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Ask HN: What do to about a boss who assigns the same task to multiple people?

3 points by Kluny ↗ HN
This isn't a problem that I'm having personally, but I'm getting this complaint from my coworker (about our mutual boss) and my girlfriend (about her boss).

They say that the bosses will assign them some task, then never follow up on it. But when they get to actually completing the task, they find that the boss has assigned it to someone else, or finished it themselves.

Assuming that my coworker and girlfriend aren't lazy or incompetent and are acting in good faith, what might be the cause of the managers behaving this way, and how can they manage the situation for less frustration?

5 comments

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drugme
Typical junior manager behavior.

Assuming that my coworker and girlfriend aren't lazy or incompetent and are acting in good faith, what might be the cause of the managers behaving this way, and how can they manage the situation for less frustration?

The "cause" here in the simple fact that the manager in this case doesn't really know what they're doing.

Which at the bare minimum should include: (1) the ability to reasonably predict whether someone can complete a given task, and (2) the ability to trust people.

This "trick" used to really annoy me many (many) years ago the first time it was pulled on me. Now I just go "okay - another junior / insecure manager" and go on cashing my paychecks / looking for a better job.

Being as this is all their problem, not mine.

marktangotango
Indeed. I had a boss like this, I wouldn’t do anything until he asked for a status, then I’d know it was a real task he cared about. Love it or hate it, agile, at least scrums and sprints mitigate this pathology, introduces a host of its own but that’s another discussion .
el_dev_hell
> Assuming that my coworker and girlfriend aren't lazy or incompetent and are acting in good faith, what might be the cause of the managers behaving this way, and how can they manage the situation for less frustration?

The manager is likely incompetent. He/she is allocating the task to multiple people as a way to insure against failure. I've witnessed this first hand.

It's a major waste of resources.

If it's a big company, I'd get the manager to put requests/tasks in an email and just do them. The manager is going to get "retraining" soon enough. Wait out the storm.

If it's a smaller company, I'd keep doing whatever I'm already doing and find a better job ASAP.

wsh
When working with an inexperienced or forgetful manager, it’s sometimes helpful to report frequently, but tactfully and informally, on progress and plans:

“Here’s the memorandum on those design changes. I’m still working on the cost analysis for the Acme proposal and expect to finish late tomorrow. I might not get to the intermodulation study until Monday; can it still wait until then?”

This reminds the manager of the assignments, reassures that they haven’t been forgotten, and offers the option to change priorities or reassign tasks.

A good manager shouldn’t need subordinates to take the initiative like this, of course, but any reasonable manager should appreciate being kept informed.