Rudderless Leadership - Anonymous employee NBBJ Employee Review

2.0
Oct 29, 2013
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The premise of the studio system as a "autonomous" business unit is a great idea.

Cons

The Managing Partners fail to really support or trust studios to do what they need to do to function as a profitable team of creative professionals. Instead, the work environment feels very top-down where partners don't know who the staff is, and frankly, couldn't care less. They refuse to mandate standards where needed and desired to improve processes and tools, and legislate where it's not needed. The leadership is totally out of touch. It's the kind of place where you work 30 years, and get a 15 minute lame send off with a half an inch of champagne. You really feel like a meaningless cog there.

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5.0
Jun 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Super flexible and great coworkers

Cons

No real cons. Maybe wished it was more hybrid

1.0
Jun 16, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

healthcare benefit, good office location

Cons

Bonus points if you're white and can fit into the small inner circle (iykyk). If not, you may find yourself constantly reminded that you don’t really belong. There is a very obvious double standard around flexibility and trust. Certain people seem to be allowed to do whatever they want, while others get questioned for the same behavior and suddenly need to have a “conversation with the manager.” Openly talking negatively about coworkers and consultants is also treated as normal. There is a lot of casual criticism, gossip, and dismissive commentary, which makes the environment feel unnecessarily tense and unprofessional. The micromanagement is also exhausting, especially from managers who are too busy to know what you are actually working on. Instead of feeling trusted to do your job, you end up spending a lot of energy managing perception. Also, 4 days in the office is intense; sometimes people just need quiet time to focus. Although if you're one of the favorites, that can be negotiable.

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