Month: October 2020

1. What did Betty do wrong prior to the meeting, and what could have been done to avoid missing the deadline?

Prior to the meeting, Betty should have checked in with Don (about a week out) and seen what the status of the report was. Since she missed returning Don’s call about problems with getting the report done in time, it does not appear she checked in about the report at all until it was already behind schedule.

A few things that could have been done to avoid missing the deadline would be to have Don give continual updates on the status of the report, perhaps weekly, and to make sure that he had the adequate support that he needed. Don is perhaps excessively tedious, so a weekly check-in to keep him moving would be helpful.

2. What did Betty do wrong in the meeting itself, and what could have been done to make the meeting more effective?

She interrupted Don and her feedback was largely personal, attacking his character traits, as well as questioning his future with the company. She even made fun of his messy office and used sarcasm with things like “nothing is ever your fault.” She did not let him adequately explain what was going on at first. All her feedback was retroactively punishing instead of “what can we do now moving forward to make this a more successful relationship?” and was decidedly unhelpful with getting the report finished from the current standpoint. Her feedback was not particularly specific or helpful and did not offer an opportunity to grow and move forward.

She also did not provide any recognition for Don actually catching a crucial error in the report. She also got on his case for not taking responsibility, but took none at all for not returning his call.

3. What should Don have done to be more effective?

Don should have updated Betty at regular intervals regarding the report. He should have requested the necessary help right away, and then asked for more if needed at the time it was needed instead of just letting things fall behind. He should also remind himself that although accuracy is important, so is the deadline and he needs to stay on schedule better. He has resources he needs to leverage or request to be able to use to help him along. While he had some valid excuses, him rattling them off after the fact sounds just like avoiding responsibility and he should have been more proactive about it.

I feel that ideologically, it’s “easy” to decide what to do to become a “great place to work,” but how that works in the real life, and that process, can be quite complex indeed. That being said, organizations should seek to be collaborative and participative in nature, allowing members to feel as if they are a part of making decisions and determining the direction of the organization, as well as (and resulting from this) taking ownership of their work. Organization members must also feel supported, so that they are free to be vulnerable with one another, thus creating trust within the organization. Trusting working relationships are worlds better than fearful, competitive ones. Communication must be clear, with consistent and reliable follow-through on decisions, to foster trust within and of the organization; employees must also feel free to communicate and provide feedback without fear of retribution. Ideas must be able to be shared and constructive, caring criticism offered. Good work cannot be forced, and employees must voluntarily buy into the long-term vision, values, and culture of a company in order to produce their best work of their own volition; self-direction and empowerment must be fostered and bestowed to allow employees to be creative and maximize their work and roles.