u/ChemicalWizard24

I’m a Manager (a few years in this division but decently experienced in the industry) in a high-pressure R&D environment caught between a hands-off style Director and a very hands-on executive level who is a "Technical Hero" archetype. He certainly knows his technical field, and he'd rather spend hours solving technical problems and calculations than other things needed of an executive level's time. He frequently gives direct technical instructions or assigns work to my team, which has conditioned them to go straight to him. I have gotten feedback he wants me to act more like a "technical expert," but the impromptu deep dive conversations and side meetings are often private where I can't contribute or learn. I've tried handling the day to day firefighting and frequent work priority changes, which helps things run smoother for everyone, but I get mixed reception from leadership. My supervisor (the director) tells me one thing and the executive half of the time gives the opposite or different direction. How do you manage up with an executive who views management as unnecessary work and refuses to loop you into the technical pivots they make with your own team? I’m considering asking to be "in the room" for every session he has with my engineers to regain visibility and help my team progress, as well as more clarity as to his expectations, but I'm worried how that will go. Any thoughts?