Dear Madeleine, It has recently become apparent that one of my newer direct reports is lying. In one instance, he told me a presentation was proofed and ready to go and I found out it wasn’t when I went into the document on our shared drive to make a change. In another instance, I learned…
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 hate New Year’s resolutions and I don’t feel like making any this year. I have had some success with them in the past, but this year I just feel overwhelmed with everything I have on my plate. Still, I feel so much pressure to make some. What do you think? Cranky Dear…
Dear Madeleine, I am a ruminator. I second-guess everything I do. My wife is tired of me spending hours every night going over and over the events of the day. I work in finance and have a lot of technical expertise in my field. My organization counts on me for their reports, budgets, etc. I’m…
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, A couple of months ago I received a promotion I was really hoping for. Now I have fifteen direct reports where I used to have seven. Everything I am reading says I should be doing regular one-on-one meetings with each person, but my own workload has doubled and I have no idea how…
Dear Madeleine, I am smart, I work hard, and I am a pleaser. These qualities have made me very successful. I am now a senior manager in a fast-paced, high-pressure service business. My problem is that I have created a monster in my boss. She is so used to my pleasing perfection that she pretty…
Hi Madeleine, I work in a membership organization with a very old-fashioned outlook and a hierarchical structure. I am not a manager, but I did have one direct report at a previous employer. I am very interested in management and leadership and intend to have other management roles in the future. Management practices here, although…
Unspoken expectations are a curse upon relationships. It’s a surefire way to guarantee you will have conflict and discord that leads to poor teamwork and collaboration in the workplace. Some time ago I was working with a CEO to help him improve the levels of trust and engagement in his company. He had recently hired…