New leadership loses stars - Anonymous employee American Medical Association Employee Review

Mission-driven organization. Competitive pay. Exceptional PTO. Newly eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness! The new CEO brought a faster pace, increased visibility, and greater opportunity to get your work and ideas in front of senior leaders. It can be tough to find a workplace that's more than a paycheck - one where you feel good about your impact. But it feels good every day to stand up for science, vaccines, and patients.

We can often move too slowly and too bureaucratically. TBQH, I think a lot of the negative reaction to the new CEO is in response to his efforts to break down silos and have us move faster. Some of these silos make the AMA seem like multiple organizations - not all of them aligned with one mission. It's also a very, very meeting-heavy culture.

Meaningful mission, talented and driven colleagues, and employees who genuinely care about improving health care and supporting physicians.

The culture has changed significantly since the current CEO came on board a year ago. Morale is down, and many employees no longer feel respected or valued. The problem isn't having a new leader heading up the organization. Employees have adapted and continued to deliver results through plenty of change over the years. The bigger issue is a leadership style many employees experience as authoritarian and dismissive, along with unrealistic expectations and frequently shifting goalposts. Over time, that's hurt collaboration, undermined trust, and made people less comfortable speaking up for fear of repercussions. That's especially concerning in a membership organization, where trust, collaboration, and open communication are critical for success. Communication hasn't helped either. In meetings, difficult questions are often handed off to others instead of being answered directly by the CEO. Employees want honest, direct answers from the person leading the organization, not smoke and mirrors. Many employees feel there's too much emphasis on the CEO's personal visibility instead of the AMA's mission, members, and employees. In a membership organization, those priorities should come first.