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…
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 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 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 am an experienced manager. I really thought I was capable and prepared to deal with pretty much anything that shows up, but right now I am feeling a bit at loose ends. Our global manufacturing company is going through relentless change, which is normal. But the constant changes in the news about…
Dear Madeleine, I have been managing people since I was first promoted to supervisor in my first job while I was still in college. I am now a senior director in my late 40s. I manage a couple of business units for a large financial services company in Europe. In the last few years, my…
Dear Madeleine, I am a director in the finance department of a national restaurant/foodservice company. I have always liked my job, brought a lot of creative problem-solving to my team, and enjoyed hosting events to create bonds among people in my organization. My last kid just graduated from high school and left for a six-week…
Dear Madeleine, My boss is driving me nuts. I work in corporate communications at a complicated global corporation with a fast-paced, high-pressure environment. I am often given assignments with tight deadlines on top of my regular day-to-day work. My boss will send me emails with assignments, using a request format that I thought was smart…
Dear Madeleine, I recently joined a marketing team for a not-quite-startup in the technology space. It has been going well. My boss recently asked me if I would take over writing a weekly blog for our website. I didn’t say “no” right out of the gate—I asked if I could look at what has been…
Dear Madeleine, I manage R&D for a large medical device company. I am at the tail end of my work life. I wanted to retire at the end of this year, but our executive team is encouraging me to stay until I feel comfortable that someone on my team can step into the role. Right…