Cana Boss and an Employee Swap Roles?

These two women at the creative agency Marine Lane did it, and they say it’s the perfect arrangement. Here, they extol the virtues of what they call the boomerang boss.’

The Current Boss

Megan Flood, 36

After college, I took an internship marketing firm called at a PR and Maloney & Fox. Margie was one of the firm's cofounders and my boss. I loved her motto: "Let me be the wind beneath your wings. Tell me what you want to do here, and if it also helps the company-let's make it happen."

So I told her. I had a lot of drive and ambition to create an art department at the agency, and she met every request with a yes. We quickly trusted each other, and I learned a lot: how to avoid micromanaging, how to build a culture, how to "just pick up the phone," how to sweat the right stuff.

Three years later, I left to start my own firm, Marine Lane. Margie eventually sold hers, then held big jobs like U.S. creative director of the consumer PR practice at Ogilvy. We stayed in touch. Eventually she was looking for a new pace of life, so I asked if she'd come work for me. How else could I score someone as experienced as her? I was thrilled when she said yes, and laughed when she picked her own title: consigliere.