Your department includes 15 members, all of whom have been with you for at least a year.
Although the department is generally cohesive and performs well, you are grooming four “stars” for promotion because you believe they are the best performers. You just landed a new account with a lot of potential, a tight deadline, and the need for considerable grooming and development. The success not only will give the person in charge of the project a lot of visibility but also could affect your career in the company. Everyone in the department is aware of the importance of the project, and several people, including your four stars, volunteered to take it on. In particular, one of the members with the most tenure and experience (but not one of the four stars) is pushing to get the project. Given the project’s importance, you want it to be handled well and without too much direction from you.
As you are about to delegate the project to your top star, you receive a call from the human resources director telling you that one of the department members filed an informal complaint against you, accusing you of favoritism. The director can’t tell you the name, but wanted you to be aware of potential problems and that HR would be conducting informal fact-finding interviews.
1. Who will you assign to the project?
2. Consider the implications of your decision.