Dear Madeleine, I am a middle-aged accounting professional; I pride myself on working quickly and accurately. I was hoping this would be my last position and I could enjoy having a solid job that would take me to my retirement. I am in a CPA firm with three partners who are pretty much hands-off. Recently…
Dear Madeleine, I am about four months into a new job as a senior executive in a large global infrastructure company. I report directly to the EVP of Operations, who is the person who brought me into the company. I manage a huge team of fellow engineers, and so far, so good. (I’m an engineer…
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…
I recently watched a UK talk show where Tom Hanks and Ron Howard were guests. Howard, director of many of Hanks’s most successful films, was asked what he liked about working with Hanks. His response was that he appreciated two qualities in Hanks—confidence and creativity. This got me thinking. What makes us want to work…
Dear Madeleine, I am a regional VP in a global asset management firm. I am stationed far away from headquarters as I am responsible for all of the projects in my region. My boss and his boss hold regular conference calls I am expected to attend. I am often tasked with presenting plans and budgets…
As strange as it may seem, a virtual workplace team can learn a lot from online competitive video games. For both, team members have set roles, clear and shared goals, and a designated action plan to achieve those goals. And also for both, communication is absolutely paramount. One such game that is wildly popular is…
Did you know 35 percent of managers would rather skydive for the first time than address a problem with their team at work? That’s according to the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution. Effective leaders must know how to conduct difficult conversations with employees. Because of the common perception that conflict at work is bad, it’s…
Hi Madeleine, I work in the health profession and I’ve just accepted a position in management at a new facility. I don’t know the staff at all. All I know is that the senior leadership wants a change in the management at the facility. What advice would you have on how to tackle a new…
One of the most powerful aspects of telecommuting or working virtually is that, whether you are an individual contributor or a leader, you have more choice about how you show up to your colleagues. Unless your laptop camera is very high quality resolution, people meeting with you virtually probably won’t notice the bags under your…
I recently had an opportunity to sit in on a webinar conducted by Ken Blanchard, Eunice Parisi-Carew, and Jane Ripley, coauthors of the new book Collaboration Begins with You: Be a Silo Buster. As they talked about the book, the three authors shared five key ingredients for creating a collaborative culture on a team, department,…