Business 32
Week 05 write up: Thomas Green
By Carlos Sanchez
Position Statement
I recommend Thomas Green handle the situation differently, apply leadership techniques accepted by
the organization and play more intelligently with his strategies (emotional intelligence) in order to 1)
keep his job, 2) receive support from his boss, 3) demonstrate strategic results and 4) feel happy with his
work and the environment in which he is.
Analysis
In this case study, Thomas Green has rapidly escalated to a leadership and strategic position in Dynamic
Display thanks to the trust he gained from the company's VP of Marketing. His current position as Senior
Analyst requires a lot of work outside the office and he has a significant personal and professional
challenge as he does not have sufficient experience in positions that require managerial skills. The
company has not been founded long and his mission is to provide self-service options to banks such as
ATM machines.
After being promoted to senior market analyst, Green faced various conflicts at work. At a budget
review meeting for next year 2009, where his direct boss presented the projections that doubled sales,
Green did not hesitate to demonstrate his dissatisfaction with him and communicate that the goals were
impossible. Undoubtedly his boss, Frank Davis, felt his authority was being challenged and turned his
attention to Thomas Green to disqualify and possibly remove him from the company.
After the aforementioned meeting, some conversations by mail arise where Frank David exposes to the
VP, Shannon McDonald, his complaints and concerns regarding Thomas Green's work style, which he
considers is not the right one for the company. Now Shannon must handle the situation and make a
decision regarding the future of Thomas Green and his work at the company.
Action plans and goals
1. Reconcile with his boss Frank Davis: Thomas must consider that his boss has many years of experience
in the company and knows the market with more evidences. Understanding that Frank is the best
person to ally with and receiving advice will help Thomas have a better transition at the company.
2. Leadership training: Thomas needs to reinforce his leadership skills due to the little experience he has
gained throughout his professional career. Seeking and finding opportunities to improve his skills will
help him meet the requirements of his role and meet the challenges of his new job position. Here the
company could give him the training or look for an external provider to train him.
3. Company policies and standards: Although Thomas expresses that his way of working is different from
what has been implemented by his boss for many years, he must abide by the policies and best practices
of the organization. Of course he must put his style but maintaining the standards for reporting,
communicating and starting a project. It would be good if Thomas has access to the policies and
standards of the company, to study them and commit to apply them in his management.
Risks and opportunities
Keeping the situation unchanged poses some risks, and Shannon McDonald can't take much of a chance
on this. From my point of view, he made a mistake in promoting in such a critical position Thomas who
did not have enough experience to handle the position. However, he made a risky decision but at the
same time trusting in Thomas' abilities to carry out his projects.
An important risk to analyze may be that Thomas eventually does not agree to the feedback and gets
out of this position. It represents time, money and effort wasted on an employee who did not meet the
expectations of the company.
There is also the opportunity for Thomas to come to his senses, accept feedback with maturity and
humility, and begin to follow company policies and change his attitude towards his direct boss. This
could lead to the results that stakeholders expect from Thomas and therefore all goes well.
Unfortunately for Thomas there is a risk that Shannon will eventually decide not to continue with the
same situation and nip the problem in the bud by ending Thomas' contract.
