Pros
I always appreciated the café and the fact CoBank supplemented the cost to keep employee costs low. My coworkers were kind and worked towards solutions despite a structure that did not support collaboration. The benefits were solid and costs were low.
Cons
I felt fortunate when I first started at CoBank because of the mission and the link to rural America. I learned quickly I was working in a pervasive environment of finger-pointing and blame which undermined trust and productivity. My specific department was toxic and that was built by the senior leader of the department (senior leader = executive team member). This leader always seemed to have a target out for someone. The culture was so awful that you felt grateful when the blame was focused on someone other than you. Another recent post references Stockholm syndrome - this is a perfect descriptor.
