Environmental Designs International When Lee Keiko returned from a quick lunch,
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Question
Environmental Designs International
When Lee Keiko returned from a quick lunch, she scanned her e-mail inbox for the message she had been dreading. She found it, labeled “high priority,” among a dozen other e-mails and sank back in her chair as she mentally prepared to open it. Keiko felt a tightening in her stomach as she clicked on the message and braced herself for the assault she had grown to expect from Barry Carver, her boss at Environmental Designs International (EDI), a rapidly growing “green” company that specializes in retrofitting commercial buildings to improve their energy efficiency.
The primary clients of EDI are owners of skyscrapers who renovate their buildings to reduce energy use and cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, a contributor to global warming. Within these towering skyscrapers, the largest energy guzzlers are lighting, cooling, and heating. Owners of New York City’s Empire State Building expect to reduce the skyscraper’s energy use by 38 percent by the year 2013 at an annual savings of $4.4 million after this 78-year-old building is retrofitted.
Keiko had expected Carver’s scathing e-mail and knew he would lambaste her and her team for missing last Friday’s deadline for submitting a proposal to retrofit a 60-story Chicago skyscraper to meet new federal green standards. Keiko had warned Carver of the possible delay in completing the proposal due to changing federal regulations for energy efficiency. It was truly out of her hands. She had even consulted with the client to alert them of the delay, and they had agreed to an extended deadline.
Nevertheless, Carver was angry about the delay and fired off an e-mail that was brusque and insensitive. “I depend on you to meet deadlines and work effectively with regulatory agencies. Your ineptness may cost us this important project,” he exclaimed in his e-mail to Keiko. “Why aren’t you as committed to this project as I am? I can’t do this alone,” he stated. This was one more example of how Carver often made life miserable for his subordinates, verbally attacking them to get results. Carver had also started alienating his peers. During a recent meeting to discuss the replacement of thousands of windows in the Chicago skyscraper, Carver embarrassed a colleague by accusing him of selecting a vendor without doing a price comparison among vendors. “How can I value your recommendation, Troy, if you fail to do your homework? I need new prices by Friday!” shouted Carver.
Carver was a highly skilled architect and responsible for managing a team of designers in EDI’s Chicago office. Although his abrupt personality had helped him climb the corporate ladder, his intimidating communication style was beginning to create problems and hamper his ability to get results. Carver learned in his performance review that his work relationships were suffering and the complaints about him were increasing. Even his long-time peers were avoiding him as much as possible and finding ways to work around him.
Sensitive to the growing animosity toward him, Carver began to reconsider how he interacted with his staff and peers. He felt motivated to begin using some of the tools he had recently learned in the executive education course he had just completed. During one of the skills-assessment activities, Carver learned that he could get better results by communicating more gently, building consensus, and working in a more team-oriented manner. Further, he realized he had to find ways to handle his anger and frustration when dealing with federal regulatory agencies and the inevitable delays that hampered progress on big construction projects. As he thought about the skills-assessment, Carver wondered if he could soften his image and perhaps even be considered for a senior management position he was eyeing in EDI’s Los Angeles office.
Sources: Based on information in Gerry Yemen, Erika H. James, and James G. Clawson, “Nicholas Gray: The More Things Change . . .,” Darden Business Publishing, University of Virginia, Copyright 2003; and Mireya Navarro, “The Empire State Building Plans a Growth Spurt, Environmentally,” The New York Times (April 7, 2009), p. A25.
Questions
“At the senior management level, you get hired for competence. You get fired for personality.” In your opinion, is this statement true or false? How does it relate to Barry Carver and his current leadership style?
Identify the behaviors described in this case that were damaging to Barry Carver’s work relationships. Why would a manager behave this way? What negative consequences did these behaviors have on his peers and subordinates?
How realistic is it that Carver (or anyone) can change his own leadership skills? What kind of help might he need?
Explanation / Answer
1.At the senior management level, “you get hired for competence. You get fired for personality.”It is True in my opinion, because Personality is the set of unseen characteristics and stable pattern of behavior to respond to ideas, and people in the environment who are the important key people for the organizational growth. In the case of Barry Carver, he is demonstrating Autocratic leadership Style. In which without help of his team members and other employees, he took his decisions alone. He possessed his total authority and imposes his will on employees.
2.Barry Carver was practicing intimidating communication style, he was aggressive towards other with no respect and concern for them, and he was loud, pushy and dominating in his nature. He violates other rights using his power, position and inappropriate language. He reacts instantly on any situation and even don’t care on blaming others.
Mangers should not behave like this because their this behaviors creates dissatisfactions and demotivation among the employees, they even fell insulted which results in turn over of key employees of the organization and create loss for organization.
Due to Barry Carver Aggressive behavior, life of subordinates and peer group was made miserable, which hampered his ability to get results from others. There was continuous complains regarding his work relationships and sufferings, and even his long-time peers started avoiding him as much as possible.
3. Carver can change his own leadership skills and can get better results by communicating gently, and working in a more team-oriented manner.
For this he need he detail skills-assessment sessions and continuous feedback from his superiors on the result gain through assessment .Continuous recommendations of his subordinates can help him to get himself changed in his behavior and leadership style.
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