My early experiences made it difficult to believe negative reports from former employees. I even defended Ramsey to the point of losing friends. Eventually, I experienced being shamed and manipulated by leadership. I had experienced this in corporate America, but Ramsey was supposed to be different.
My team was pushed harder and harder. We reinvented ourselves time and again, and when the results weren’t what was expected, the stress started taking a huge toll. The company bragged about their low turn-over rate, but I regularly watched talented people that I respected either quit or be squeezed out. Those of us in my team who remained were worried about performance, our paychecks, and even our health: mental and physical.
While leaders were demanding 150% from me, I didn’t feel trusted or supported. I felt there was no room for ideas outside of those that agreed with what higher leadership had already determined. Cognitive dissonance grew as I wondered why a company that teaches servant leadership didn’t seem to show it. When I took my concerns to my leaders, they shut me down, gaslighted me, and accused me of not trusting them. I couldn’t discuss concerns with colleagues because that was considered gossip. The no-gossip policy only seemed to protect leadership. I wondered what was going on with the company I loved and believed in. This experience didn’t fit with what I believed was the company’s core values.
Dave would remind us on stage that we could leave anytime we wanted, and joke that they weren’t a cult. He told us we did “work that matters” and that it was the best place to work (we were strongly encouraged to give perfect scores on the Nashville Best Places to Work survey). It made me feel like if I left, I was somehow not doing God’s work and that I’d never find a better job. My job and my Christian mission felt unhealthily intertwined. I couldn’t lose one without losing the other.
There is a term used when people leave the company suddenly: “The Ramsey Rapture.” That’s why it was important to me to leave “on good terms” because I didn’t want to be one of “them.” But leaving on good terms didn’t guarantee my friendships. There are so many good people there. It hurts when some treat you differently or even completely ignore you after you leave. I understand, though. I did it too.
It took six months of counseling after I resigned to understand the extent of the abuse I experienced there and to build back my confidence. It took that long to realize that even though I wasn’t perfect, I wasn’t the problem. The problem was a culture of fear - fear of not achieving results, fear of being shamed, fear of gossip, fear of being accused of disloyalty, or not believing in the mission. All of this took place in an organization that claims not to operate from fear. I never imagined I’d be leaving a review like this. But here I am.
