- Executives are disconnected, make decisions in echo chambers, and shower their favorite employees with special treatment and praise. Becoming a favorite employee generally requires sycophant behavior.
- Decision-making is highly political. Producing quality work is not a concern when politics get in the way, and they get in the way often.
- Micromanagement is rampant, and most employees aren't trusted to do the work they were hired to do. Lower level employees aren't given many opportunities to grow and are often neglected.
- Core values are preached, but not practiced. The company masquerades as a "human-centered organization" that genuinely cares and wants to make a difference. This is a bold-faced lie; the culture is toxic starting from the top.
- The company lacks a solid product direction. There’s massive amounts of pivoting and scope creep. Work is often redefined far into development after management actually understands what the team should be building.
- Excessive back-channeling to set things in motion. Management frequently gives closed-door directives outside of larger meetings that affect entire teams. This is likely done to avoid backlash from the larger team toward the assuredly unpopular decision.
