During my time at AMA, favoritism was a significant issue. People with close relationships to the CEO were given opportunities and positions of power regardless of whether they had the experience, competence, leadership skills, competence, or track record to justify them. It also became clear that when hiring external executives, the organization often gravitated toward people who thought, acted, and led in the same way as those already in power.
The gap between AMA's external values and the behaviour of senior leadership was impossible to ignore. The organization talked constantly about culture, respect, and putting people first, yet those values were never reflected in leadership decisions. Too often, decisions seemed to be driven by a desire to appease those at the top rather than by what was best for employees, members, or the organization.
As an HR professional, I was initially excited to join an organization with such a strong external reputation. It did not take long to realize how much effort was invested in protecting that reputation. The image presented to the public was very different from the culture experienced by many employees. Before long, I found myself embarrassed to be part of the HR department and, at times, embarrassed to work for AMA. Too much energy was spent protecting leadership decisions and managing appearances instead of supporting employees and addressing real problems.
Employee feedback was ignored when it did not align with what senior leadership wanted to hear. I was frequently told to view employees as company assets rather than people. I was also encouraged to "wear employees and vendors down until they broke". When my own employees raised concerns about excessive workloads, burnout, or how they were being treated, my senior leaders often mocked them, dismissed their concerns, or labelled them as "weak". It created a culture where people quickly learned that speaking up was risky, unwelcome, and often pointless, unless it was to throw other employees under the bus which is a common AMA tactic just to survive this organization.
