5
WAYS TO REPORT TO MULTIPLE BOSSES
As organisations increasingly move towards a matrixed structure, one is bound to report to multiple bosses for assignments. Clear communication, transparency and deft handling are imperative to dealing with such situations to avoid a clash of egos and interests, as Anumeha Chaturvedi finds out.
1 Ask for Deliverables Tushar Agarwal, a manager at a financial services firm, always asks for objectives and deliverables from his multiple bosses to plan and prioritise his tasks. “It helps in clarifying expectations from the start of a project. I create my own task schedule and run them past the managers to avoid a clash of interests,” he says.
2 Maintain Transparency It is imperative to keep managers informed at all times. Agarwal also has an overseas boss, and he keeps him informed on days when he is taking up additional responsibilities at the local office. “This makes them understand the kind of pressures one goes though and keeps expectations reasonable,” he says.
3 Communicate Clearly Communication should be adapted to suit bosses’ styles, suggests Mohinish Sinha, leadership and talent practice leader, Hay Group. Sinha says listening with respect and persuasion skills are effective in such situations. “One should aim to influence their decisions and thinking with data and documents or discussions,” he says.
4 Set Boundaries Research done by Harvard Business School professor Leslie Perlow found that engineers at a Fortune 500 company were constantly interrupted by managers and co-workers. She helped them create norms for quiet time: three days a week, there would be no interruptions before noon so they could focus on work. The engineers reported that these boundaries enhanced their productivity.
5 Provide Solutions If there are conflicting demands from various quarters, it is important to involve bosses and provide solutions in joint discussions. Sanjay Singh, HR head at Cairn India, believes one should focus on providing solutions to bosses in such situations instead of merely stating the obvious. In cases of a conflict in objectives, one could prepare a combined list and share it with one’s managers. “One could say, ‘these are conflicting and here is my solution.’ Then ask the bosses: ‘Can you validate it?’” he adds.
As organisations increasingly move towards a matrixed structure, one is bound to report to multiple bosses for assignments. Clear communication, transparency and deft handling are imperative to dealing with such situations to avoid a clash of egos and interests, as Anumeha Chaturvedi finds out.
1 Ask for Deliverables Tushar Agarwal, a manager at a financial services firm, always asks for objectives and deliverables from his multiple bosses to plan and prioritise his tasks. “It helps in clarifying expectations from the start of a project. I create my own task schedule and run them past the managers to avoid a clash of interests,” he says.
2 Maintain Transparency It is imperative to keep managers informed at all times. Agarwal also has an overseas boss, and he keeps him informed on days when he is taking up additional responsibilities at the local office. “This makes them understand the kind of pressures one goes though and keeps expectations reasonable,” he says.
3 Communicate Clearly Communication should be adapted to suit bosses’ styles, suggests Mohinish Sinha, leadership and talent practice leader, Hay Group. Sinha says listening with respect and persuasion skills are effective in such situations. “One should aim to influence their decisions and thinking with data and documents or discussions,” he says.
4 Set Boundaries Research done by Harvard Business School professor Leslie Perlow found that engineers at a Fortune 500 company were constantly interrupted by managers and co-workers. She helped them create norms for quiet time: three days a week, there would be no interruptions before noon so they could focus on work. The engineers reported that these boundaries enhanced their productivity.
5 Provide Solutions If there are conflicting demands from various quarters, it is important to involve bosses and provide solutions in joint discussions. Sanjay Singh, HR head at Cairn India, believes one should focus on providing solutions to bosses in such situations instead of merely stating the obvious. In cases of a conflict in objectives, one could prepare a combined list and share it with one’s managers. “One could say, ‘these are conflicting and here is my solution.’ Then ask the bosses: ‘Can you validate it?’” he adds.
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