Solving Problems/Improving Leadership at the Charlotte Observer’s Magazine Department, #2

When my boss, Caroline, first left for maternity leave, it was strange not having a leading figure present in the office. I cannot describe in words how it is really all that different in words, but once the corner office became vacant, coworkers seem quieter than usual. Perhaps it was because Caroline was not there to make announcements, or ask people about their progress, inviting conversation and noise in the office. Now, people have been sort of keeping to themselves, as they have no one to inform of their progress. Our weekly team meetings used to be run by Caroline, and she would go around and ask each person on the team what they were working on, as well as give feedback or ideas. Caroline asked Katie, the editor of CharlotteFive and my boss from last summer, to start running the weekly meetings. At our last meeting on Tuesday, it had been about two weeks since Caroline left, and Katie addressed the tacit fact that the office dynamic had become a bit “boring,” and suggested that collaborating on some projects would make things a little more interesting, and create positive vibes in the office. Caroline was the mutual link between Carolina Bride, SouthPark (the magazine I intern for), and CharlotteFive, and with her being gone, there is no reason to interact with the other parts of the Charlotte Observer Content Studio, so I agree that collaborating on projects might reconnect us as a whole team unit again. At our upcoming weekly team meeting on Tuesday, I might pitch some ideas of projects that we could all work on together, like an article involving all of us that we could use and post on all of our platforms. Or maybe a social media segment that could benefit and give publicity to all three publications.