Toxic Leadership & Micromanagement Killed the Culture
Pros
Competitive pay and benefits. Talented peers (outside of leadership). Opportunities to work on meaningful CX and service design initiatives — when not being blocked by management.
Cons
Leadership issues across both the CX and Service Design teams severely impacted morale and productivity. I was transferred from CX to Service Design without any input, primarily because I had a voice and advocated for fairness — something not welcomed by my manager. A newly hired lead, with little relevant knowledge, was favored and trusted over experienced team members. This led to dysfunction, poor decision-making, and eventually, I was pushed off the team. On the Service Design team, leadership was toxic. The manager was controlling, unsupportive, and regularly took credit for others’ work. Micromanagement was extreme — even emails were scrutinized line by line. Despite 10+ years of professional experience, I was not trusted to communicate with stakeholders or participate in strategic discussions. Favoritism and exclusion were common, and recognition was only given to a select few. Leadership generally operated in silos, lacked transparency, and created a demoralizing work environment where trust and autonomy were practically nonexistent.