Stay in the field, never join the management staff
Pros
SCA does amazing work in the field. The participants and leaders grow immensely, while doing meaningful service work.
Cons
The executive leadership team is dysfunctional. They are top-down micro-managers that do not have any experience with the programming and mission that they seek to represent. While increasing in role and title, real authority and respect from the leadership team was greatly reduced. This left me with real accountability, but no authority. While there is great career potential to a certain point, the risk of being dismissed is high. Many quality peers were "downsized" without mentorship, support or feedback. The benefits package is generous, if you are able to use it. Continued downsizing, increased workload, lack of connection to the field and mission are resulting in diminishing participant experience and increased risk to participants.
