He wanted the help, but CEO Tony Bussard apparently wanted to relinquish none of

Question

He wanted the help, but CEO Tony Bussard apparently wanted to relinquish none of the power when he agreed with board members of Alvon Biometrics to maintain control over the financial and administrative side of the company while naming a COO to oversee day- to-day operations. Everyone agreed that the job was too big for one guy. After months of assessments, interviews, and discussion, Juan Carlos De la Vega was hired as COO for the company. De la Vega came to Alvon from a smaller rival company and was initially excited about his new position and the future of Alvon. De la Vega trained in military security investiga- tions and became interested in the measuring and statistical analysis of biological data that included fingerprints, eye retinas and irises, voice patterns, and facial patterns that could be used in security systems. He had worked his way up through rival Bi-Tech to a position in middle management and jumped at the opportunity to guide a major company in the field about which he was so passionate. “That is so cool,” was a De la Vega trademark comment as he delighted in the giant leaps of each system’s gadgetry. But De la Vega’s exciting new position came with its own set of frustrations as he tried to plunge into the rapidly changing technology while simultaneously fitting into the organi- zation and tip-toeing around Tony Bussard’s ego. Bussard welcomed De la Vega with the gusto of an under-fire field officer who looks up to see reinforcements riding into the fray. He enthusiastically introduced the new COO to everyone and raved, almost to the point of embarrassment, about De la Vega’s experience and level of expertise in the field of biometrics. “You’ve made my job a whole lot easier,” Bussard gushed. “We’re all thrilled to have you.” Now, one year into the job, De la Vega was still wondering what was expected of him and where Bussard’s duties ended and his duties began. Those things were never actually spelled out in an agreement, and the boundaries remained vague and confusing. Even during the initial job interviews, Bussard and board members showed great interest in De la Vega’s background and talked endlessly about Bussard’s vision for the future. But now, in retro- spect, the COO realized that there was little or no discussion of his vision or any mention about how he would fit into the future being laid out for him. With no clear agreement, De la Vega’s earnest efforts to get guidance about his respon- sibilities seemed to be brushed aside by the CEO, who remained elusive and vague. “If he tells me one more time, ‘Yeah, yeah, we’ll talk,’ I think I will scream,” De la Vega complained. “I want to feel like a COO, not a sidekick to the CEO. At the same time, I don’t want to push so hard that Bussard and the board members become concerned that they made a mistake in selecting me.” The confusion about De la Vega’s role also filtered down the ranks. Employees, expect- ing initiative from De la Vega, remained uncertain about his range of responsibilities. People looked almost exclusively to Bussard for direction, by-passing the new COO. Workers liked De la Vega and admired his industry experience. However, old habits die hard, and the habit of yielding to Bussard’s leadership remained intact. Even one year later, employees were reluctant to take a chance on angering Bussard by shifting even a portion of their attention and allegiance to De la Vega. For his part, De la Vega knew the time for clarity was now, but he hesitated, not know- ing exactly how or when to approach the CEO from a position of strength. QUESTION If you were De la Vega, what would you do at this point? Do you think De la Vega has waited too long to make a substantial change in his relationship with Bussard? Why?

Explanation / Answer

In general, most of the times, what employee is expected from the employer may not fulfilled. The expectations, aspirations, emotions etc will not considered by the top management and employers. What the people says at the time of interview may be completely different from what we practice and perform in reality. It is the same case with De la Vegas, where he joined by expecting huge in the firm, and he wanted to show all his expertise, experience to leave his mark at the work. The same was inspired to the pannel at the time of interview, and selected him. But once he joined in the work, he realized that, most of the operations, actions and works are monitered, authorised and allocated by the CEO only. He is just a looking how the things are moving only, but not taking any kind of initiation.

If i were De la Vega, i first come to know what is my job description, what are my regular tasks, to whom i am going to report, who are my subordinates, upto what extent I can take decisions etc. I seek clarity about these from my CEO desk only. If there is no response from the desk, I put a mail to the board by citing the discussions at the time of interview and what now is happening.

Issues may not move in our direction or as of our wish, afterall we are employees, servants to the owners. If the same is the thing expected by my employer, like a wauthc dog at the workplace, i put resign and search for another job. If i get any assurance and clarity about what i ought to, suppose to do, with some rights and obligations, then i may continue with the same firm.

But one thing is clear, most of the times, employees are considered as just workers by the owners. Those kind of firms do not grow at all, the firm which treat employees as assets and resources, those firms only grow faster than competitors. I take a decision based on the reply from the board, if i do not get any reply in a span of time, i will leave the place and search for a suitable place for me.

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