Dear Madeleine, I have been managing people for years. All the companies I have worked for have provided solid training. I’ve always felt like I knew what I was doing—until now. The last training course I completed was packed with great content, but it ended up making me feel totally overwhelmed. I agreed, in theory,…
Dear Madeleine, I am an experienced executive. A few years ago, my company created a mentoring program. I have really enjoyed mentoring young new hires and have done several six-month stints. My first mentee and I have stayed in close touch and have become friendly. The kid is a rock star at work and has…
Dear Madeleine, I manage a team in a large company that recently went to an Unlimited PTO policy. I am glad, because tracking and trying to get people to take their PTO was a pain. So far, it has worked pretty well. The policy is that people need to request holiday time in advance, mainly…
Dear Madeleine, I work in a company that has recently gone to a matrix environment. It is kind of a disaster because no one seems to know what that means. Trying to get anyone to make a decision so I can move forward with projects on a deadline is making work incredibly stressful. I pride…
Dear Madeleine I work at a large global company. I was recruited right out of college. I was homeschooled, went to college early, and completed my undergrad and masters in four years. I only mention this to explain how I am a senior manager at 30. The only people who know my age are in…
Dear Madeleine, I am the CEO of a small but rapidly growing global employee relocation services organization. It is a complicated business. One of the complexities is that employment laws are different in every country and they change constantly. Our chief legal counsel is very talented and business savvy. But when we are trying to…
Dear Madeleine, I have had a film/video production business with a cofounder and partner for about seven years. We have been friends since college. I am the business operations and sales guy; my partner is the creative one. Some difficulties in our company were coming to a head right before Covid hit. We ended up…
Dear Madeleine, I recently graduated from college and started my first job. The job I was offered was the one I wanted, but on my first day I was moved to a different department and given a job that does not come close to the description of the job I signed up for. The person…
Dear Madeleine, I have had uncanny success in my company. I am extremely competitive and incredibly focused, and I work really hard because I live in fear of disappointing my boss or my customers. Now my boss wants to put me in charge of a whole region—to open an office with about 75 people reporting…
Dear Madeleine, I am at my wit’s end. I am pretty sure my boss has ADHD. She jokes that she doesn’t have it but causes it in others, but it isn’t funny—because ever since I started reporting to her, my life has been total chaos. On every project, no sooner is the plan written up…
Dear Madeleine, In the middle of the pandemic, I took a job that I love and am good at. At the time, my boss made it very clear that the job was classified as “remote” and the deal was that I would never need to work in the office. This wasn’t just because everyone was…
Dear Madeleine, Your advice has been very helpful in the past, so I couldn’t stop myself from writing to you again about a tricky situation. I have recently taken over the area of learning and development as part of my portfolio. With that came the discussion of a resource with my boss. My boss suggested a…
Dear Madeleine, I am a junior partner in a small investment firm. My job is huge—there is always more to do than time to do it. Last year, the firm hired a junior analyst to work with me. I did my best, but things just didn’t work out. He worked very slowly, made lots of…
Dear Madeleine, I am seeking your guidance. I am studying for a BA in human resource management and will be completing my degree program within the next six months. I must submit a final research paper. I need to find a topic and put a plan together fast, but I am struggling. Will you assist me…
Dear Madeleine, I lead a team of eight employees. One of them is dealing with a personal crisis outside of work and I can see he is struggling. This isn’t the first time I’ve had an employee dealing with crisis, given COVID, but somehow I have managed to get by. I want to be the…
