Catalyst Reviews

At one point in time, Catalyst was a well-respected organization with a mission to advance the workplace for women. Somewhere along the line, greedy and selfish individuals completely took over and no one in leadership has any idea how get the organization back on track. The "products" being sold are said to be "provocative and ground breaking", but it is really nothing else that a company can't find elsewhere for better quality. Research is outdated, practices are going back in time to better suit those who have trouble working remotely due to lack of tech ability (i.e. "returning" to office, when Catalyst has always been remote). The new CEO set up her prior company to be sold to SHRM (who recently dropped the DEI acronym) and it seems as though this will be the path Catalyst follows soon, as she has quickly turned the organization into a path of turmoil while promoting her book (which is just another account of a privileged woman who proudly boasts about throwing tantrums to her board and not protecting her team so that she could advance her own career). The org is filled with self proclaimed "Inclusion & Belonging" experts who come from a line of privilege. The CHRO responds on here with a "come say it to my face" vibe and when you do, she just gaslights you into thinking that you are the problem and that you just need to find somewhere else to work. Colleagues who identify as being of color are constantly oppressed and put down by those who believe they are more "elite". Think twice before you join.

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.