How to handle/follow supervisor and department head with different supervisory style?

[biboy2012]

How will I follow/handle a two-headed horse - each head wanting to go to a different direction?

[Jennifer Kirley]

1) What is the supervisor's supervisory style?

2) What is your supervisory style?

3) Is this your supervisor?

4) if #3 is yes, how long has the supervisor been in this role?

5) If #3 is yes, what was the supervisor's previous role?

[Chance]

If you don't have any issues with him. Just study and learn what he wants to avoid conflicts.

Follow what he says.. he is the boss. If you can't follow him, you better look for another job elsewhere.

[BethP]

The issue you are describing appears to be between the supervisor and department head. Why are they in such conflict with each other? Is the supervisor undermining the department head's leadership?

This is a situation where you can get squashed. Follow the department head, and your supervisor makes your day-to-day life miserable. Follow the supervisor, and the department head has a low opinion of your work. So, my advice is to try to be a bridge between the department head and your supervisor. For example, if the department head e-mails or comes directly to you to take an action, work to include your supervisor in the conversation. This may happen after the conversation by sending an e-mail to the department head with cc: to your supervisor summarizing the request. Additionally, you may want to have an open conversation with your supervisor asking for guidance, e.g. "You directed me that I should do X. However, head guy came over and told me that my top priority is Y. What do you recommend that I do?"

If the situation does not improve, you may want to reach out to HR to help mediate the relationship. The department head or supervisor may already be on a performance improvement plan or some other measure that you are not privy to.

Good luck riding the two headed horse to water!

[biboy2012]

In Reply to Parent Post by Jennifer Kirley

1) What is the supervisor's supervisory style?

He didn't identify any roblems or barriers the employee has experienced in achieving the objectives.

Or

Maybe he identified the problems or barriers, but didn't identify strategies and plans to remove any performance barriers.

In Reply to Parent Post by Jennifer Kirley

2) What is your supervisory style?

From an employee's point of view, if I would be a supervisor, apart from letting an employee know:

1. What do you (employee) need to accomplish?
2. Why are you doing what you are doing?
3. How well must you do it?
4. how are you doing?

I would want to help my staff remove any performance barriers because for a business unit, a department (or an organization as a whole) to achieve its objectives effectively, each employee must do his/her part in completing the job.

Also, I believe that the organization need to be able to coordinate the work of individual employees and work units. That way everyone is pulling in the same direction.

In Reply to Parent Post by Jennifer Kirley

3) Is this your supervisor?

Yes

In Reply to Parent Post by Jennifer Kirley

4) if #3 is yes, how long has the supervisor been in this role?

More or less 10 years

In Reply to Parent Post by Jennifer Kirley

5) If #3 is yes, what was the supervisor's previous role?

He started as Supervisor

[Jennifer Kirley]

Maybe the supervisor can be asked for assistance to remove barriers to performance as needed. Since he seems less than forthcoming and not everyone has the same level of organization in goals and managing constraints, a case-by-case request may help.

This person has been your supervisor for 10 years, or is this a recent organizational move?

[biboy2012]

In Reply to Parent Post by Jennifer Kirley

Maybe the supervisor can be asked for assistance to remove barriers to performance as needed. Since he seems less than forthcoming and not everyone has the same level of organization in goals and managing constraints, a case-by-case request may help.

This person has been your supervisor for 10 years, or is this a recent organizational move?

I have to agree with you that it's the employee that needs to initiate by asking supervisor's assistance on addressing performance barriers. However, I also noted that though our objectives are specific and includes a criterion to measure wether the employee achieve the objectives or not, but he failed to balance with other workplace issues.

He became my supervisor since the recent organizational move (six months now in particular)

[Jennifer Kirley]

In Reply to Parent Post by biboy2012

I have to agree with you that it's the employee that needs to initiate by asking supervisor's assistance on addressing performance barriers. However, I also noted that though our objectives are specific and includes a criterion to measure whether the employee achieve the objectives or not, but he failed to balance with other workplace issues.

He became my supervisor since the recent organizational move (six months now in particular)

I think we will find this kind of "tunnel vision" very common. Many people in supervisory positions lack the ability/tendency to apply Theory of Constraints. In their defense there is no pill to swallow, or book to read, or class to take that turns a person into a really effective supervisor.

In cases like this you may find the best option is to help close the gap, but subtly so the other person does not feel threatened. Who knows, maybe he will learn something over time. I hope so.