Pros
Historically good work/balance for most, laudable mission, competitive pay
Cons
With any change at the top, there will be difficult decisions and polarizing reactions. But broader cultural shifts under the new CEO's leadership are set to do more long-term damage to the organization than any single decision. Eliminating, sidelining disent Over the last year, there have been a number of leadership departures and shakeups, a process which has strategically removed (through firings and “early retirements”) or sidelined long-time leaders with a wealth of institutional knowledge who happened not to agree enough with the CEO. This has exacerbated the recent instability and minimized the possibility of constructive feedback on the CEO’s decisions which often merit more scrutiny. Culture of fear Currently, everyone is afraid to bring anything before the CEO for review and is second-guessing their every decision, and it’s justified. As noted above, people have been let go for not sufficiently falling in line, and those whose work didn’t match the CEO’s expectations have been disparaged in public and dressed down in private. Worse, at any moment you could be tasked with bringing to life one of the CEO’s new ideas, which you likely played no part in shaping but will be fully responsible for if it fails. Micromanagement The AMA is a great organization, but it does have some big, long-term decisions to make regarding its future—plenty of work to keep any leader busy. But the CEO has spent the bulk of his time getting down in the weeds and scrutinizing the smallest of decisions, while sharing only scant details about the direction the AMA is headed. This micromanagement has further amplified people’s need to second guess their every decision and entertain the CEO’s every whim to get some relief. Unprofessional, iron fist leadership In town halls and company-wide emails, the CEO talks about making the AMA a top place to work. Some qualities of great places to work are those with cultures of respect, transparency, and flexibility. None of this is on display from the CEO. In private, his behavior with employees can range from passive aggressive to outright condescending. The recent RTO decision was simply decided by SVPs and is in total opposition to the flexibility employees want. Subsequent criticism of the RTO policy has been sidelined or silenced at every turn. My advice for job seekers: If you’re applying to a manager position or below, proceed with caution. If you’re considering a VP position or higher, stay clear. These issues only intensify the higher up the ladder you go.