Terrible workplace/poor leadership - Program Associate Impact Justice Employee Review

I initially came to work here as a consultant. Immediately, I recognized that the culture here strongly expressed its core values consistently. The driving force of innovation is prioritized and thrives in a variety of ways. In my first year as an entry-level staff member, I was given plenty of opportunities to showcase my skills beyond my role. This allowed me to experience substantial growth in the organization and achieve numerous promotions. The leadership team engages with the entire organization and solicits feedback on ways to improve culture and belonging. The entire team is afforded opportunities to openly contribute to improving and modifying policies, procedures, and best practices. This empowers the staff to share their thoughts, opinions, and suggestions without repercussions on a regular basis. The level of engagement is unparralled for a nonprofit. From yearly retreats with the national team to staff meetings, holiday parties, professional development trainings, and surveys - I have always felt included, valued, and seen. This is vastly important for an organization's culture as engagement and morale can thrive in these environments. Impact Justice stays ahead of the times and naturally serves as a catalyst to system change and social justice issues. This organization is committed to incorporating practices that uphold racial equity, diversity, and inclusion. These efforts have enhanced empathy and trauma informed best practices in all arenas of the organizations - from hiring practices, performance management, wellness plans, and programmatic initiatives. Impact Justice is truly a rewarding place to work.

As a young organization, Impact Justice grew substantially in a matter of years. As such, growing pains occurred, yet the leadership team responded quickly to expand policies, benefits, and employee assistance programs to serve the diversified pool of staff members. This is less of a con, but for some individuals that do not like change, I placed this here because a growing organization can be perceived as a change unpleasant to some.

The benefits are the greatest perk, though the ET has been trying to reduce them for years. The union is probably the other big pull for the org — it made a big difference in my experience when benefits and budgets were cut. IJ also continues to attract incredible talent — it's a shame that so many of those people are pushed out.

Poor executive leadership infects the rest of the organization with favoritism, defensiveness, dysfunction, and micromanagement. These problems ultimately prevent IJ's crucial and important work (what actually brings people to the organization) from being as successful as it can and needs to be.