Leadership here isn’t just flawed, it’s actively harmful. What looks like a “build your own path” culture is really just a lack of structure disguised as opportunity. There are no clear benchmarks for advancement, and anyone outside leadership’s inner circle is left to guess what success even looks like. The ones who do “move up” tend to have more gossip skills than strategic digital marketing skills.
Favoritism is rampant, feedback is weaponized, and performance reviews are inconsistent at best (chances are you’ll never even get one). Raises and promotions are doled out based on loyalty and vibes, not merit. Ask for clarity, and you risk being labeled arrogant or unloyal.
The CEO sets the tone, and that tone is manic. Decisions shift weekly. One day you're tracking all your time, the next only billable hours. Return to office policy? Changes by the month. New platform rollouts? Announced, walked back, re-announced. Are we hiring? No, but the CEO met this super cool person and couldn’t not offer a job! When bad reviews appear, the entire organization is dragged into late meetings where leadership insists “no one feels this way” while cameras slowly turn off. The culture of fear is real, and the gaslighting is baked in.
If you haven’t already heard this from other reviews, the CEO has a really bad habit of making inappropriate comments, blurring personal/professional lines, and fostering an environment where being contacted on nights, weekends, and PTO is not just common, it’s expected. Mental and physical health take a hit, and any attempt to set boundaries is seen as a lack of dedication and loyalty. But hey, they gave you a mental health day a couple years ago and did yoga once, so you’re fine! Get over yourself!
Even though it appears a 7 year old could run an organization better than this, they’re very very smart! There is no HR department by design, not due to oversight. Bringing concerns to leadership (your only option) tends to result in one of two outcomes: dismissal or disproportionate drama. Gossip from someone in the inner circle who you don’t work with on a daily basis often outweighs the actual feedback from your direct team. Job security is fragile, even if you’re on leave or navigating a personal crisis.
The kicker? The best people either leave or are forced out. The ones who stay are often too burnt out, too scared, or too stuck in the horrible job market to make a move. It’s hard to describe how disheartening it is to watch super talented people be minimized while the “loyalists” rise for doing nothing more than keep leadership’s ego intact (and they do nothing else, trust me).
