The toxic environment made me appreciate corporate America because at least I know what to expect...
Pros
Working with wonderful, intelligent people for the most part
Cons
I echo what has been stated about the hierarchical top down toxic leadership, the good ole boy promotion culture, and sustaining a glass ceiling for the best and brightest talent. The most significant disappointment was the assumption that the largest nonprofit in the US would actually have internal controls, a healthy work environment, equitable pay, transparency, and the prioritization of personnel wellbeing. It is hard to know what AARP actually stands for because upper managers are unable to clearly articulate their deliverables much less yours.. The clearest goal is to inflate their own egos and do the bare minimum to receive big bonuses that don't actually reflect their performance. I decided to work here because a companies bottom line is not what wakes me up in the morning. I wanted to make difference. If you actually support mission work and want to be impactful then I'd suggest taking your skills and time elsewhere. Don't be a hero and think you alone can fix it. The new CEO would have to completely clean house across senior leadership roles to make and create an executable vision to make AARP a decent place to work.