Dear Madeleine, I work as a senior manager reporting to a new EVP who was brought in from outside the company. She has a lot less experience than I do. She constantly talks about how strategic she is, but all I see is a lack of discipline around execution—and she seems to have no memory. …
Dear Madeleine, I lead a marketing department for an operating company of a massive global conglomerate (yes, those still exist). When the shelter-in-place rule was announced, I did a really good job of making sure my team was set up to work from home, and have figured out the flex time/PTO situation for those who…
Dear Madeleine, I work as a subject matter expert on sales and implementation teams for integrated software. I get pulled into all kinds of teams. I am constantly being told to join new teams and I feel like I’m doing most of the work on the teams I am already a part of. My problem…
Dear Madeleine, I am at my limit and hope you can help. I am a senior team leader with a very high performing intact team. We have a new, very inexperienced board who is wreaking havoc with the way I run my business. They are putting nonrealistic pressures on me to generate numbers that are…
Dear Madeleine, A couple of years ago I moved from working in the bio/life sciences private sector to a government agency. It was a big adjustment, as you can imagine. Then, nine months ago, my direct supervisor was abruptly let go and I was tapped to be the boss. There was no due process, interviewing,…
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…
Dear Madeleine, I am a VP of supply chain in a vast multi-billion dollar global consumer products company. Our CEO is really smart—a true visionary—and I have a great relationship with him. We always have good conversations when we are together. He works out of the European headquarters while my division is in the US,…
Dear Madeleine, I am a senior project manager in a service organization. I manage client-facing work as well as hundreds of independent contractors. I recently got behind on my list—the endless small tasks that add up to outstanding service—and I shelved a few items to take care of when I came back from a week’s…
Dear Madeleine, I run a department in a fast growing biotech company. Things are moving so fast that they keep promoting me and I have to say I am pretty sure I have no idea what I am doing at this point. I have excellent people reporting to me—they are all super smart, insanely dedicated,…