Resolved Question

You are a new manager and your duty manager wants you to look after your former department but you need to ...?

You are a trainee manager and you have been asked by the duty manager to look after your old department for two weeks, whilst your old department manager is on holiday. You have also been asked by your human resources manager to ensure that you complete your development program for the trainee management scheme. You are very good friends with everyone in your department.
Question (1): What is the best course of action to take first?
Question (2): What is the worst course of action to take first?
Kindly chose from the options below:
a) agree to look after the department.
b) apologise to the duty manager; explain that you need to concentrate on your development.
c) do one week in your old department and one week on your development plan.
d) ask to swap with another department manager; work in their department for one week instead; work on your development plan for one week.

Thank you very much for your responds.

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

You need to get the HR and duty managers together to discuss how the cover period will fit within your development or whether it will extend your development period... it could segue nicely and it isnt an either/or situation necessarily.

Not sure this is your decision to make, speak to them both together. You can't just decide to cover the position for some of the time and then do what you feel is good... doesnt work like that.

The worst course of action is to do something without consulting anyone else and to leave things hanging. The best course of action is to act responsibly and maturely to ensure the department is covered and that, hopefully, that effort can be reflected in your development.

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Other Answers (1)

• None of the above.
  
  I would ask for a meeting with the human resources manager and the duty manager.
  In the meeting I would suggest that the human resources delay the development program for the two weeks while you help out the old department.
  If this was a good run business this problem would not have occurred in the first place as there would have been communication between the managers.
  It was the duty managers responsibility to check with your new human resources manager before taking you off the job to cover for someones holiday.
  This will ensure that everyone is happy and that you come out smelling of roses.

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