quality controls in place.

I made a request to management to perform as a Scrm Master, thnking if I could show them the benefits of Scrum it would represent a major leap forward. I am certified, and I have prior experience. Yet they seemed to want me to perform as a developer, while another individual, who confided had no Scrum experience nor interest, was being pitched as the future Scrrum Master.

Yet I was asked to run a 2 person team as Scrum. Sadek requested the Product Owner role, and management approved, even though the same management had previously approved my solution for the missing PO role.

Sadek then insisted the PO was the only one who could add stories to each iteration. As we began iteration 1, I found Sadek had added his previously completed stories as if they were done on the first day of iteration 1. He also added s number of stories to complete.

However he only added 2 stories for me, one of which was completed, making it appear as if he was doing the lions share of the work.

I was released unexpecetdly one day with no standard two week notice and no explanation. My personal belongngs are still at the company, as far as I know, including a $100 pair of walking shoes and a wireless mouse.

I worked with Sadek daily for several weeks and found he contradicted himself on a daily basis. When I asked him about this, he would simply say "I am not going to talk about it".

For example, he claimed he'd held the role of Scrum Master for five years. One day he revised that assersion to 1.5 years, and refused to discuss the the previous assertion. He also knew little about Scrum.

When I scheduled one of the regular Scrum meetings Sadek told me he would not attend. I told him I did not manage him, and I would hold the meeting enyway. Then he insisted we hold a different meeting management had already told us we should skip. I agreed we had authority to decide for ourselves. Later that same day, Sadek said we should NOT hold the meeting he previously demanded.

During our meetings it was critical we collaborate and come to agreement on specific project decisions. Sadek consistently refused to agree on anything, which all but halted progress.

I dutifully reported all of this to managers when they were not present. Yet I was let go while being honest, and Sadek remains while honesty seems unknown to him.

Except for the monetary loss and the friendly employees, I am happy not to have to work under those conditions.

Sadek's manager asked Sadek to cooperate on several occasions, and at one point he actually dd, for two days.

During the weeks I worked with Sadek I became aware of a test given to people to determine whether they are in touch with reality; specifically to determine if they are a psychopath.

Sadek, in my opinion, would have tested positive. He had an unrealistic ego, was confused about the difference between truth and falsehoods, and so on. The only items I could not verify were those few that require a lengthy process by a psychologist.

At times Sadek acted like a friend to me, yet near the end he freely hinted I was on the way out. He did what he could to expidite my termination.

I do not blame Sadek, he has an illness. However his management knows him well, and failed to get him to cooperate. Was I released because I honestly reported Sadek's unusual behviour? I cannot think of any other reason. I had much to offer, and now I am looking for my next job.

After 30 years in the industry I've only met a couple of Sadek's. I only wish I knew enough to put him on the road to a cure. Perrenial liars are, in my experience, people who need help. Even though he felt he his goal was my termination, I only wish the best for him, and other with the same affliction.