At the most recent weekly team meeting, the tension had been palpable. The Jamaicans on the team understood Enriquez’s point about the need for customer satisfaction, but they believed that helping customers solve problems and referring them to the training video was good enough. The complaints in the meeting went like this: Jill Henley: This goes beyond being annoyed about how much Maria talks, it now affects my pay—it’s being docked. When she does a call, it goes way past product information; she carries on about family, gets wrapped up in their problems, laughs and jokes—but the thing that really put me over the edge was when she told someone she’d put the kids who used our equipment on her prayer list! Maria acts like a therapist instead of providing technical support. For the love of Pete, we sell medical equipment! The less you talk, the more you listen, and the better you do your job. Jordan Burton: Maria talks so much that my mouth hurts—and I’m being penalized because of it. There is no off switch. She thinks her approach is a success. So, she builds relationships with her customers, but we’re here to provide information. We have training videos for a reason—and she needs to refer customers to those videos, not watch the things with the caller while she’s got them on the phone! Jeff Garvey: I find myself increasingly angry at Maria for prioritizing her need to talk over any work that needs to get done. She couldn’t care less that our pay is being reduced because of her. She has it in her head that any conversation under 15 minutes is rude and to cut calls shorter is bad manners. Callers don’t need to feel special; they need information to solve their problem, and that takes five minutes tops for all the rest of us. We are helping solve problems and providing good care too. Maria Enriquez: We don’t do things that way in my country. You should have studied my culture before you joined this team. This is serious business. The lives of many children depend upon our equipment, and their caregivers need to know our company cares about them. We have to build trust that we aren’t going to sell them something and then hit the road. No one else on this team takes the time to earn health care providers’ respect. We need to make them feel confident in their decision to buy our monitors and not someone else’s. But don’t take my word for it—have a look at the how customers have rated me: my satisfaction scores are exponentially higher than anyone else’s on this team. 2 Ames worried that both she and the team were at a breaking point. Using the knowledge that you have learned in Team Building and Management: 1. Discuss 6 challenges (3 short term and 3 long term) the team faces including the behaviors of the team members that could be adding or taking away from the team being effective. In your response, be sure to apply concepts/models/theories and insights from your readings. 2. Assess Ames’s role within the context of team dynamics. What is she trying to achieve? What is at risk for her? 3. As a consultant, to Ames, how would you recommend that she addresses: • The challenges as discussed in (1) • Her ability to be an effective leader of the team?
At the most recent weekly team meeting, the tension had been palpable. The Jamaicans on the team
understood Enriquez’s point about the need for customer satisfaction, but they believed that helping
customers solve problems and referring them to the training video was good enough. The complaints in
the meeting went like this:
Jill Henley: This goes beyond being annoyed about how much Maria talks, it now affects my pay—it’s
being docked. When she does a call, it goes way past product information; she carries on about family, gets
wrapped up in their problems, laughs and jokes—but the thing that really put me over the edge was when
she told someone she’d put the kids who used our equipment on her prayer list! Maria acts like a therapist
instead of providing technical support. For the love of Pete, we sell medical equipment! The less you talk,
the more you listen, and the better you do your job.
Jordan Burton: Maria talks so much that my mouth hurts—and I’m being penalized because of it. There
is no off switch. She thinks her approach is a success. So, she builds relationships with her customers, but
we’re here to provide information. We have training videos for a reason—and she needs to refer customers
to those videos, not watch the things with the caller while she’s got them on the phone!
Jeff Garvey: I find myself increasingly angry at Maria for prioritizing her need to talk over any work that
needs to get done. She couldn’t care less that our pay is being reduced because of her. She has it in her head
that any conversation under 15 minutes is rude and to cut calls shorter is bad manners. Callers don’t need
to feel special; they need information to solve their problem, and that takes five minutes tops for all the rest
of us. We are helping solve problems and providing good care too.
Maria Enriquez: We don’t do things that way in my country. You should have studied my culture before
you joined this team. This is serious business. The lives of many children
depend upon our equipment, and their caregivers need to know our company cares about them. We have to
build trust that we aren’t going to sell them something and then hit the road. No one else on this team takes
the time to earn health care providers’ respect. We need to make them feel confident in their decision to
buy our monitors and not someone else’s. But don’t take my word for it—have a look at the how customers
have rated me: my satisfaction scores are exponentially higher than anyone else’s on this team. 2 Ames worried that both she and the team were at a breaking point.
Using the knowledge that you have learned in Team Building and Management:
1. Discuss 6 challenges (3 short term and 3 long term) the team faces including the behaviors of the
team members that could be adding or taking away from the team being effective. In your response,
be sure to apply concepts/models/theories and insights from your readings.
2. Assess Ames’s role within the context of team dynamics. What is she trying to achieve? What is at
risk for her?
3. As a consultant, to Ames, how would you recommend that she addresses:
• The challenges as discussed in (1)
• Her ability to be an effective leader of the team?
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