Inadequate Leadership and Team Development

1. Current Issues at BDE
2. A theoretical perspective (Contingency leadership models: Fiedler and House Path-Goal)
3. Improving leadership at BDE

Case: BDE Insurance

One year ago:

Emma, a high-achieving member of the training team at BDE Insurance, received the 'Employee of the Quarter' award and was excited about dedicating more time to special projects in her area, as this would help her to advance her career. Emma also believed the Team Leader position she'd been effectively doing in the training area would finally be formally recognised by HR, a promotion that, after years of hard work, she dearly wanted. This was all part of the original plan she and her manager, Patrick, had discussed some time ago.

Patrick's management ethos was summed up by this simple philosophy that he often stated, "Being a good manager is mainly about dealing with people effectively, and that doesn't necessarily mean it's all love and roses. It's partly about picking the best and partly about ensuring the work situation stokes the ambition that drives high performance. I give opportunities to people, and if they prove their worth, they will enjoy the results of their hard work and have a chance to take their career places."

It was an approach that Patrick regarded as essential because, at BDE Insurance, there wasn't much opportunity to recognise his best performers with extra salary increases. The performance pay element that permitted minor percentage salary increases annually could only be 0 - 5% (depending on the rating average), and most staff expected 3% to 4% as standard.Patrick knew that "...because most managers are reluctant to rate employees too low, every employee expects at least a satisfactory rating, which guarantees a 3% increase. As I know my staff will compare their ratings to those of others with different managers, I have had to find other mechanisms to get higher performance, such as using development opportunities, project work and so forth. My staff know I work hard promoting their good work, which is why many of my employees have won Employee of the Quarter and/or Year." With all the changes in the workplace this year, there were many opportunities for development and advancement.

BDE Insurance's restructuring and other initiatives, designed to fend off growing competition from larger global competitors, significantly increased training loads. While BDE Insurance was a large finance and insurance company with a long, profitable local history, the new leadership at the firm wanted to make an impression and promptly initiated successive waves of change. With most jobs changing in the firm, the training team was under immense pressure to meet these demands. The team also had to conduct a training compliance audit due to the government's proposed new Financial Services Reform Bill. The bill would require every industry firm to demonstrate it had trained its entire staff adequately, if requested by the regulator or the courts.

At the beginning of all this, Joan, a competent new trainer, was hired, and she quickly made friends at BDE Insurance. Joan was hired to, amongst other things, reduce the workload of staff in the training team, which would allow Emma more time for project work. Joan was very ambitious, and before long, thanks to her fierce "can do" attitude, she became good friends with the department manager, Patrick.

The pressures in this environment were immense, and soon it became apparent Emma was overworked with several of her projects falling behind schedule, including the critical Online Training Audit project.While Joan was always quick to offer her help, Emma was not always happy to accept it, and six months after Joan's arrival, Patrick noticed that some of the projects were still not moving quickly. Aware of the heavy training workloads, he'd been reluctant to criticise Emma or override her decisions until he discussed this issue at length with Joan. She noted, "Some of the IT aspects of the job seem to have Emma stumped as she is not as IT savvy as some." Patrick had always been aware of Emma's concerns about online learning. Still, he'd not considered how the extra learning curves might lead to project delivery delays. Worried that the Online Training Audit project would be critical in meeting the looming audit requirements of the new bill and believing Joan was more IT proficient, Patrick made a decision that was to have far-reaching consequences.

It started when Patrick called Emma into his office for one of their regular meetings to discuss how her team and her projects were travelling. The issue of the online training audit system was discussed, and Patrick made it known that if the project load was too heavy, then it seemed reasonable to split up some of the work amongst the team. While Emma was initially reluctant, he finally convinced her that it was necessary, and she agreed to allocate about half of her project workload to others on the training team. However, Patrick's agreeable demeanour changed somewhat when Emma suggested who to assign to these projects. He questioned Emma about why she didn't feel Joan would be suitable for any project, to which she replied, "She's the youngest team member, it will cause trouble if she gets preference over others who have been here longer." Patrick countered that Joan's IT skills may be perfect for the Online Training Audit Project, but this suggestion was met by a quick and definitive reply from Emma, "She's seeing one of the IT Helpdesk boys: I know who'll end up doing most of the work." He dropped the subject promptly.

Later that day, convinced that petty jealousy was at work, Patrick sent an email informing all on the team of what had been agreed to in the meeting with Emma, with one exception: he had given the audit project to Joan. While Joan's relationship with one of the IT department's staff turned out to be true, Joan's spectacular successes on the project led Patrick to believe his decision was the right one. Yet the problems did not go away; the team continued to have friction, and several resignations occurred. The team became fractured into two distinct factions; one mostly comprised of the more recent appointments with Joan as the dominant force, the other with Emma. While Patrick tried to mediate on two occasions, it became clear that this conflict was not going to end.

Two months ago:

After Joan was declared winner of the "Employee of the Year" award, there was a massive argument in which Joan accused Emma of being vindictive. At the same time, Emma argued that Joan was manipulative. Three more veteran trainers resigned, and Emma's faction shrunk to just her and one other member, Nicole, who was timid and not comfortable supporting anyone in a conflict. With two other team members blaming Emma for the situation, Patrick was forced reluctantly to reprimand Emma.

Distraught, Emma ended up taking stress leave for two weeks due to what she believed was "workplace hostility." The accusation of workplace hostility seriously wounded Patrick's pride, as the matter needed to be escalated to HR, who he had often bragged about being one of the 'stronger HR oriented managers at BDE Insurance'.With his confidence in Emma shaken and the formal HR approval for a team leader position finally in place, he decided Joan would be appointed team leader.

Now:

Patrick's embarrassment only increased when Emma made a workers' compensation claim upon returning to work. It cited a nervous breakdown caused by workplace bullying, in large part by Joan.