How to Manage Up When You Have Two Managers
There is a legit reason to worry when no single person oversees your workload
Jessica Powell, the former Google vice president who wrote The Big Disruption and told you how to quit your job, is here to answer your common but tricky work questions. Check back every other week for more management advice with a tech inflection.
My work is split between two managers, and I worry that neither one has full visibility into what I do. How can I make sure this won’t hurt me, especially when it’s time for performance reviews?
Sometimes employees will get split between managers because their core job isn’t enough to fill a work day. One way of looking at this is the company is squeezing out as much work as possible from the human they have employed. (Welcome to capitalism! You are little more than a work unit!)
A more upbeat way to think of it is it can also be a chance for career growth for you, the employee. An additional manager, and a new project or challenge, is a chance to showcase your talents to a wider audience as well as learn from a different leader.
That said, there is a legit reason to worry when your boss comes along to sell you on the benefits of a split manager. How will you be evaluated fairly and holistically…
