Two years out of college, Ashlee Mosteiller had recently joined the internal audit department of a large pharmaceutical company as a junior quality assurance analyst. As a team, these analysts conducted thousands of inspections to ensure that sales representatives complied with federal regulatory guidelines. It was a Monday afternoon, and Ashlee grabbed a seat at the weekly staff meeting. Her boss, Jim, sat at the head of the large conference room table, laptop open, ready to begin. Over the next hour, Jim previewed a new software application that he and a senior analyst, Erin, were implementing to help streamline and standardize the team’s daily logging process.
A fit 45-year-old, Jim greeted the team and then jumped right to the point, “Look, we’re not all looking into things with the same level of detail. Some of us are checking all voided cards looking for blanks. Others are looking at only a handful. We’ve gotta our act together.” He explained that this type of inconsistency could leave the department open to liability issues and may be a problem in the department’s yearly internal audit. “I just want to make sure everybody’s on the same page,” Jim explained. “Going forward, clean audits will mean a yearend bonus for the team. So, if you have any ideas about what should be included in the process, let me know. I’ve set up an intranet thread to post your ideas or you can shoot me an e-mail. Erin and I are heading up this conversion project together so make sure to copy her, too.” With that, as he did at each meeting, Jim asked each person at the table for an update and to bring forward any questions or other issues to discuss.
As soon as Ashlee got back to her desk after the meeting, Carol rushed into her cube, visibly angry. “What was THAT all about? Why don’t they just replace us with robots! Can you even believe him?” Ashlee felt a twinge of discomfort; she had actually been one of the people who recognized that there was a large discrepancy in the analysts’ process. She looked forward to using technology so that the logs were not only more uniform but also faster to process.
Before Ashlee could respond, Carol went on, “Why do we even need a computerized process? Is he really so sure I don’t know how to do my own job? I’ve been in this department for 17 years! I think I know how to do an audit by now. Every day, I speak to senior VPs who are so far above his head, he couldn’t even see them! Of course,
with him being so short, that’s not that difficult! I can’t believe this!”
“Here we go again,” Ashlee thought silently to herself. Although only a few months into the job, Ashlee had witnessed enough of Carol’s vocal complaints to know that if left unchecked, she would go on and on. Ashlee again attempted to speak but was interrupted by Carol’s rant, “We really need to discuss this as a team, in person,
not over a discussion board and e-mail. I can’t believe some smooth-talking GI Joe was hired to be my manager.
He’s such a phony! I’m supposed to respect his decision making? I can’t. I won’t. And why did he pick Erin?
Probably just to be his little cheerleader. I have more seniority than both of them combined, even if my title doesn’t reflect it! Puh-lease! It’s a shame you weren’t here before Jim got here, Ashlee. John respected us, trusted that we were doing a good job, and left us alone.”
Ashlee didn’t know how to respond. She shared flexible work space with Carol and didn’t want to get on the woman’s bad side. At the same time, Ashlee had gotten along well with Jim since he hired her a few months ago.
Although she agreed that he could be abrupt at times, Ashlee appreciated his straightforward manner. Jim had been a captain in the U.S. Army, until a few years ago when he retired to civilian life. He came to this company a year ago after being recruited by another former Army vet, Mike, who had known Jim while stationed overseas.
Ashlee had spoken privately with Jim a few times about his difficult transition from being in the military.
Managing troops was confrontational, aggressive, and swift, unlike this organization, which encouraged a managerial style that seemed more about how the job got done than actually getting it done and making sure that employees had opportunities to develop and were satisfied with their positions. Sometimes, even now, Ashlee could tell that he had to stop and think about the “right” way to respond to a situation, instead of responding naturally, perhaps by yelling.
Complicating matters, Ashlee had learned from a coworker that Carol had applied for Jim’s job but wasn’t