I work with a boss that I really like and she is fairly new to our department. When she came in she looked at our job duties and confirmed them for each of us. However, I have noticed that she regularly performs one of my tasks. I believe that my tasks are really meant to make her life easier and I am very conscious of covering my tasks to the best of my ability. Recently, I talked to her about how it makes me feel when she performs one of my job duties. I told her that I could not help but wonder if my boss thinks I am doing a good job or that she trusts me. She jumped right in and began explaining and defending herself and then told me that she is a “doer.” I was left with the perception that she was not listening and feels justified jumping in at any time. I have found that she does this to other members of the department too.

The Team Doc Says…

Hmmm. Doer or not, she is wasting the company’s time and money by doing your work. They hired her to be your supervisor, not to do your work. Since it’s happening to everyone, I wouldn’t worry too much about her not trusting you to do your job. But the listening issue is definitely a concern.

Since she’s your boss, and you’ve already gone the discussion route, I’m not seeing much additional action you can take unless you can get the entire team together and talk about team roles. This could help you get agreement from everyone on who does what when but she still may not have a clue how much it bugs you and your team members. It may just be something you’ll have to live with as long as you stay at this company.

Sorry, not the best advice as frankly, this one has me a bit stumped. Readers, can you add your thoughts to the mix and give us some help here by leaving a comment? Thank you.

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1. What To Do With A Non-Team Player
2. How To Encourage Cross Training On Your Team
3. Poor Listening A Big Team Problem

I have 10 nurse techs who all work together in the same department. They really are pretty much friends and friendly, but they all want to know who is doing what when so that no one has to do more than anyone else. They get very irritable with each other if they one feels she is having to work harder or do more than the others. What do you suggest?

The Team Doc Says…

This is easy. Just have a daily meeting with your team to discuss who is doing what that day. Talk about who can help the person with the heaviest load. Then put it into action.

This process will help reinforce the bond within your team and may help with some knowledge transfer among the team members.

Related posts:

1. How To Connect Team Members With Good Communication Tactics
2. The Generation Gap – Integrating A Team Of Old And Young People
3. What To Do When Your Team Falls Apart While You’re Gone