Case: "Navigating Individual Differences at Work"

Team A$,$ a group of management consultants, has a deliverable to submit in two weeks. They are pitching a proposal to a potential client. The team is made up of Sally, Tom, Abir, and Ralph.

However, things do not seem to be going so well especially with a deadline coming up very close. They have been feeling like their progress is stagnant and they may not meet the deadline.

This past week, Sally had been arriving to work early and leaving work after long hours. She notices that no one else from the team is spending so much time on the project, so she has been feeling that she is the only one who cares this much about the deliverable. "Why don't they care as much as I do$?"$ she reflects, as she walks home later that evening. She has been trying to encourage everyone to stay at work these long hours, she has been trying to take the role of team leader, but she could notice that they are not listening to her. She could feel her stress levels rising, and her motivation decreasing.

Usually, Sally and Tom get along quite well at work. However, recently, they have been experiencing a lot of tension in their work together, especially since Sally is preferring to focus on all the details, working step by step towards the final product, while Tom was preferring to see the big picture and to create a report that is more creative than it is $\text{'}$by$-$the$-$book'. But, Tom has been a bit shy to communicate to Sally his point of view. He also has felt that he has not really had the opportunity to speak up$.$ Usually in meetings, Sally dominates, and it is very difficult to voice your opinion if it is different to hers. So$,$ he concluded that if he only behaves differently and doesn't follow her 'lead', she will catch on and notice that her approach to work is not his style.

As the tensions rise, Tom found an ally in Ralph, who seemed to agree with him that having a highly impactful and imaginative presentation will be enough to hook the client. They both agreed that the detailed report Sally is pushing them to do will only waste their time and end up with a boring presentation. As a result, Tom and Ralph feel that the long hours are not necessary, but rather, all they need is a highly impactful and creative idea. This is enough to do the job. One idea, they think, needs about five minutes to generate, and maybe one day to implement. To do that, they agreed, requires unconventional ways of working such as going out, resting, and simply waiting for something to create a 'spark' which they will then turn into a genius idea. Feeling confident about their approach, they stick to their view.

Air has so far preferred to stay out of the tensions. She has provided a listening ear to Tom, Ralph, and Sally. But deep down she feels that Sally is right. A thoroughly researched project is somehow more important than 'wowing' the client. What if they come up with a wonderful idea, but it turns out somehow has done it before? What if the idea has defects?