Diana Gillen is a general manager of a Cobb Street Grille restaurant who hopes to be promoted to a multi-unit district manager position. She was recently passed over for a similar position because, although she is proficient technically, she lacks interpersonal competence. She believes that she should be promoted based on her tenure and her success in managing single units and is not in tune with the company’s new emphasis on a bigger picture focus and on developing managers. She is not sensitive to the feelings of others and interacts with people in a perfunctory manner; she chooses to keep relationships with her employees at arm’s length. She is also rather inflexible, and openly resists change.

Diana has not acknowledged or taken responsibility for her interpersonal skill deficiencies. Her supervisors sense Diana’s reluctance to address her weaknesses, so they typically steer clear of any development discussions in an effort to avoid uncomfortable situations. Because Diana is unable to accurately assess her skills and competencies in relation to the needs of the organization, she is surprised and confused with the regional director’s decisions to promote outsiders or her more recently hired colleagues.

Case Questions

1. Apply your knowledge of the four emotional intelligence dimensions to discuss the likely reasons why Diana wasn't offered a promotion.

2. What skills does Diana need to develop to be promotable in the future? What can the company do to support her developmental efforts?