Managing Multiple Bosses
Oct 19, 2014
Managing Multiple
Bosses
More and more people have been
reporting of having more than one
boss in their companies.
Then it is important to learn how to
handle multiple bosses to succeed
in your professional career and to
face complex organizations.
Managing Multiple BossesIntroduction
As companies continue to flatten, organize
work around specific projects, and use
temporary teams to complete projects,
many employees find themselves
reporting to multiple bosses.
It can happen in bigger and more complex
organizations, and family-owned
businesses.
Managing Multiple BossesMain Reasons
If you are not careful,
when dealing with
multiple bosses, you can
end up letting all of them
down and consequently
jeopardize your career.
Managing Multiple BossesImportant
Overload:
Working for many bosses mean having too
much to do.
Conflicting messages:
The more bosses you have the more
conflicting messages you get.
Loyalty:
Some bosses want to know that they are
your first priority.
Managing Multiple BossesMain Problems When Dealing with Many Bosses
The first step is to know what
you are up against.
Then you can take several
steps to mitigate the risks and
make your job, and theirs,
easier.
Managing Multiple BossesWays to Deal with Multiple Bosses
Be sure to ask a lot of questions about
the company structure.
Finding out who holds the most powerful
position will help you in making decisions
about how to act and behave.
While this may seem mercenary, it's
important to know who can help and hurt
your career.
Managing Multiple BossesStep 01 – Ask Questions
Be sure your bosses know what you
have been doing.
You can create a shared document
that lists all of your ongoing
activities, or you can communicate
these items in a weekly check-in
meeting to your superiors.
Managing Multiple BossesStep 02 – Inform your Activities
When working for many
bosses, it is wise to let them
sort out their own contradictory
situations.
The best approach is to get
your bosses to talk with each
other, rather than trying to
represent them.
Managing Multiple BossesStep 03 - Get your Bosses to Communicate
If your multiple bosses
frequently come to you with
questions or to check in
about their projects, establish
protected times where you
can work without disruptions.
Managing Multiple BossesStep 04 - Set up Boundaries
If you are in a fear-based environment,
you have to figure out how to protect
yourself.
The worse the environment the more
sneaky you have to get.
You need to figure out which of the
bosses you work with has the most
power and priorize his assignments.
Managing Multiple BossesStep 05 - Get Sneaky if you have to
It can be easy to develop paranoid
fantasies about how your bosses are out
to get you.
Chances are they are simply pushing
their own agendas and you are getting
caught in the middle.
Try not to feel persecuted, and identify
the conflicts to resolve them.
Managing Multiple BossesStep 06 - Don´t take it personally
Be on the lookout for the most common
challenges of having multiple bosses so you
can proactively handle them
Keep a positive attitude and remember that
the conflicts are most likely because of the
situation, not because of you
Find out which of your bosses is responsible
for making the decisions that affect your
career.
Managing Multiple BossesPrinciples to Remember - Do
Don´t try to speak on behalf of one
boss to the other, try to get them to
talk with each other if possible
Don´t keep your workload and task
list a secret from any of your bosses.
Don´t push for transparency if your
organization doesn't reward it.
Managing Multiple BossesPrinciples to Remember – Don´t
Lico Reis Consultoria & Línguas
Prof. Roberto Lico
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