Is this out of order

[LadyRussell]

Colleague who is same level manager as me asked our joint boss if someone I line manage could do a task for her (small admin task not strictly in her role but it’s quite a flexible role).

Line manager (micro manages everything) agreed it and my colleague ran it past me and told me after boss had ok’d it.

Employee then emails me today cc’ing in my manager saying X has asked me to do this is this in my job role? Line managrt then enails her back CC’ing in me explaining she had already ok’d it.

AIBU to think if a manager (sane level as her own) has asked her to do a task (if she had the time if not don’t worry) she should be then checking with me and certainly not cc’ing in my line manager?

So what are you going to do OP?

I suspect an email would be better as you have documentation then should you have any issues in the future, but it would work just as well to have a discussion face to face and then send a follow up email just clarifying what was said. I think that makes it into a bigger deal though, it makes more sense that you would reply to her initial CCed email with what I suggested.

I hate to say it but she seems to understand how it works. Your colleague asked your manager before they asked you. The employee clearly knows who is in charge, so meh, I would not be annoyed at her.

I'd be more annoyed your colleague didn't ask you first.

It's not her job to protect your colleague from her shitty boss. If she is being directed by someone who isn't her manager she has every right to question this. If that is "dropping someone in it", that suggests she shouldn't have been picking up this task in the first place.

Yes it's a good point why as you knew didn't you tell her she would be requested to do the task.

You knew and didn't tell her, your colleague went to your boss before you. I don't see how she can be at fault when you seem so lacking in authority and involvement.

There are issues here, but she's not it.

Colleague is close friend and told me she asked directly after the task had come up in a conversation with line manager that wasn’t a big deal per say. Employee knows we are friends.

I didn’t ask her as colleague informed me yday to check it was ok to ask employee after she had left and I wasn’t there today I just saw the email chain this eve.

Then you should lead by example and not let close friendships skew how you all work.

She was right to question it and you should have spoken to her.

You are coming across as a quite unprofessional manager, OP. Your friendships are your personal business. Not your report's problem.

I haven’t been in the office to speak to her I was elsewhere today.

She possibly was checking pn6same level manager. But tbh if I was getting asked to do random admin stuff outside of my job description in a new role/organisation I'd query it. Perhaps she just wants to assert some boundaries and doesn't want to become the office lackey? Also organisations have different cultures so in a previous role this might have been the done thing. As her line manage you should talk to her face to face in a ploute wasly and just let her know it's unnecessary.

You're fairly digging yourself a hole here.

You're acting like you just don't like her. You weren't even there, she sent it to you cc your manager,

Honestly you should be more professional than pulling this shit with staff.

*polite way even!

Bluntness100

Erm - what?

Bearfam

Yeah I will just mention it to her tomorrow that she doesn’t need to escalate something so minor to my line manager and that if it does need escalating I will do that.

Big communication issues here. If management all agree that she’s going to do this task for the other manager then you, as her line manager should have told her to expect the request. Or at the very least manager B should have said when she approached the employee that she had your blessing to do so. The employee is absolutely right to be questioning the request as your communication stinks. But no she shouldn’t have copied in your manager. Remind the employee that the senior manager is very busy and doesn’t need their inbox clogged up with needless CC’s and also assure them that next time you’ll tell them yourself when they’re going to get a request to help another team.

You are very hung up on "levels" aren't you? Just an observation.

We are all the same team.

It was literally as I left the office yday colleague was like oh “btw lady I have asked Line manager if employee can do this for me if she has time she says it’s fine with her but she said to check with you - is that ok I am going on leave on Thurs so is it in if I have a word tomoz” I replied “yeah that’s fine I am out of the office tomoz”.

I haven’t been able to access my emails all day and I didn’t bother emailing her when I got back at 6pm last night as it wasua massively important task.

I had a manager once who loved to remind others of how busy and important she was, and how emails sent above her head were "clogging up" inboxes (you know, as if she should be the sole channel of communication to her line manager, regardless of how incompetent or lazy she was being). Worst manager I ever had.

Tinkobell
You are very hung up on "levels" aren't you? Just an observation

Some professions have to be .....

My line manager does go on and on about emails clogging up

And yet you blame her for cc'ing the manager, despite the fact that there was no way you could have answered her yourself? Why?

I will see her tomorrow and she emailed at the end of the day today.

I also told her yesterday that I was available on my phone today and to call me if she needed to ask me anything.

And she is meant to do the task when?

She has been asked to do the task on Monday if she has time.

Do you really care about hierarchy that much?!
Does your workplace not encourage their staff to speak to managers that are not directly theirs?

I work in a huge NHS organisation and I have no qualms about raising issues with our 'heads of' if I genuinely felt the need to. It is also encouraged that we sit day to day with them, which is often the case because we hotdesk.