Originally posted by: Sketcher
It depends on the task. However, the big boss doesn't know what your assigned tasks and priorities are and your immediate boss is responsible for the work he/she assigns you.
Not everything is cut and dry. Clarify issues with your boss. If your boss is unavailable; weigh the critical nature and timeframe of the tasks and take care of business. But, be sure that you understand the responsibility and impact of changing your assigned priorities. Most situations likely have a clear answer if you think rationally about the issues and make sincere effort to contact your boss or clarify even a little - your situation with the bigger boss.
*Long story: read only if you don't have anything better to do.
I had an off site meeting one day and left instructions with my crew that a certain project was an absolute priority and had to be finished by day end. The project was for a presentation which the CEO was giving for shareholders the next day. Only Management was allowed to know the details so I didn't say who or what the project was for, just that the gear had to be ready by day end. I returned three hours later to find that work had barely started because the CEO had stopped by in a panic because his PDA had crashed, he said his life was on that thing as well as that night's flight information. So, one guy was surfing the net looking for data salvage info - one guy was on the phone with Ontrack and the other was making minimal progress on the project. What blows my mind is that not one of them figured it was necessary to call me. Their sense of critical thinking was skewed by what they perceived as a prime directive from the CEO. Normally, they were clear headed guys who performed admirably. In this instance however, they didn't weigh in properly and I think were somewhat intimidated by the "Big Guy" taking a stroll in geeksville.
Once they aprised me of the snafu - I called the CEO's Secretary and confirmed that she was the one who booked his flight and that she had the info. Further, she had backed up his PDA like she does every day he comes into the office. So if anything, he was inconvenienced by his PDA crash but not critically so. And, as time bore out; it was explained that his stopping by the IT Dept was not to put immediate attention on his PDA at the expense of more critical tasks. My technicians had just put the wrong impetus on the issue and didn't think it through. Most importantly, they didn't do what I told them to. In the least, they should have called me to inform me of the situation and leave the decision in my hands.
As it happened, we all had to work late that evening to prepare the gear and then deliver it ourselves. When the CEO saw us delivering the equipment and not our shipping service (the meeting was two hours from Corporate); he made a comment that he noticed we were at the shop late the previous night and hoped he wasn't paying IT wages for delivery work. I assured him that he wasn't.
History: Nine out of ten times my guys would have and did make the right decision when faced with a judgement call. This time they made the wrong decision in light of some fairly obvious solutions and it could have really screwed things up (to put it lightly). The CEO holds me responsible for my department. I held my crew responsible to the tasks I assigned. I gave them the credit for our departments success but I took the heat when things didn't go well. That's part of management.
Bottom line is, it's better to go the extra step to obtain ANY bit of clarification of priority either from your boss or if necessary the big boss. Only make command decisions if all other resources are exhausted and you're ready to assume the responsibility for screwing up. Too many people are intimidated by the chain of command and do not make effective use of basic communication tools. There's nothing wrong with telling the big guy that you will check in with your boss or that you need him to inform your boss that he's commandeered your priorities. If the tasks you're passing judgement on are not monumental in nature, then just take care of business and make sure no one has a reason to slam you.
*End of Long Story
To answer the OP question: I would make every effort to contact my boss and inform him of the situation. The question doesn't detail any specifics so the best answer is to contact my boss for direction. The next step if my boss is unavailable is to ask the big guy if he intends his task to take priority over my assigned tasks and if so, I need him to inform my boss that he's changed my priorities. This is assuming both tasks are time/resource critical. But that's my answer.
