COURSE: LEADERSHIP, ENGAGEMENT, AND PEOPLE PERFORMANCE

CASE STUDY: THE TEAM THAT WASN’T

Project Submission Template

Question I 1. A brief summary of the….(50 words)

The team has several problems because of which they are not able to
achieve efficiency when they are working together. Even though the
main obstacle may seem to be Randy Louderback, there are some more
problems that the group has to overcome and several other changes have
to be implemented in order for Eric Holt & his team to be successful in
winning within 6 months.
Question I 2. List and elaborate on the reasons….

a. The FineArt Team led by Eric (75 words)

Team lacks a common commitment. The team lacks in recognizing

their role inside the team & how to share responsibilities. They have
not analyzed the real problem for the company’s financial problem,
rather they are just going by the CEO’s thought the company’s
faltering financial results were caused by the entry of a large
glassmaking companies into its niche market, but that analysis is
superficial. They are lacking a plan & there seems to be no clear
guidance to have a comprehensive plan for strategic realignment. Eric
is trying his best to hold the members to an agenda based on the CEO’s
charge demand “to have a comprehensive plan for strategic
realignment” however this seems to be a vague directive. Also, the
members do not understand the implications of these words & they are
not drawing any meaningful focus from them, or recognize any need to
work together to make “strategic realignment” a performance reality.
They are spending more time on feelings and past experiences than on
the task at hand.
Question I 2. List and elaborate on the reasons…...

b. Randy Louderback (75 words)

Randy Louderback doesn’t seem to supportive & helpful. He doesn’t

believe in team work. This can be proven by his remark where states,
“I just don’t believe this is how change should be made. A brilliant idea
never came out of a team. Brilliant ideas come from brilliant
individuals, who then inspire others in the organizations to implement
them.” Randy Louderback holds a prestigious position of being a
director of sales & marketing in the company however he belies in
individual contribution rather than team work. He also shy’s away from
sharing his ideas & thoughts in an open forum.
Question I 2. List and elaborate on the reasons….

c. Eric Holt (75 words)

Eric Holt is trying to guide a team on CEO’s charge: “To have a

comprehensive plan for strategic realignment” however he can’t find
himself anywhere in the new role. We are also seeing his frustration
because of the new role. It seems Eric is working with a prepared script
instead of recognizing team members full potential & abilities, rather
he is focusing on individuals he is working with. Eric himself was a
part of a consultant working group prior to joining Fire Art where most
of the real work is done by individuals rather than relying on one
another to accomplish joint tasks hence there is also a doubt about his
experience in New York whether it is similar to the situation that he is
confronting at Fire Art.
Question II 1. Steps that Eric should adopt..…..timelines.
a. Short-term (1-3 months) (50 words)

Eric should recognize that not every group of multiskilled, well-

intended people can or should function as a team. In this case, the
likelihood of team performance is hard to determine because it has not
yet been fully tested. Before giving up on the idea, therefore, Eric can
try several things provided he can also enlist the support of the team’s
sponsor CEO Jack Derry in these attempts. First, he can decide whether
these people should make up a leader driven working group rather than
a team. Is this really a team-performance opportunity? If so, it should
be evident that the multiple, diverse skills of the members will make a
material difference in the results of their efforts. It must become
evident to all members that no one person knows best not even Randy.
If the members are to work primarily on individual sub-assignments
and report back to the group, and if the sum of the individual bests is
good enough, then Eric does not need a team. Eric should also ask
CEO Jack Derry to attend some of their meetings so that the team has
clear understanding of their objective & they start focusing less on their
problems and concentrate on the team. Randy’s behavior might also
change in front of his boss.
Question II 1. Steps that Eric should adopt

b. Medium-term (beyond 3 months) (50 words)

