How do you handle it when someone in authority gives you conflicting instructions, like in the workplace, if the person is not approachable

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bklynjs | 1 year, 9 months ago

I had someone like this when I worked years ago for someone. I went to the head Boss who had hired me and I resolved the conflict by making the person write down exactly what they wanted. They were one of those people who would tell you to do something and then tell their Boss it's not what I said and try to blame you for doing it wrong. After they started to write it down I would just pull the slip and it turned out they were always wrong even in writing it down.

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zebrachick83 | 1 year, 9 months ago

Oh, I've been there. Unapproachable people in positions of authority just irritate the life out of me. These are generally the same people who jump on you for not perfectly following their hopelessly vague directions. My standard operating procedure with these people is to ask them over and over until I get some kind of clarity. If it's impossible to do so, I go directly to their supervisor (if there is one) and ask my question. When the supervisor asks me if I have spoken to the person over me, I say yes but he or she was very vague and unhelpful. Usually the supervisor will either deal directly with me after that or address it with the person. If there is no supervisor, I try to approach an experienced co-worker who can give me a better handle on the situation or offer some insight as to how they've handled a similar issue with that person.

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