Catalyst Reviews

Last time I posted was when Catalyst cut 17% of the staff in the name of “transformation.” Well, we are still waiting for this magical “transformation” as we cut another 17% of our colleagues. How many years does agile transformation take? 5? 10? Guess what? The problem ain’t the staff. The problem can be found in the multitude of posts pointing the finger directly at the problem. The COO posts here anonymously telling us “change is hard,” we stopped buying it. What seems to be hard is for the board to realize Catalyst is going down the tubes and to step in and save what once was the leading organization for working women. NOBODY is struggling with change people. In fact the workload was MORE rigorous when we were producing meaningful work instead of marketing garbage. What people are struggling with is the chaos created by a senior leadership team that seems to spend most of its time in power moves against each other. Or speaking the latest corporate buzzwords: product, digital front door, digital transformation. Or blaming employees for the loss of revenue. So now there are two senior leaders left standing and a CEO out shilling her book. Who will remain? We wait with bated breath but I know where I place my odds. I read the Prince. But by then she will stand amidst the rubble that once was Catalyst. For those of us left behind with survivors guilt—don’t speak up. It’s not safe. You will be next to go.

The RTO mandate has shattered the last faith I had in this organization. Those in the NYC area feel punished, while those outside the city are uncertain about their future with the organization. Even in the recent town hall, our CHRO would not commit to remote workers being safe in their roles in the long term. That scares me. It's also striking that there does not appear to be a plan in place for how to fit everyone in the office. Here's a simple question that has gone unanswered- do we have enough desk space for all employees? Even before the RTO mandate, faith in the organization was crumbling. We have lost sight of our mission. Decisions are made unilaterally. SLT thinks it knows best but does not take accountability for its decisions. When mistakes are made, we don't attempt to fix the problem or reverse course. Instead, we double down, waste money, and often times, attack the messenger. Depending on the department you are in, there is very little psychological safety. For some vital projects, the exact opposite is true. There is no direction or leadership on vital projects. Department leaders do not communicate with one another. They are only interested in their own goals, at the expense of the organization as a whole. We need communication. We need workflows. We need empowered employees. RTO will not fix this leadership vacuum. It won't impact many of our struggling leaders. It will not fix our communication problems. We will still be communicating virtually. Teams will still be 90% remote. If SLT is the problem, how many SLT members are commuting in daily? Instead, this RTO decision is yet another SLT choice that will only punish those of us carrying out the mission.