Line manager wanting to control all tasks

[Careeringallovertheplace]

Both me and my line manager (let's call her Katie) are quite new to our team - she joined about 3 months before me. The work is very fast paced. We both moved from within the organisation, so have decent understanding of the context of the work we're doing, but the exact area is new to both of us.

"Katie" talks A LOT, perhaps more than ive ever encountered. She will talk solidly for 5 minutes, ask you a question, and then interrupt you after 5 seconds, and talk for another 10 minutes. She is like this with everybody and tends to derail meetings. This is especially frustrating as we're on tight deadlines.

When I first joined the team, she was off, so I worked directly with her manager, who is an expert in this field with decades of experience (lets call her Mary). When Katie returned, I gave her a summary of what I had done, and she spent the whole time complaining about why Mary had asked me to do it that way. Over the next weeks, every time I gave her an update or went to her with a question about my work, she would complain for upwards of 15 minutes about why Mary had asked me to do it that way. She knew less about the work than I did (work that she was responsible for). I had to explain the same things again and again to her.

Here's the issue: because Katie never had the answers, and tended to waste my time, I stopped going to her and went directly to Mary with questions about the job. Mary would also give me work directly.

Katie hated this and asked Mary to stop tasking me directly. So Mary did, for a while. Mary has now resumed tasking me directly - I assume because it is more efficient. I have worked like this in the past - where I can be given tasks by a member of the team other than my line manager, and I can go to anyone for help. Is this unusual?

She even raised it with HR at a meeting which was supposed to be a routine check of my performance and wellbeing - not as a criticism of me, but of Mary. It was her answer to "how are things going?" at the very beginning of the meeting. I spoke for perhaps 5% of the meeting.

Is she right that all of my tasks should go through her? It would just slow everything down so much.

Well she is your line manager so yes if she wants that then no much you can do.

Perhaps have a word with Mary about working directly for her instead?

So Mary is Katie’s manager, and Katie is your manager, is that correct?

Yes that's correct - Mary is Katie's manager and Katie is my manager

I hadn't considered that as a possibility, thank you.

Surely by your logic, with Mary being Katie's manager, if Mary wants to do something (i.e. give me tasks directly) then there's not much Katie can do?

From your LM's view, she's probably right that she should really be allocating the work. However, her LM thinks differently and wants things done her way.

Best case would be to discreetly ask her LM if this can be sorted out, as it's very awkward for you to be caught in the middle of whatever is going on. And always answering 'why on earth does she want it done like that?' with something along the lines of 'I don't know, I have to follow her instructions though/I've got to get this done now as she wants it asap' to escape from the moaning session.

After all, whilst it might be a sign that LM is not going to be there much longer, it could equally be that her LM moves on to bigger things and you're left there with your current one in charge of you - you can't be seen to be siding with the LM out of choice, doing as she instructs is something you just have to do.

Mary is a crap line manager.

Katie isn’t being managed and her behaviours aren’t challenged, so of course she would find it weird when you and her boss go behind her back(which will be her perception) for tasks.

Mary needs to get her act together and train Katie properly. She sounds like a bit of a control freak tbh. This should have all been sorted out at the beginning.

Hmm yes these responses do all make sense. Katie is constantly complaining about Mary's lack of line management. I feel totally stuck in the middle and pissed off to be having to deal with this as the lowest paid of the three of us! Is there anything I can do about it at this point? I think because the programme is ending in the next couple of months it might be too late. However it could get extended so would be good to have a sustainable solution.

I worked for a Local Authority where the management structure was
Chief Exec
Director of service
Service lead
Me
My work came from both the Director and service lead. If the Director gave me any work directly then she told my line manager the service lead during his monthly one to one. The process ran fine with no issues.
I would say Katie is feeling put out by Mary. Maybe have a chat with Mary about it and ask her to copy Katie in on any task requests when they are sent to you so Katie is fully aware.
Initially my Director was asking my line manager first and he was passing it to me but the task sometimes got lost in translation so we agreed that she would come direct to me. This allowed me greater access to high level meetings and an opportunity to shadow a Director which led me to a service lead job at a neighbouring LA. Sometimes these things can be a blessing!