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Quitting Time Who's In Charge?

I work for two very unorganized supervisors who expect me to come running when they lose something. When other supervisors ask me to do work that should be done by their secretary, my supervisors tell them that it is okay for me to do it. They tell me they do this because I am so good. I have spoken to their superior, but to no avail. I was contacted by a large firm for more money and where I would report to one person. Where do I go from here?



While the adage, "Two heads are better than one," applies in many situations, it does not apply to supervision. When you report to two individuals, the potential for conflict, confusion, and errors is great, but not much else is.

If you step back and take a look at the overall situation, you will see several red flags. In the first place, it is bad enough to report to one unorganized boss, but you report to two. In addition, it sounds like there are secretaries who are unable to carry out their own responsibilities, other supervisors who do not know how to supervise them, and maybe even a combination of the two. And, finally, when you spoke to management about all of this, you were ignored. In a word, there are real questions about leadership in the company, such as, "Where is it?"

As for what you should do from here, you mentioned that you have an offer from a large firm for more money where you would be reporting to one individual. Do you really wonder what you should do from here?



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