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Marie is a workplace psychologist with more than 25 years of experience in coaching, human resources, and management. She is the author of “Secrets to Winning at Office Politics”, and her career advice has appeared in Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Canadian Business, and many other publications. Though her international coaching practice, Marie has worked with clients from more than 20 different countries.

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    Due to high volume, not all questions can be answered, but Marie will respond to as many as possible.

    Featured Question

    “Is this a bad sign for my career?“

    After my manager resigned, I began reporting directly to the vice-president of our department. For the past several months, she has praised my outstanding performance and frequently asked for my advice. She also included me in her weekly staff meetings.

    A few weeks ago, the vice-president hired a new manager who will eventually become my boss. She is now consulting him instead of me. I have also been removed from the weekly meetings. No one has told me what’s going on, so I’m becoming concerned about my future. Does this situation sound normal?

    Marie’s Answer:

    Not to worry. You’re simply experiencing the turmoil that frequently follows an unexpected management departure. Having been left without a boss, you were temporarily elevated to the next level, where you found yourself assuming additional responsibilities and participating in higher-level discussions.

    Now, however, the hiring of your manager’s replacement has restored the previous order, leaving you to wonder where all those fun new duties went. Had anyone bothered to view this situation from your point of view, they would have realized that you deserve an explanation of the transition process. Unfortunately, no one appears to have given this any thought.

    The good news, though, is that your interim reporting relationship provided a rare and valuable opportunity to impress the vice-president. Having observed your talents first-hand, she is quite likely to support your advancement in the future.

    To maintain this momentum, you must now concentrate on developing a strong, positive connection with your incoming boss. Since he’s the one who will be writing your next performance review, you don’t want any lingering resentment to contaminate that relationship.

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