New manager and old manager give conflicting instructions about helping other team members with their work. What is the correct approach?

Question

As a software engineer have been assigned to a project of five member team. We all have our individual roles to a particular components. Sometime an issue arises in other team members component and I have tried to involve solving the problem. My manager strictly insults me for this behavior of mine. So I stopped involving in solving issue other than what is assigned to me.
Now that our current manager is promoted, our team been assigned to new manager. New manager reports to our old-manager. The current manager insults us for just sticking with our assigned work. I feel confused.

How should the behavior be as a team member. Should I just work on assigned work ? Or should volunteer on involving in other component as well ? Or should I consult manager asking I have more time and can contribute more ?

Answer 1

Read a bit about Stakeholder Management

It is your responsibility to ensure your direct manager is happy and the job is done. You need to prioritize and manage expectations of all stakeholders, in your case your two managers.

Your old manager is no longer relevant, he is your new managers problem now. Stick to doing things the way your new manager says and if your old manager has a problem with that kindly refer him to your new manager.

Answer 2

Expectations of your managers are different and you don't know what to do differently now compared to then.

Try to address this to your manager and ask for a teaching for the team where he tells you how he wants this team to work together. Explain things were different before him and to make this team work successful with him leading, it is important for the whole team - not only you - to know how things should work in the future.

This shows you didn't do wrong on purpose and you are interested in doing better.

The exact strategy for this depends on your culture, behavior at work can be very different.