Barb Cooper is the leader of a team of 15 high performing consultants at a Marke

Question

Barb Cooper is the leader of a team of 15 high performing consultants at a Marketing Consulting firm. A member of her team, Ted Collins, comes into her office one morning looking red-eyed and unshaven and informs Barb that he is starting to feel at the breaking point of stress he has been experiencing. "Barb, I've been working 16 hours a day now, 6 days a week for almost two months on this project. With our new baby, an ill family member staying with us, and my wife trying to finish her degree, I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I'm exhausted. I'm worried that the quality of the work is suffering. And my wife is threatening to leave me if things don't change. I don't know what to do." Barb looks at Ted and shrugs. "Ted, I'm sorry you are so overwhelmed. But I'm not sure what to tell you. I can give you whatever guidance and structure you need on your project, but it's not my role to help you manage your stress...you need to figure that part out for yourself. You took this job knowing it would involve long hours. It's the nature of consulting. We all do it. There is not a day out of the year when I'm not working. I brought my Blackberry to the beach with me last summer. I came into the office on Christmas Day. We are all lucky to have a job in this economy.

If you were Barb, how would you have handled the situation differently? In what ways could Barb have helped Ted manage his stress?

Explanation / Answer

If I would have been in place of Barb, I would have understood the work he is being doing and the method or way he had adopted. There could be a possibility that becuase of stress and family issues, he was not thinkin straight and was taking longer than normal time to complete his task which is leading to long working hours.

Also I would have checked within the team who can spare few hours from his work to help Ted. In return I would have given recognition to that consultant for over performing and delivering more than this responsibility area.

I believe that if you are part of the team, you should act and work like a team, rather than leaving every one on their own to perform. That is not the meaning of team work.

Barb was not right and he could have helpled Ted in the ways I have mentioned above.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse B
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.