What to do if you have Two bosses

Nearly everyone finds it tough keeping the boss happy sometimes. But what if you had a steady stream of conflicting requests and competing deadlines coming simultaneously from two bosses or more? An increasing number of workers are finding themselves reporting to multiple bosses, experts say, and figuring out how to manage those who manage you comes with its own special set of demands — and opportunities.

- Jim Schreier

“You are seeing now a lot more project and team-based organisation, which in some ways is a variance on the matrix organisation,” says Wharton associate management professor Matthew Bidwell. “You might have a boss in one department, but you get stationed on these teams that each have their own goal… I think we have a lot of lightweight matrices, where there is a clear line of authority along one dimension but strong coordination along the way. You know one person is your boss, and you know you will get a lot of requests from another person. And you have to do your best to accommodate them.”

For some, the distinction between the direct line and the dotted line is fading. “People have to struggle to ask the question of who is your boss — it’s no longer quite as easy to answer,” says Rick Lash, a Toronto-based senior client partner at Korn Ferry. “You will have different bosses — the one concerned with a particular project, but that individual may not be [the one] who does your performance review, so you have different bosses you are trying to please.” Knowing whom to keep happy, making clear where loyalties lie, facilitating communication — all these hurdles multiply exponentially with two or more bosses, says Lash. “Not only that, but often you are managing expectations of bosses who aren’t speaking to each other, so there is a lot of ambiguity, a lot of people assuming you are their primary priority,” he says. “Everyone wants a piece of you, so managing conflict becomes a major challenge. Part of this is about how you manage boundaries. Because if you are not careful you can become totally overwhelmed.”

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