Lifelong friendships overshadowed by toxic management practices
Pros
Some of the team members have become lifelong friends. The clients were wonderful, and many of the ideas and concepts shared with them are equally useful for our own personal growth and development.
Cons
The co-owner made it clear that she expected her sales team to be working at all hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays, in support of the company's growth. Even after achieving exceptional results, the response was always, "Good, now go get another sale." There was rarely an opportunity to pause and acknowledge a job well done. No matter how hard you worked or how successful you were, it never felt like enough. After leaving the company, I realized how deeply that mindset had stayed with me. It stood in stark contrast to many of the principles of work/life balance that we taught our clients, and even our own team members, to embrace. The other co-owner (her husband) preferred hearing only positive feedback. Regardless of how a presentation was actually received, there was an unspoken expectation that the response had to be overwhelmingly enthusiastic. Comments such as, "That was THE best presentation ever!" became the norm, even when it didn't reflect the genuine experience. Protecting the owner's "confidence" often felt like a priority, creating an environment where honest feedback was discouraged. Lastly, the Sales Director has been living in Europe since the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout that time, it had been communicated that she was working as a volunteer. After several years, I found myself questioning that explanation and would have appreciated greater transparency about the circumstances. I believe the sales team deserves clear and honest communication regarding the leadership structure and long-term arrangements.
