*Note: I worked on the foundation, or Institute, side of the business. There's also a clinical side, and the experiences and happiness of the employees there are often a totally different story, so I can only speak to where I worked.
Overall I would say management is the biggest problem here, and the reason the Child Mind Institute can't overcome its biggest challenges as a company or retain talent. Executives (and particularly the two corner offices) are not approachable or easy to work for, and do not have the right priorities for a nonprofit focused on children's needs. There's a lot left to be desired with the way they treat people. In less than 2 years there, I witnessed many occasions where the president screamed at or ridiculed employees, where the executive director was condescending and purposely made employees feel stupid, and where another executive rudely cut off "lesser" employees in meetings with offensive words and body language.
There's definitely a sense of hierarchy here, and the president is at the helm, setting completely the wrong tone for the entire organization. While ambitious and a reliably hard worker (and he has built an amazing empire with the Child Mind Institute, it must be said), he is also incredibly vain--he seems to care mainly about education, wealth, dress, social status, what your spouse does, what kind of family you come from--and if you don't measure up, he writes you off right away. When an employee makes an honest mistake, he disciplines the way he would his two-year-old child, and routinely shouts (!) in the office. He lacks tolerance and compassion and can be a nightmare to work for, or even occasionally interact with.
I also saw a good many worrisome business decisions made while I was there. The executives tend to say yes to everything, which any smart entrepreneur will tell you is not the best way to grow a business. Instead they simply assume their staff will make the work happen, even if it isn't the best strategic choice for the organization's vision at the end of the day (not to mention they have no concept of the time or resources it actually takes to make Projects A, B, C and D that fly in the door at the same time work, and work well.) Hey management: Sometimes a strategic "no" is the right answer once in awhile!
While I was employed here, a smaller company was acquired with no indication whatsoever of a business plan. It quickly became apparent that management had no plan for bringing them on board and integrating them into the company. Instead, they gave them all desks in one windowless room for an indefinite period of time, and one by one each of these employees quit. Anytime a question was brought forward about this group and a vision, strategy or plan for it, a satisfactory answer was never provided. Management's preferred way of dealing with a problem is to keep passing it off to someone else to handle instead of addressing the problem head-on or training the staff; for example, I once witnessed a corner-office executive unhappy with the way a department did a project that was clearly under their purview, and instead of addressing this with the head of the department, they simply passed it off to another department's assistant who, of course, didn't have the proper expertise, and caused further errors.
There is no leadership training or accountability that managers have, which would be a huge benefit. There is insufficient, haphazard training for the role once you are hired, and expectations for receiving a promotion and raise are purposely kept vague so that growing within your role or moving up in your department becomes impossible. Furthermore, I witnessed managers and executives gossip and ridicule junior staff or other departments at various times, which is frustrating, to say the least, and incredibly unproductive.
While the hours and pay are fairly decent, you ARE expected to check your email around the clock and to work from home on sick days. Management is focused on all the wrong things, most of which center around vanity (an out-of-office bounceback message, a perfectly appropriate sign at a desk). This is an organization that has a certain profile (Park Avenue offices, beautiful employees, uber-wealthy board of directors & executives) and that's fine if your prerogatives are looks, status and money. It's just a little odd to see in a nonprofit with such a special mission. A shame, really. There are better nonprofits out there. My advice? Work for one of them instead.
