I don’t understand what my manager really wants from me.

Anonymous

January 6,2024 at 1:45PM UTC

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I don’t understand what my manager really wants from me.

Hi everyone. I would love to get some feedback on my reporting situation here. The backstory is that our team reorg’ed twice in the past year. I am now on a “new” team, that did similar work to my old team, but had different goals. My old manager’s position was eliminated because her position was considered duplicative. Now, I have a new manager who leads our entire portfolio.

There have been some difficulties in the integration because our two portfolios served different purposes - unfortunately, I can’t get more specific than that. I’ve explained to my new manager this point a few times but she seems to struggle with that point. The best analogy I could probably give here is to say our two teams were like the police and the fire department, in that they both provide emergency services, but there are things each of them are specifically designed to do. There are also different political impacts to changing the way things are done and how we deliver the service as we have different stakeholders. My former team and portfolio I lead are/were the fire department. The new team I merged into is/was the police department. Now we’re just general EMS, I guess. (Ok! Done with the analogy).

Anyway, in this merger, my manager has continuously asked me to contribute more to work that isn’t in my “lane” and she has remarked repeatedly that I like to stay in my lane. She seems to perceive that as being myopic or a bad thing.

I don’t understand this feedback, because from my perspective, I have done my part to onboard the rest of the team to the work that I do (she complimented me on how well I did that), I have also asked her multiple times to clarify if my role has changed and/or what she sees me leading, and she says it’s the same as it was before.

So…I’m under the assumption that I should be doing what’s in my job description?

Can someone help me understand this? She has not given me a specific task that she’d like me to do outside “my lane”. What does she want me to do?

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AnonymousJanuary 6,2024 at 2:01PM UTC
In my experience: I'd ask for a meeting, bring to the table what you have done before and after restructuring.
Ask her point-blank: elaborate on required tasks.
I'd write out verbatim job description and every bullet point on how you speak to it. She complimented you so good, she's paying attention!!
If she says "what do you think " or "I've already told you ", she doesn't have a clear idea and it might be time to try something different in a new group or new company
AnonymousJanuary 6,2024 at 2:32PM UTC
Having worked in a software company some years back, the company made several acquisitions, which required merging the other company's products to align with the existing product line or (in some cases) the new product line. I'm only saying this because that may be the direction the new boss has been brought in to accomplish. Perhaps they want you to venture outside your lane a little and into the other side of the road to the other part of the group. This is a technique that can test your adaptability. Your boss sees and respects your abilities and is trying to entice you to look at the bigger picture. This could be part of your discussion regarding how they see your role in the company.
To mold it into your analogy, our county had a fire department and a separate ambulance service when I was a kid. The emergency medical services are now merged into the fire and rescue department. In the process, fire personnel were all trained in EMS procedures. This way, whenever medical services are needed in a rescue or fire situation, everyone has the skills necessary. Staying in your lane, without an occasional adventure into other areas, can stagnate the development of new skills and limit your future career moves.
AnonymousJanuary 6,2024 at 5:14PM UTC
My division's role has changed somewhat in the past couple of years. Specific people were recruited to address those new areas, but it turned out that we needed more of a collaborative approach and existing staff have been crosstrained. Most of the staff already had language in their job descriptions that was flexible enough to cover the new duties so they didn't even get an updated position or raise directly, though the new skills were used to justify promotions later. It sounds like your manager is looking at the big picture and expecting you, in what sounds like a leadership role, to take some initiative and show flexibility. It's up to you how you feel about it, but likely the flexible people will find more opportunities long-term.
L HJanuary 6,2024 at 5:53PM UTC
She clearly wants you to do things that you have not done before. Ask her for specifics, let her know you understand the lane analogy and now that the 2 teams are combined can she create a weekly task list with you in tow to be specific and directive in what she needs. Do things in a way that they can be timeboxed so that you can show your achievements to her and memorialize the accomplishments. This will be good for you too as if things don't work out you will have recordkeeping of your work that you can port when/if you choose to leave the company.
AnonymousJanuary 7,2024 at 6:45AM UTC
She's asking you, without directly asking you-- to take on work that is not in your job description. She wants you to do more, but wants it to be you taking the action to do more outside of what your regular duties are. You have to determine how much you are willing to do that, and if you want to work for someone who would put you in a position where that's even a request of you. I'm sorry you are dealing with this.
AnonymousJanuary 7,2024 at 2:37PM UTC
If we stick with your analogy, she is the EMS Battalion head and you are a fire chief. She is asking you to take on maybe some or all of the role of police chief too.
I would ask her in these terms if that us what she is looking for. If the answer is yes, ask for training if you're not familiar AND more compensation since your role expanded greatly.
AnonymousJanuary 7,2024 at 4:04PM UTC
This is giving me deja vu vibes. Our new director who has never managed our department is literally refusing to list out what my new responsibilities are. On top of that, I've been promoted to manage an entirely new regional structure and she's leaving me no time to hire and train my replacement and move into the new responsibilities that I know of. It's horrible to be in limbo and know that the person causing the anxiety is the one judging my performance.
AnonymousJanuary 7,2024 at 4:08PM UTC
(This is OP) So, how are you planning to navigate this situation in a way that is advantageous to you? Is that even possible?
AnonymousJanuary 7,2024 at 7:56PM UTC
I'm still trying to figure it out. The benefit is I've rediscovered my love for managing, training people and creating and refining systems and processes. So my job searches should be going in a more fulfilling direction which is a plus. Best case scenario I make a name for myself in that capacity, save some money and move on ASAP ??‍♂️
Maegan, Nike Sales Rep & Career CoachJanuary 9,2024 at 1:37PM UTC
I would ask her. Say you really take her feedback to heart and are excited to grow, but ask what she has in mind for "out of your lane" then you can say to me, that means ... XYZ. Is this what you were thinking? See what her response is. It sounds like you need to help her get clear on what she even means by that for herself.
Taking a "curious" approach, i've found, is the best way to get the results you want!