Questions

Assignment 2.3 – Week 2

Case Study 4.3

Emily Payne

1. As the team leader, you have weighed the pros and cons of the five options and prepared a

presentation to management on how to address this problem. What do you suggest?

John has been an employee with the company for 15+ years and has developed a strong bond with

everyone. Of the five options listed, as team leader I would begin by relocating John to a different project

team. Doing this could separate John from his friends and give him time to focus on his own

achievements rather than comparing himself to the other employees. This option will give John the

change to become productive again without bypassing the company policy. If John’s behavior does not

turn around and he does not become more productive, I would suggest recommending he go back to

college. This would allow him to get the qualifications required to be promoted. If John does not want to

go back to college and cannot become productive again, at that point I would recommend termination.

2. Consider each of the options and develop an argument to defend your position for each option.

a. Do nothing:

This option would be the easier option for me as the team leader. I could keep my

relationship with John intact. Also, this is the only option that puts all the responsibility on

John. In choosing this option, I hope to give John the time to accept the situation and

become productive on his own without any interference from me as the team leader.

b. Bypass company policy and promote John:

John has been working for the company for over 15 years and in that time, he has gained a

lot of valuable experience. Some might say, even more so than he would have gained in

college for 4 years. He has worked side-by-side with the other team members and can be a

valuable resource. Promoting him would increase his self-worth and self-esteem and will

likely result in greater productivity. John believes he is not held in the same light as the other

team members and promoting him would solve that issue.

c. Talk John into going back to college:

This solution would be the best for everyone involved. John could go back to college and get

the qualifications required to be promoted. If John went back to college then he would be on

the same plane as everyone else.

d. Relocate John to a different project team:

As discussed above this solution would allow for John to stop comparing himself to his

friends. He would be on a new team, with new team members and that would hopefully

increase his productivity because he no longer can see what his friends are doing and

compare it to himself. This would give him the chance to start clean and prove that he could

be productive.

e. Terminate John’s employment:

In the event that Johns performance did not improve I would recommend termination. His

attitude and complaining are deteriorating the team morale and causing stress to the team

members. While his productivity is low other members of the team are picking up the slack.

If John cannot accept the situation and agree to one of the options listed above, there is

little choice left but to terminate.

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3. What specific leadership behaviors mentioned in this chapter are most relevant to addressing

and resolving the problems with John?

There are a few leadership behaviors that will be most relevant and helpful in resolving the issues

with John. One of them is effective communication skills. As the team leader it is important to be

able to communicate with your team. Explain what is expected of them and being clear in the

direction of the project or any issues that arise. In John’s case, it is important to communicate to him

the issues with his performance and what is expected in the future. Organizing under conflict and

organizing with cooperation are relevant traits for the project leader in John’s case. The leader must

be able to delegate, manage their time, and handle conflict and criticism. In this case, it is up to the

project leader to handle the issues with John. Organizing with cooperation is crucial to a successful

project. John’s behavior is hindering the project leader’s ability to create a positive team atmosphere

and engage in positive interpersonal contact.

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