For most, if not all organizations, their employees are their number one asset. This makes the wellbeing, the engagement of employees very important. Why? Because engaged employees are passionate about their work. They strive to provide superior customer service, solve problems, and find innovative approaches. A great way to generate a significant positive affect on…
Dear Madeleine, I’m a mid-level manager with a large team. My boss pretty much leaves me on my own to get my job done. He knows he can trust me. My problem is that I am constantly anxious about my performance, even though no one tells me it isn’t good enough. Everyone keeps talking about…
Best-selling business author Scott Blanchard says managers who are effective at goal setting with their people keep two things in mind: The big picture—why we are doing it and what matters about it? The short term—what do we need to do now to move forward toward the larger goal? Blanchard gives an example of this…
Dear Madeleine, After years of working under a very bright, well organized manager who communicated clearly, I now have a new manager who is—well, a twit. He was a new hire who managed another department and when our old manager left they moved him into this job. It is a lateral move for him and…
In this episode, Tasha Eurich describes concepts from her book Insight: The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think. Eurich explains how developing self-awareness—knowing who we are and how others see us—can help you be fulfilled, confident, and successful in life and…
Perhaps, like me, you suffer from the inability to say the word no. As soon as I hear “You are so good at…” or “We really need you…,” I am captured in the web of overcommitment and the stress that often accompanies it. As I analyzed the various commitments, projects, and requests that I have…
If you’ve ever wondered why so many negative and critical leaders seem to rise to power, recent research sheds a little light on the cause. It turns out that even though we say we want compassionate and empathetic leaders, we perceive naysayers as being more powerful than their non-critical colleagues. In one of a series…
Dear Madeleine, I have a high-stress technical job serving the sales department of a professional services company. I have one direct report I am struggling with. Everything is an emotional event with him. He takes everything personally and even finds ways to get offended by positive feedback. He is always melting down and getting sick.…
Dear Madeleine, I just read your article entitled 7 Tips for Letting Go as a Manager on Blanchard LeaderChat. I have a very simple question, but it’s one I have been struggling with: How do you delegate to someone who doesn’t want to do their job—and doesn’t really care if it gets done? We have…
Delegation and control are common topics with my coaching clients. They recognize the importance of delegation and how it can serve them, but some still struggle with letting go. In order to free up space to be more strategic, have a greater impact, be more efficient, and achieve work/life balance, delegating appropriate tasks to others…
Dear Madeleine, I started my career in marketing and had some great jobs, but I really became interested in the people side of things after being trained in communication and working in teams. My graduate studies were in Organizational Development. I am still at the first job I was offered—in HR as a trainer—but I…
In his seminal 1973 book, The Nature of Managerial Work, Henry Mintzberg proposed ten roles that define the day-to-day activities of a manager. They are: Figurehead, Leader, Liaison, Monitor, Disseminator, Spokesperson, Entrepreneur, Disturbance Handler, Resource Allocator, and Negotiator. These roles are still referenced in modern articles about management and in training courses for managers. The…
The new, completely updated, third edition of Ken Blanchard’s perennial bestseller, Leading at a Higher Level, was released just last month. The first edition came out in 2006 and featured the best thinking from 18 different authors, summarizing the key concepts from all the Blanchard programs at the time. The new edition continues that tradition.…
In this exciting episode, Peter Bregman shares his thoughts about leadership and the importance of showing up with confidence, being connected to others, and being committed to a purpose in a way that inspires others to follow. He explains that the most successful leaders not only know what to say and do, but are willing…
Dear Madeleine, I work in a professional services firm and we have an open-space concept. Almost everyone is on the phone all day or reading complicated documents. We have one assistant who supports a whole bunch of the senior people, and she sits right near me. She is an idiot, and loud to boot. Every…
