Disconnected leadership, toxic culture, and blatant favouritism
Pros
• Teams genuinely support one another and often stand in solidarity. • Many talented individuals work hard and bring real value, even if they go unrecognised. • Bonds are formed through shared challenges — sometimes trauma — which speaks volumes about the resilience of the people, not the culture.
Cons
• Leadership plays favourites — promotions are handed to select individuals without merit or credentials, while others are held to a different standard. • The environment is overwhelmingly male-dominated, with little regard for diversity or inclusion. • The managing director is disengaged, often more focused on his phone than on the people or purpose of meetings. • He prioritises trivial metrics like logged hours and event attendance (even outside work hours) over trust, outcomes, or wellbeing. • A culture of bullying is tolerated, if not enabled, by senior leadership. Integrity and mentorship are sorely lacking. • Inappropriate relationships one SLT member and employees go unaddressed, raising serious ethical concerns. • Leadership invites openness and honesty, but often weaponises that vulnerability against employees. • Challenges to leadership are unwelcome unless they align with pre-approved narratives. • There’s a wholesale focus on processes and operations, with little understanding of retail realities. • Many talented employees are overlooked simply because they don’t conform to internal politics or presentation styles. • Redundancies don’t always seem to be based on business needs but rather strategic
