STRATEGY

When you've tried unsuccessfully to get another department to stay within their bounds you need to reach out to your supervisor to get involved. This can be a tough sell. Many supervisors hate getting between two managers or departments. Also, people who overstep their bounds may have been allowed to get away with it in the past for some reason. The best thing to do if you can't get your supervisor to intervene directly is to ask them to give you a suggestion. Accept the suggestion whether or not you think it will work. Then get an agreement to review written notes or to provide more help if their suggestion doesn't work. Having turned you down once your supervisor is not going to refuse a request for advice or review. This type of indirect or delayed intervention may be the best you can do. It will also increase the odds of their intervening directly in the future.

TACTICS

• Attitude: Be direct in your need for help but be willing to accept indirect rather than direct intervention.
• Preparation: Have all the details of the problem and your prior attempts to resolve it committed to memory in the equivalent of an “elevator pitch.”

  
  

• Timing: Only go to your supervisor after having gone to the individual who has overstepped their bounds and they've repeated the behavior.
• Behavior: While you can do this over the telephone, by going to your supervisor in person you make it more difficult for them to turn you down.

ADAPTATIONS

This script can be modified to:

• Ask a parent for help when a sibling or other relative oversteps their bounds.

KEY POINTS

• Make your pitch succinctly and ask for direct intervention.
• If you're turned down, get your supervisor to give you a suggestion on the next step.
• Accept the suggestion, whether or not you think it will work.
• Get your supervisor to commit to review your next approach and review the issue if it doesn't work.