Just Wait

Have you ever had the feeling that you had more than one boss? There’s the person you report too, but another who actually calls the shots. It’s a confusing and unsettling place to be, especially if the 2 people are giving significantly different directions.

The first time I experienced it, a well-intentioned senior leader used to interrupt work that was well advanced and started throwing challenges and questions at the team. He’d usually finish the conversation with a strongly stated preference for how the work should proceed. It was always a significant departure from what had been done to date and involved a lot of rework.

After a while the team would get direction from their immediate boss, but rather than start work, we’d wait until the senior leader made his position clear. The team, and our immediate leader second guessed themselves. The senior guy wondered why no one was showing any initiative, and started directing us in increasing levels of detail. No one was enjoying the dynamic, and it was incredibly ineffective and inefficient. When Hierarchy Hopping like this takes hold, people effectively have 2 bosses. They will always defer to the more senior, because that has the least risk attached.

“Just wait” becomes BAU, everything gets slower and less innovative.

Have you experienced Hierarchy Hopping? Next time we’ll look at the picture from the perspective of that senior leader.