-First, the most brilliant minds in the world work here. It also means there is very little forward movement. We spend months talking and toiling about “strategy” and making everything more complicated than it needs to be. The partners in the field are doing the tough work. We are investing the money. It should not be that complicated - but the Gates culture is hooked on complicated.
-Second , lack of diversity and unconscious adherence to white supremacy culture where cutthroat behavior is normalized. Employees who are actually from the places we are supposed to be supporting are marginalized and/or pushed out. Grant dollars go to white-led, “elite” institutions and there is little interest in changing this. It’s actually quite shocking for a place that claims “All Lives Have Equal Value.”
-Third, the HR department is a disaster. HR gets a bad rap in most organizations and it’s not always fair. However, at the Foundation it’s the worst I’ve ever experienced. There are way too many of them (like 70 HR people). The left has no idea what the right is doing, you ask a question and you get four different answers, and the turnover is ridiculous. Ive been a people leader for 4 years and had over a dozen HR people come and go. You can barely get a question about basic benefits answered. Don’t get me started on the recruiting process and philosophy on pay equity.
-Fourth, your team will go through change every 6 months so just expect it and plan for it. I understand change is inevitable, but it’s almost a disease at the foundation. It goes back to my first point, they make things complicated for no reason, which results in constant change and reinventing the wheel over and over again.
