I have two managers

Anonymous

February 19,2024 at 2:09PM UTC

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I have two managers

Hello,

following an acquisition, my department has been split between 2 VPs and I’ve been moved to report to one of them (a guy from the acquiring organisation), while the other used to be my direct manager until merge.

The two have different personalities and work styles, the new one is more similar to me (structured, organised, pragmatic) but I had a great relationship with the old one (visionary, strategic) too, we sort of “complement” each other.

The reason why me and my team were moved to the new guy was never really clear, I guess political more than business driven, we actually serve both organisation as our expertise is “horizontal”.

Anyway my old manager always said that although formally in the new VP, I was a “shared” resource and my team would have grown accordingly, while my new boss has asked me to design and structure my team to support only his organisation.

I flagged this to both, they have never really provided clarity and I ended up with essentially old and new responsibilities, different directions and same resources.

Plus now the old VP keeps inviting me to workshops and meetings he’ s going with the new one ( who is not even telling me such meetings are taking place as he seems to like doing these on his own, even when he does not have the necessary deep knowledge) and the situation is really embarrassing as it seems he is stepping on the other’s feet.

I do not know what to do to get out of this, any advice is welcome.

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AnonymousFebruary 19,2024 at 2:40PM UTC
Request to have a meeting with both to discuss your concerns. It's not normal to have two managers to report too and neither are on the same page in regards to your responsibilities. I can see why because of the acquisition, but a decision needs to be made to have only one as the manager.
AnonymousFebruary 19,2024 at 3:45PM UTC
I feel for you.
I know this can be highly challenging. My suggestion echoes the other comment to have a sit-down with both and let them haggle it out. I am guessing (having been through several acquisitions in the past) that the situation is temporary. One or the other is either moving on or moving out, and the company is trying to figure out which is which. Therefore, without in-depth knowledge of how the new company works, be careful not to alienate either one.
AnonymousFebruary 19,2024 at 4:19PM UTC
They are both confirmed in their role, it has been formally announced months ago….
Barb HansenFebruary 19,2024 at 4:18PM UTC
Who is your primary manager? Who do you report to in an org chart? That's your new manager.
The team you work on probably also reports up to one VP in the org chart with "dotted line" responsibility to the 2nd VP and perhaps others. Having multiple dotted line reporting paths is common in matrix organizations but there is always one manager responsible for you (and your team).
If you can find out who you report to (let's say it's the new VP), you can work with them to align your team and how they want you to work with/report to your dotted line responsibilities.
I would work with my direct manager to resolve this problem like any other business process problem (things are starting to break and we need to create new processes or fix existing processes). I would remove any personal issues or struggles that I'm having with the current structure.
This response may sound like a non-response but starting with getting an answer to "who does my team officially report to" is a great starting point to resolve some of the issues that you listed above.
Another option for you is to do some reading on a Matrix Organizations. Here is one article on the subject:
https://www.globalknowledge.com/us-en/resources/resource-library/articles/top-6-keys-to-working-successfully-in-a-matrix-organization/