John Holgate, a section manager in a chemical plant, has several engineers reporting to him. As part of his job, Holgate attends meetings during any given day with some of his junior engineers as well as with people outside his immediate group. Occasionally, people higher up in the company (the technical director or vicepresident, for example) attend these review meetings. The engineers who work for Holgate believe he often misrepresents them—the engineers believe Holgate doesn’t listen to what is being said. He often interrupts the speakers and completes the sentence for them. Since the engineers do not want to disagree with their boss openly, they do not contradict him in front of higher management. Holgate has a habit of completing sentences for his subordinates and managers. Naturally, this habit results in confusion, wasted time and effort, and poor morale. When members of higher management return for their next review, they usually find that the work they requested has not been done. In fact, they occasionally find that unrequested tasks have been carried out. As they listen to Holgate’s project status review, management has lately been wondering what is going on. This doubt reflects not just on Holgate but on his subordinates as well. The subordinates’ morale and productivity has been slipping.

1.  Why does Holgate complete the speaker’s sentences?

2.  How can Holgate improve his listening skills?

3.  Assuming you are Holgate’s subordinate, how could you point out this problem to him?