Would You Fire Your Best Performer?

Sanjay is a great team leader aspiring to be a manager. He has shown good results in the projects he has handled. He has shown willingness to go the extra mile in the tasks assigned. He has been constantly told he is a great performer and the company would not like to lose a great team leader. Regular feedback and company awards have made him proud and self confident. However he has had some issues in his ability to handle larger projects and teams. His view of the industry is…

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Dealing with Office Bully

I recently received an email seeking my advice on how to deal with an office bully. Hi Manish, It has been a long time since I interacted with you. The project that I am on is beginning to gain momentum and it seems it's going to be a rugged and enjoyable ride throughout the year. Today I write seeking your guidance. A guy in the office who has been in the company for not more than 5 or 6 months has developed a tendency somehow for irritating me. He does…

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Case Study: First Amongst Equals

In my second case study, we look at a situation when one of the peers is expected to take on the leadership position amongst the team. Looking forward to your responses to learn what we can do in situations like these.   A meeting alert window popped up on Ajay’s computer reminding him of his meeting with Sangeeta, his boss. He clicked the snooze button and continued making last minutes changes to the spreadsheet he was working on. He was compiling performance data for his team that would be discussed…

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The Case of Unreliable Genius

I am starting a case study series. I present a case and hope that we can learn from each other’s responses.   Sanjay walked into Priya office agitated. Without waiting for Priya to get off the phone completely he started, “Boss, Nitin hasn’t come to office again today, and he is not taking any calls either. How can I complete the project like this?” Priya tried to calm him down. “Slow down. What happened?” “You know how Nitin is. He wasn’t in office most of last week and today again…

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