Poor Management at Red Cross Has a Long History

To the Editor:

Your November 1 article (“Turmoil at the Red Cross”) places blame for low morale at the American Red Cross on its now-departing president, Bernadine Healy. I would suggest that blame should be shared with its former president, Elizabeth Dole, as well.

I worked at the National Red Cross from 1993 to 1998 in the HIV/AIDS-education unit. Mrs. Dole and the entire upper echelon of national headquarters viewed our work in HIV/AIDS as a bothersome necessity, since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided the majority of financial support for those programs. Mrs. Dole and her staff supported our work only on their terms, which were based on politics, not proven public-health theory. We had corporate businessmen (a pizza entrepreneur, for example) dictating the content of our HIV/AIDS curriculum.

During my five and a half years there, I had at least as many supervisors, and we moved office buildings three times. We went through several vice presidents, all of whom found it necessary to completely restructure our unit. Each restructuring and new boss took its toll on productivity and staff morale. If anyone would take a look at staff departures in just our unit of the organization over the past few years, I am sure the rate would be staggering. There were close to 40 individuals working in my unit when I left the organization; today, approximately five people remain from that group.

While every nonprofit experiences significant turnover at times, the Red Cross seems to have made this its trademark, which speaks volumes to the management practices of Red Cross leadership. Leaders like Mrs. Dole (and apparently Dr. Healy) need to surround themselves with individuals who manage by threats and arrogance. It was clear to me that Mrs. Dole’s primary concern was her own political image, not the organization’s mission. As a result, the organization was lost amid politics, fear, and internal battles.

In my last weeks on the job before I resigned, I saw other examples of management by arrogance.

One manager made it clear that things were not going to change, so I chose to move to an organization that has a healthy working environment and a management philosophy that encourages mutual respect.

The arrogance that pervades the management of Red Cross will not allow it to admit to these ongoing morale problems. Instead, the problems will be dismissed as “disgruntled former employees.”

In some ways, I am an unhappy former employee because I know of the enormous potential of the American Red Cross. I know there are still dedicated, committed, and compassionate individuals at both the national and local levels who deserve a working environment free of the threat of retribution from leaders, and a president who will work with them to restore the rich tradition of humanitarian service.

Bob Power
Executive Director
AIDS Network
Madison, Wis.