Case

Prestige Marketing Inc. is a full-service marketing firm located in the Midwest with a focus on digital marketing. Prestiges typical customers include local entertainment organizations such as restaurants, concert venues, and even the towns minor league baseball team. Initially founded to create websites when they became important to the entertainment industry, Prestige has since become a full-service agency that offers the market analysis, strategic planning, and creative services necessary to develop and implement a comprehensive marketing campaign. Despite Prestiges full-service capabilities, a majority of the companys business continues to be generated by its specialty in digital marketing. When top management became aware that the full-service capabilities of the company are currently underutilized, they decided to increase efforts to sign customers up for a comprehensive marketing service package.

A potential new customer is a popular micro-brewery/restaurant (Andreas Ale House) in another state that has decided to expand and open a new restaurant within the local area. They have signaled that they are looking for a local full-service marketing firm to generate proposals for a comprehensive marketing campaign that will promote a successful opening and ongoing operations. Top management has created three different teams to develop competing marketing proposals, and the best one will be presented to Andreas Ale House. Each team is composed of six members and has a team leader who is also the manager of a functional department. The team leader is responsible for organizing, directing, and coordinating the activities required to develop a competitive team proposal.

The leader of Team 1 is Jerry Davis. He has been a member of Prestiges client services department for over eight years, and during four of those years he served as the client services director. Jerry relates well to others, finds it easy to identify common interests, and is viewed by many as a valuable member of Prestige. However, several sales associates from his work unit described him as being obsessed with success and willing to do anything to make a sale. One former team member who was recently promoted said that although Jerry is able to increase team performance, his hard-driving style can become excessive and overly stressful to some team members.

The leader of Team 2 is Sandy Newton. She has been a part of the Market Research Department at Prestige for seven years, and during the last four years she served as the market research director. She joined Prestige right out of college and immediately conducted some highly sophisticated market analyses that were seen as exceptional. There has never been a problem too complex for Sandy to solve, and this ability has led to her rapid rise within the company. However, some team members have complained about a lack of challenge in the work because Sandy is unwilling to delegate any tasks of real significance. One current member noted that although Sandy is the best analyst in the building, she needs to understand that solving problems for members can inhibit their development of problem-solving skills, reduce their satisfaction with the work, and detract from other supervisory responsibilities. Trying to do too much of the work herself has also created high levels of stress for Sandy.

The leader of Team 3 is Austin James. Austin has been part of the Creative Services Department at Prestige for nearly 15 years, and during the past seven years he has served as the department manager. Austins department performs at a high level. He has good relations with other departments and spends considerable time ensuring that they receive any assistance they need from his department. Since he became the manager of his department, Austin has frequently conducted team-building exercises. He also invites members to his home for cookouts and the chance to get to know one another outside the office. However, some members of his department have expressed a concern that too much team bonding can be a distraction from the work, and it also makes members reluctant to openly express disagreements about the ways to resolve problems regarding work.

Questions

1. What are the key leadership traits, skills, and competencies of each team leader?

2. Identify any attributes that have contributed to each team leaders career success.

3. What attributes of each team leader are seen by others as a weakness, and how would these attributes make it more difficult for the team to develop a high-quality proposal?