Dear Bob ...Like so many people in IT jobs, my box on the org-chart has a number of lines leading to it -- I split my time across 3 different projects, with essentially 3 different bosses.Within one of those projects, I also supervise one employee -- in addition to doing my "real work" for the project. I barely have enough time to plan out, assign, and then verify his work, much less look over his shoulder Dear Bob …Like so many people in IT jobs, my box on the org-chart has a number of lines leading to it — I split my time across 3 different projects, with essentially 3 different bosses.Within one of those projects, I also supervise one employee — in addition to doing my “real work” for the project. I barely have enough time to plan out, assign, and then verify his work, much less look over his shoulder to see that he isn’t wasting time, surfing the web, chilling out with co-workers. And believe me, he needs some looking over. Yes, I’ve had the talk about professional conduct and building trust in one’s abilities. So as a manager, I want to help him improve his performance. But I really don’t have the time to do so. I need the work to be done, and I need to be able to trust that it will be done in a timely manner, to the best of his ability.Any options other than the obvious?– Prospective PHB? Dear PPHB …Only the obvious ones occur to me.A point I’ll make to you is this: Even when you have too little time, you still have to decide where to invest it. That means deciding whether investing more time in the employee will result in a net improvement in the total work output the two of you are capable of. If so, take more time, even if your direct tasks suffer as a result. In the end, the project will finish more quickly. If not, don’t.I’ll also ask how direct you’ve been with the employee about what succeeding looks like, how big the gap is, and what’s going to happen if he doesn’t close it.Very important: Contact your company’s HR department and have them walk you through exactly what you need to do when a possible outcome is termination. Almost certainly they have specific procedures and documentation. This is something you’ll want to do by the numbers, not by figuring it out on your own. – Bob Technology Industry