Hey Hey, Ho Ho, The CEO has GOT to GO!
Pros
- Colleagues are some of the best in the assessment industry. Working with well-respected, published experts, who maintain a sense of humility, is very inspiring. - Competitive salary for managers and above (though it can vary by remote location). - Very generous retirement contributions for all employees (participation is mandatory but the company gives you an extra 12.5% of your salary toward your retirement plan). - On the assessment side, we know we’re all in it for the right reasons: to improve pathways of success for all learners. It feels great knowing that my efforts positively benefit hundreds of thousands of students across the country.
Cons
- CEO does not value or support the Assessment side of the business. Internal town halls and other presentations clearly convey his thoughts about assessment, not only through what he says, but what he does not say. CEO is preoccupied with taking revenues from the Assessment side of the business and using them to prop up new divisions and crank out products and service offerings that have yet to generate positive results. If I were an existing Assessment client, I’d be asking myself how this benefits my program? Most employees will tell you that they feel the CEO is openly hostile toward assessment programs in general. - CEO surrounds himself with those that shy away from challenging him. There seems to be little room for disagreement within the executive leadership cohort. Aside of a few upstanding individuals, most are rubber stamps that pull down very generous salaries and will do whatever it takes to protect their jobs because this is likely the best they’ll ever have (not nearly talented enough to hold equivalent positions at larger, more competitive organizations). Once someone makes it to the chief level, they start to more openly pursue their personal agenda, which for many is to in turn elevate their own unqualified direct reports or team members into increasing levels of responsibility and financial reward, thus perpetuating the cycle of launching ill-equipped into jobs they cannot successfully perform. At Cognia, advancement has become much more about who you know vs. how much you know/how you perform. - Since COVID, Cognia went almost fully remote, but in the last year or so, CEO continues to hint at wanting employees to return to the office in some capacity. This much is clear: the façade the CEO adopted a few years ago as an open-minded servant-oriented leader is quickly fading, and employees see him for exactly what he is: an egocentric micromanager that uses Cognia as a means to enrich himself and his inner circle at the expense of others. Cognia’s annual financial records are available for anyone to review online—take a look at how much the CEO makes. Not bad for a non-profit, especially one that relies heavily on a volunteer network to prop up the accreditation side of its business. - Layoffs have become the norm and the CEO is quick to explain them away as either a result of inflation or waning demand for products and services. CEO takes absolutely no responsibility for Cognia’s financial performance. Why is Cognia’s Board of Directors not performing its fiduciary responsibilities and holding the CEO accountable for Cognia’s performance? Perhaps it’s time for ethical complaints and an investigation into Cognia’s, and the Board’s, activities. There needs to be an immediate change in leadership. The CEO is well on his way to destroying Cognia.