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Summary.
There’s no question that managing up to multiple bosses isn’t easy. But the very things that make it challenging — navigating different communication styles, negotiating workloads, building consensus — are exactly the skills that will set you apart in your career if you play it right. Here are strategies for what to do when you’re caught between two leaders who don’t talk to each other: 1) Spot the sneaky signs of disconnection. 2) Get ahead of conflicts 3) Bring visibility to the decision-making process. 4) Be the bridge. 5) Make the costs clear.Lev’s promotion to senior project manager came with an unexpected challenge. Although he continued to report to his functional boss, Gina, the head of product development, he now also answered to a project-specific boss, Navin, the leader of a critical new software implementation. This dual reporting structure was meant to speed up delivery, but Lev soon noticed that his two bosses hardly talked to each other. He often found himself relaying information between them, trying to align conflicting priorities and navigate different directives.