my employee resigned but now isn’t leaving by Alison Green on September 23, 2020 A reader writes: I recently took over as manager for a small team. One of the employees on the team, Jane, announced that she was leaving and had a new job lined up. Jane’s replacement was hired but before she could start, there were some problems with Jane’s new job. This is no fault of […] Read the full article →
my employee’s clothes accentuate her chest — how do I talk to her about it? by Alison Green on September 23, 2020 A reader writes: I am a fairly new manager and I recently got a new, young subordinate. We work in a nonprofit and the dress code is very relaxed. We often only wear t-shirts and jeans, and even shorts won’t raise eyebrows if it’s very hot. However, I have come across an issue with the […] Read the full article →
my older employee keeps talking about my age by Alison Green on September 21, 2020 A reader writes: I recently started a brand new position. They hired me as the department manager and also hired a project coordinator (my direct report). We have just completed our first week together. I am in the awkward learning curve of trying to figure out my role along company policies, procedures and culture while […] Read the full article →
my employee disagrees with his performance evaluation by Alison Green on September 17, 2020 A reader writes: I am in the process of doing an annual evaluation for one of my employees, I’ll call him Carl, who has been with the company for about a year. We did a six-month evaluation at the end of his probationary period and it did not go well. Even though I felt I […] Read the full article →
my employee keeps reminding me she used to be a manager by Alison Green on September 16, 2020 A reader writes: I lead a small team at a small company. A few months ago, we hired a new team member, “Jessica,” for an individual contributor role on the team, although in her previous role she had been a team leader. As part of the interview process, we explicitly asked her if she would […] Read the full article →
not over-sharing as a manager while trying to de-stigmatize mental health by Alison Green on September 10, 2020 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I have a direct report for the first time in my career. We are both young-isn, though they are a bit younger than I am. I am a naturally open, chatty person with a tendency to overshare in general, so your advice about distinguishing between […] Read the full article →
my employee ignores instructions by Alison Green on September 2, 2020 A reader writes: I took a promotion nearly a year ago that put me in a management position over my previous peers. One of the women who reports to me has been with the company much longer, and commonly disregards requests I make of her (and the team). Recently, I asked my team to begin […] Read the full article →
my employee is holding me hostage over a raise by Alison Green on September 2, 2020 A reader writes: I’m new to management this year, and I’ve run into a problem with a direct report. “Sara” has been in her position for two years with no promotion or significant pay raise. My boss and I were going to start the process for a promotion, but Sara then had major issues with […] Read the full article →
I need to give my employee more positive feedback by Alison Green on September 1, 2020 A reader writes: My employee recently told me that she would like to get more positive feedback from me. I’m good at giving constructive feedback on how to improve her work, but I will admit that I don’t often remember to give positive feedback. This has been difficult my employee, who said that she has […] Read the full article →
how can I get my employees to be better managers? by Alison Green on August 31, 2020 A reader writes: I recently moved into a role where some of my direct reports also have direct reports. In my first few weeks, I had meet and greets with every person in the department, and a recurring theme that I uncovered was that it seems like my direct reports aren’t very good managers: they […] Read the full article →