Dear Madeleine, I am an executive vice president at a large, fast-moving communications company. I started here as an intern. I love this company, my job, and my team—but most of all, I love to work. I have been married 15 years and have four kids, ages 4-12. My husband has a great job with…
Dear Madeleine, I have an amazing team except for one person. I’ve provided ample opportunities for this person to step up and she just isn’t picking up on them. I can’t tell what is going on. She seems bright enough. She can work hard—I’ve seen it—so I don’t think it is laziness. Also, I’m about…
Dear Madeleine, I lead a business for a global company. I am very bright and hardworking, have risen fast, and continue to rise. I will probably end up being a senior leader for the company someday—if not here, then in another area. My problem: I am a jerk. I have heard others describe me as…
Dear Madeleine, I work for a small company in a small city. I really like my job, but the atmosphere in my office is so toxic I am not sure I can live with it. This is my first real job. My immediate boss took me under his wing, taught me the business, and he…
I recently spent time at Alcatraz…as a tourist, of course. The old federal penitentiary hasn’t housed prisoners since 1963. As a history nerd it was fascinating to walk the same halls as some of the world’s most famous criminals like Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, and Robert Stroud, the “birdman” of Alcatraz. Some of the…
Everyone experiences emotions—happy, sad, angry, afraid, ashamed, etc. Emotions can move you forward or hold you back. Your reactions to others’ emotions can positively enhance a relationship or partnership, or negatively detract from it. People with high emotional intelligence are able to recognize emotions that surface within themselves and others. Emotional intelligence, also known as…
Dear Madeleine, I work for the tax collector’s office at my local county tax agency. The bulk of my efforts go to facilitating change into that environment. I am a career-driven person and I am finding it very difficult to influence others. My job is under the umbrella of a state agency and I recently…
In their academic paper Identifying Primary Characteristics of Servant Leadership, researchers Adam Focht and Michael Ponton share the results of a Delphi study they conducted with scholars in the field of servant leadership. A total of twelve characteristics were identified, five of which were agreed upon by all of the scholars polled. These five most…
Dear Madeleine, I have been with the same organization for eight years. My company offers anyone who has been here for seven years a reduced pay, three-month sabbatical. My boss keeps pestering me to schedule it and take one. (I totally get that this is a good problem for me to have.) I don’t have…
What are the attributes of a modern servant leader in business today—someone who puts the interests of others on equal footing with their own? The Ken Blanchard Companies recently completed a three-city tour piloting servant leadership content with leadership, learning, and talent development professionals in Houston, New York, and Ft. Lauderdale. As a part of…