Unchecked nepotism. In Chicago this is something we are used to - politicians employing relatives regardless of qualifications, extending favors to campaign donors at the expense of progress, quid pro quo, etc. While it’s the executive leadership’s prerogative to manage the business this way, it doesn’t optimize anything. In fact, it detracts from what could be a more successful business. Not only does this approach cause waste, it permeates the culture. Akin to what happens in Russia, just think as the executive leadership here as the elite oligarchs that want to maintain power no matter the repercussion to society. I witnessed the Chicago office crumble under this management style - other executives that did not agree with this approach no longer work there, employees that spoke out against treatment of the business no longer work there, and what you have left is a brow-beaten staff that is managed by executives that prefer a “no questions asked” culture. The worst part is that they then create a façade that promotes an open dialogue, an innovative atmosphere, and a career track. This is great for employees just out of school or are still nascent in their career and may not have had experience working in other corporations and buy in to this. Director roles and above are usually held for people that have some type of relationship to the executives. Likewise, the executive leadership mostly consists of people who have been employed by the parent company for years. In short, if you’re not a part or do not play along with the politics of the top inner circle, you’re lifespan at this place is limited. Gross incompetence and mismanagement ideally leads to repercussions, but when your supervisor is also a long time friend or family member, repercussions seem to not happen or are limited within this philosophy. Rather the repercussion within this format is to simply “move” that person elsewhere while still maintaining employment. Again, we expect this within the public sector and no doubt this is an approach that any company can implement but that doesn’t mean we need to participate.
