Editor’s Note: Madeleine is on holiday break this week, so we’re taking the opportunity to revisit the five most-viewed Ask Madeleine columns from the past year. As readers know, Ask Madeleine offers thoughtful, practical guidance for navigating some of the most challenging moments people face at work. Whether addressing uncertainty, leadership dynamics, or personal career…
Dear Madeleine, I recently joined the accounting group for a company that runs family offices. I like the work and am learning a lot after simply working as an accountant for many years. My boss is very invested in my success, which is great. My problem is that she seems to want to be friends.…
Dear Madeleine, I am a college student in the middle of my junior year, majoring in business. I have had a job in the store at the student union since the summer before my freshman year. My manager was a PhD candidate and taught me a lot. He was a decent boss, if sometimes moody.…
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…
