Toxic Leadership with High Turnover (Fairtrade America) - Recensione dipendente - Manager presso Fairtrade Labelling

It feels like a very toxic place to work due to poor leadership at the top level. In the past two years, there has been a complete turnover of staff. Leadership at the top level has not addressed this and doesn't seem to think it is a problem. I feel like the COO in particular has helped foster a toxic work environment. He does not provide constructive feedback and, more often than not, shoots down peoples' ideas before they're given a chance to try them out. There is a lot of distrust between leadership (the COO and the Executive Director) and the rest of the staff. I always felt I had to work around the COO, rather than with him. The COO has also created hiring practices that foster a toxic environment. There are huge variations in terms of compensation that do not take into account years of experience or education. The pathway to raises or even a cost of living adjustment were not transparent, which was very frustrating. The organization's goals and strategy are unclear and seem to shift with whatever mood the COO is in. He does not have a background in social or environmental issues and therefore does not understand the industries Fairtrade works in very well. It often felt like he gave contradictory guidance in terms of the organization's goals. It also felt like any type of debate or discussion of new ideas was strongly discouraged, especially if it contradicted the views of the COO. This lead to an environment that stifled creativity and honesty.