This one has been eating at me for over a decade: when I was in management, our CRO forced my 1st line manager to remove one of my peers “Clyde” from the role because he was too obese.
Clyde was an absolute angel and a top performer, but my manager cited the fact that the CRO was tired of the guy needing two plane seats, and looking sloppy in front of customers (shirt coming untucked after walking a bit, sweating, etc) amongst other things. Basically forced Clyde into an IC role as a way of managing him out of the company.
All this was done without a PIP or HR getting involved. I regret not pushing back but a) I adored this manager and didn’t want her to get in trouble b) I was intimidated by this CRO given that I wasn’t one of the several guys he brought into the company and c) didn’t want to rock the boat because I had a new mortgage and two young kids.
What dirty secrets do you have about the tech industry?