Dear Madeleine, I was hired into my company a few years ago. I love my company and my job. The person who was my boss when I started had some kind of personal issue and took a leave of absence. He was a great boss and taught me a lot. There has been a ton…
Dear Madeleine, There is no way to sugar coat this: I suspect one of my direct reports has taken another job. Most of my team is virtual. A few people live locally, but after Covid we never insisted that people come to the office. I got quite good at managing a hybrid team (I took…
Dear Madeleine, I lead a team that is responsible for content marketing for a consulting and research firm. After a lull the company started growing rapidly, and I now have a large cohort of bright recent grads. We hire graduates from top universities, and a gig with us is often seen as an ideal path…
Dear Madeleine, I work for a big internet company doing ad sales. This is my first real job out of school and I feel lucky to be hired by a company with such a great reputation. I also make enough to afford to rent a decent apartment while most of my friends live in tiny,…
Ask Madeleine is Blanchard’s weekly advice column for well-meaning managers dealing with the challenges of bringing out the best in people in today’s changing work environment. For more than 10 years, master certified coach Madeleine Homan Blanchard has been answering readers’ questions. How about you? Do you have a work issue that Madeleine could help…
Dear Madeleine, I am an American working overseas. A few years ago I took a break from adventure travel to make some cash by accepting an entry level job in IT operations. I was surprised to find that I liked it. Never in a million years did I think I would be happy or successful…
Dear Madeleine, Our company is experiencing the pressures of the economic downturn in my country (not the US). One of the solutions has been to eliminate a layer of management. As a result, at least four business units that had been led by VPs are now reporting to me. I am shocked at the lack…
Dear Madeleine, I am the general counsel for a complex global conglomerate. I have a direct report who came with me from my last job and has always been terrific. She started as an admin and moved on to being a paralegal. Then, with my support and encouragement, she managed to get through law school…
Dear Madeleine, I am the president of a region for a global financial services firm. I have been in the role for about a year. I felt prepared, and I am settling into the job. I have had a lot of leadership training over the years, but I find myself at a loss about how…
Dear Madeleine, I have been in the same job for a couple of years. I don’t know how to say this without sounding arrogant, but I run circles around everyone else on my team. To a person, everyone on my team underperforms. They don’t use the latest tools made available to us by our organization…
Dear Madeleine, I was recently promoted and moved to a new team. I was very excited—first to make more money, and also to learn a new aspect of the business. Six months later, I’m a bit disillusioned. Both of the things I was excited about are good, but I hadn’t anticipated the loss of my…
Dear Madeleine, I am an EVP in a mid-sized service business. I created the role, as I was put in charge of two business units that had been quite siloed but shared some overlap. Part of my job was to create consistency in their approach to developing new business, data collection, and execution. I have…
Dear Madeleine, I work for a mid-sized global accessories brand. I was head of PR for many years but wanted to scale back when I had a kids. Now I serve as brand ambassador and influencer. The organization has been growing rapidly. About a year ago, it was sold and a new president was hired.…
Dear Madeleine, I have been working for a new boss for about six months. I think she is very organized and personable, and her whole team (me included) likes working for her. A while back, I had a rough time with the leader of another team. I won’t go into detail about exactly what happened—there…
Dear Madeleine, This isn’t so much a work question as a “my work is affecting my relationship” question. I met my husband in grad school when we were both studying to work in the same field. He got an amazing job with a good salary right out of school. I was happy for him and…
