Corporate politics problem...?
I know my manager's home phone number for emergencies only. Plus I have been told on pain of death that the number isn't to be given to anyone, even at work, for any reason, no matter who they are.
A very-high-up manager (much higher than both of us) phoned me demanding to know this number.
Should I give the number and catch heck from my manager, or not give it out and catch bigger heck from the higher manager?
Comments
There's a reason why people don't share their personal/home numbers with their company. You shouldn't feel pressured to give out a telephone number that was granted to you with confidentiality.
There are a few ways out of this one.
a) You can relay the message from the higher level manager to your manager - you won't be breaching your manager's trust, but the higher level manager may use you to pester your manager while they're on vacation, or something stupid like that
b) You can ignore the higher level manager's request - after all, it's not your job to keep the higher level manager informed of people's personal home numbers
c) You can refer the higher level manager to the human resources department; if anyone knows where people can be found, it's them. If you have decent HR staff, they can't give out that information for privacy reasons.
d) You can give out the number, but you will lose both credibility and trust with your manager - and that can't be repaired easily
The rule of thumb is (or should be): if the higher level manager wasn't given your manager's personal home number by your manager, it isn't anyone's business what that telephone number is except for the people entrusted with it.
Option A- a) You can relay the message from the higher level manager to your manager - you won't be breaching your manager's trust, but the higher level manager may use you to pester your manager while they're on vacation, or something stupid like that
Let your manager make that descion. If not, you will get screwed by one or the other. If you forward the message to your boss, you are covered both ways.
Give it out - and fast!