Pros
It is a wonderful place with a great mission. In general the staff is truly dedicated to the proposition of healing sick children, including both the clinical and research side of the house. Some of the the senior management team was excellent: Dedicated, smart, strategic and tough when need be. The team of Fenwick and Mandell must get a lot of credit for engineering a truly remarkable turn around during the last ten years. They went from losing 80million dollars on 400m revenue to earning well over 100m million on closer to a billion in revenue. Turnarounds like that don't simply happen. They require great leadership.
Cons
While overall I would give senior management high marks, there are pockets of substantial dysfunction. Certain executives wield their power unchecked either by colleagues or conscience. Front line staff would not generally be aware of this, but it can be hard on middle management. Also, they NEVER promote middle management from within. I was there for nearly ten years in a variety of upper-middle management roles, but could never get promoted to executive status. Maybe it was just me, but I saw many talented people leave because they knew they had no future.
