October 17, 2006Manager in the Middle
Manager in the Middle
I am the manager of my division and report to the Deputy Director of our organization. I have staff which reports to me and works on tasks as I assign these to them. The Deputy Director is not interested in what I do or the tasks assigned to my team. He has gone as far as saying that he does not like Planners and thinks we waste too much time ‘planning’. He very seldom provides input on work or assignments and provides comments after deadlines have passed, decisions have been made or if someone else brings any issue to his attention.
Recently, our Executive Director assigned a second director to work with our group and to provide guidance after he received complaints about the Deputy Director’s short sightedness. Unfortunately, I still report to the Deputy Director and this has led to another set of issues. The Deputy Director and the new director are constantly at odds and have different views on how the work and policy should be developed and/or completed. I am in the middle working with the new director to complete tasks and work assignments but having to report to the Deputy Director on every single thing. The Deputy Director has recently expressed a desire to know everything we do, how we do it and the direction I get from the other director. I feel like I’m being pressured to report on the director to my supervisor and it makes me feel very uncomfortable. Any suggestions on how I can handle this situation?
Thank you for your help.
Meryl Responds
You’ve got to get out of the middle. Get them together with you and the Executive Director and have your responsibilities spelled out. Send out a meeting request that looks something like this:
With the addition of a new director, my chain of command, order of priorities and reporting responsibilities have become unclear. I would like for us to meet and determine the following,
- Who has final authority with regard to my time and work?
- Which director’s requests take priority?
- I am uncomfortable about being the source of information of what director 2 is doing for director 1. How can we create a format for reporting in that is inclusive rather than divisive?
Until we meet I will report the following way:
- I will cc the both directors on every communication I have with their counterparts.
- I will invite director 2 to join me in meeting with director 1.
- When instructions conflict I will assume that director 2’s instructions are the ones I am to follow unless and until director 1 and 2 agree and inform me otherwise.
Of course I’m guessing in making these points and you will want to adapt them to your exact situation. But the format remains…you must simply refuse to be in the middle and devise your own game plan until you can get an official game plan from management.
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