Workiva

There are wonderful and strong mid-level managers. Some of the best I have seen or heard of in my career. Genuine, caring, and supportive.

They work hard and play hard, with lots of great bonus meals, treats, and outings.

Still a little start-up culture left where you can change things or propose new technology.

It's great as long as you force yourself to keep drinking the Kool-Aid and not pay attention. Once the illusion is shattered and you've been through about 6-9 months of hearing what leadership says but then seeing what they do not match up, you realize there are some real problems and a lack of genuine honesty.

You'll get the PC or popular answer to everything. They want you to see that a mid-west company can be just as good as the best tech companies, but they maintain some old-fashioned/outdated attitudes in regards to things like parental leave, diversifying teams, interviewing candidates with different backgrounds, and company transparency.

There are constant org changes and promotions of the same people to higher and higher titles. I'm not sure this helps with big issues that they struggle with, like communication and direction of the company. The CEO has way too many direct reports.

Walk your talk, or change your messaging so you can stay true to yourself. You can't honestly say one thing and then maintain a wildly different path. Be brutally honest with yourselves. Decide what you want this company and product to be and how you want to execute that, while making small adjustments with some measured feedback.

Clean up the org structure and communication.