If it is truly a team opportunity then Eric and Jack should insist that the
team identifies specific work products that require several members to
work together. The value of these products must be significantly relative
to the group’s overall performance, and Randy must recognize both the
value and the need for collective work and skills. If this can be
accomplished, the team members can be expected to develop trust and
respect by working together to those ends, regardless of personal
chemistries and past attitudes.
Question II 2. Pick any three recommendations….
a. Recommendation 1 (75 words)

Encourage Inclusivity: Eric should build a team culture of inclusivity so

that each member feels his/her their presence & contribution is valued in
the organization. This can be strengthened by ensuring transparency in
communication & actions in the team. Eric can find specific tasks that
require several team members to work together. In this way everybody
will be accountable for the performance as a group which is called
mutual or joint accountability & not individual separately.
Question II 2. Pick any three recommendations….

b. Recommendation 2 (75 words)

Showcase Skills: Eric can also promote the idea of taking initiatives in
amongst the team members wherein even the most introverted members
of the team can demonstrate their skills & competencies. This will enable
team member to value each other. For example if any particular task
requires different skills & its performance is important for the team
success then maybe even Randy will recognize the need of other team
members. In this way they all get a chance to show & share their skills
amongst the team members.
Question II 2. Pick any three recommendations….

c. Recommendation 3 (75 words)

Establish Trust: Eric should also create milestones & goals that actually
focusses on the team’s output instead of the individual output. Eric
should also share a balanced feedback with his team members. This way
trust & respect within the team can be accomplished regardless of
chemistry between the team members & their past attitudes. Eric should
also set meetings on a regular basis where the team members can
individually present their work & exchange opinions so that they can
follow the development of others work & proactively give each other
feedbacks.
 1. Analyse Jack Derry…...Module 3
Question III
a. Sensing (75 words)

Jack Derry could not sense the technological change that might disrupt
his business in future. He didn’t listen to the feedback provided by
Maureen Turner when she had approached to invest in new artists. It
seems Jack Derry was disconnected from the industry & didn’t
dedicate or took time to see the next big picture. He failed identify any
innovation opportunities because of which other players were able to
enter his niche business. Sensing could have helped him in predicting
the next trend in his industry.
 1. Analyse Jack Derry…...Module 3
Question III
b. Relating (75 words)

Jack Derry should have connected & built more relationships with
people & peers from his industry so that he could have been up to date
with current industry trend. The pillars of a non-transactional
relationship are mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual courtesy. It is
no wonder that you should make meaningful connections, not just to
get advice on work or get work done, but also for learning from others
and build relations. It seems he only had relationship with Randy hence
he advised Eric to seek his help.
 1. Analyse Jack Derry…...Module 3
Question III
c. Visioning (75 words)

We can see that Jack Derry has a vision to get back to the profitable
numbers prior to the 18 months of disruptions hence has given a task of
realignment to Eric however he is not clear in his communication. He
hasn’t told Eric specifically what is supposed to be achieved & whether
he intends to be a leader in the industry or not. He has not defined any
vision statement which is outcome oriented. Jac Derry should come up
with a vision statement that his team can look upon, admire & which
can bring inspiration & motivation to work for.
 1. Analyse Jack Derry…...Module 3
Question III
d. Executing (75 words)

Jack Derry should put more interest in the work so that it would be
more beneficial for the team. He should ask periodic feedbacks and
attend some of the meetings so that the members would realize how &
what they are doing thus even he will know the plan is on the verge of
execution as it is crucial for the company’s performance. Jack Derry
can implement the Balcony & Dance Floor strategy through which he
can guide the executing team in working in the direction of the desired
results.
 2. Recommend any changes….
Question III
Recommendations (75 words)

Fine Art presents several problems both financial & organizational.

The financial part an be solved only if organizational part is improved.
The team should learn how to be proactive & reach maximum
performance by cooperating. Eric being a consultant is probably not the
most adequate person to help the team but what he could do is to be a
leader, but just to guide them in the basic structure & in the sharing of
the roles. Instead, the CEO should be more efficient by actively
participating & following the team progress.