Thomas Green: Power, Office Politics, and a Career in Crisis Debrief
Thomas Green, senior market specialist at Dynamic Displays, is facing a career crisis that could lead up to his termination. Before his promotion, he started as an account executive. As an account executive he was a stellar performer. However, after his promotion, his performance gradually started declining. Thomas did not have the necessary management experience when he was promoted into the senior market specialist role. Yet, Shannon McDonald, the division vice president, had confidence that with hard work, and help from other seasoned managers, Thomas would get up to speed. However, this was not the case as Thomas had not met the expectations of his boss, Frank Davis. …show more content…
From the beginning, he did not follow Frank’s recommendations. For example, Frank advised him that he was expected to prepare supporting data for his proposals. Unfortunately, Thomas did not see the usefulness of preparing data and relied mainly on talking to the individuals face to face. Thomas biggest mistake was assuming that Frank did not like him because he had questioned the validity of his forecasts. Due to this assumption, Thomas did not take into considerations Frank’s feedback. As discussed in the article Actionable feedback: Unlocking the power of learning and performance improvement, “delivering feedback, especially critical feedback, produces strong emotional reactions that may hinder learning and developmental” (p. 122). Thomas was too-overly concerned with Frank not liking him that he did not focus on following the recommendations give to him. In a way Thomas felt threatened by Frank. In addition, Thomas avoided Frank as much as possible and never asked for help. Frank may have also contributed to the situation. Frank was supposed to be the one selecting the new senior market specialist. He was surprised that Thomas was chosen without the necessary experience. This created a bias that Thomas was not ready. Furthermore, Frank did not try to meet more regular with Thomas to coach him on the areas where he was struggling. He, in a way, ignored Thomas’s …show more content…
He deserves a final chance. The current situation can change by using the following advice. If Frank wants to influence change in Thomas, he must first begin with being warmth. Warmth “facilitates trust and communication and absorption of ideas” (cite). Thomas lacks trust in Frank and if Frank demonstrates that he wants to hear and understand Thomas, trust will be built little by little. Thomas must also make an effort on his part and admit that he has let one judgment of Frank determine their relationship. Thomas must clear himself from the negative biases of which he has surrounded himself. He must be willing to listen openly to feedback and seek guidance not only from Frank but from his other colleagues as well. In order for feedback to be more effective, Frank can use Hanna’s individual change mode to rate the individual precursors and the organizational precursors to develop action plans before giving feedback. Using this model will allow Thomas to see, more clearly, areas where he needs improvements. Even though, Frank has given feedback on areas where improvement is needed, he can be a lot more specific. Once Thomas is fully aware of where he needs to improve he should start making the changes. He must keep in mind that if he has any questions, he can ask for assistance. Frank should frequently monitor Thomas’ progress to ensure he is making
Thomas Green, senior market specialist at Dynamic Displays, is facing a career crisis that could lead up to his termination. Before his promotion, he started as an account executive. As an account executive he was a stellar performer. However, after his promotion, his performance gradually started declining. Thomas did not have the necessary management experience when he was promoted into the senior market specialist role. Yet, Shannon McDonald, the division vice president, had confidence that with hard work, and help from other seasoned managers, Thomas would get up to speed. However, this was not the case as Thomas had not met the expectations of his boss, Frank Davis. …show more content…
From the beginning, he did not follow Frank’s recommendations. For example, Frank advised him that he was expected to prepare supporting data for his proposals. Unfortunately, Thomas did not see the usefulness of preparing data and relied mainly on talking to the individuals face to face. Thomas biggest mistake was assuming that Frank did not like him because he had questioned the validity of his forecasts. Due to this assumption, Thomas did not take into considerations Frank’s feedback. As discussed in the article Actionable feedback: Unlocking the power of learning and performance improvement, “delivering feedback, especially critical feedback, produces strong emotional reactions that may hinder learning and developmental” (p. 122). Thomas was too-overly concerned with Frank not liking him that he did not focus on following the recommendations give to him. In a way Thomas felt threatened by Frank. In addition, Thomas avoided Frank as much as possible and never asked for help. Frank may have also contributed to the situation. Frank was supposed to be the one selecting the new senior market specialist. He was surprised that Thomas was chosen without the necessary experience. This created a bias that Thomas was not ready. Furthermore, Frank did not try to meet more regular with Thomas to coach him on the areas where he was struggling. He, in a way, ignored Thomas’s …show more content…
He deserves a final chance. The current situation can change by using the following advice. If Frank wants to influence change in Thomas, he must first begin with being warmth. Warmth “facilitates trust and communication and absorption of ideas” (cite). Thomas lacks trust in Frank and if Frank demonstrates that he wants to hear and understand Thomas, trust will be built little by little. Thomas must also make an effort on his part and admit that he has let one judgment of Frank determine their relationship. Thomas must clear himself from the negative biases of which he has surrounded himself. He must be willing to listen openly to feedback and seek guidance not only from Frank but from his other colleagues as well. In order for feedback to be more effective, Frank can use Hanna’s individual change mode to rate the individual precursors and the organizational precursors to develop action plans before giving feedback. Using this model will allow Thomas to see, more clearly, areas where he needs improvements. Even though, Frank has given feedback on areas where improvement is needed, he can be a lot more specific. Once Thomas is fully aware of where he needs to improve he should start making the changes. He must keep in mind that if he has any questions, he can ask for assistance. Frank should frequently monitor Thomas’ progress to ensure he is making