Case Study 2: Interpersonal Skills

Marion Stevens is the Administration Assistant for the Executive Team in the head office of Bounce Fitness. Marion is an efficient 'superstar'. She has the practical skills to juggle and successfully complete several tasks in less than expected time and to a high calibre.

She is so good in fact, that she was promoted to department manager in her previous company after only 2 years on the job. She has been at Bounce Fitness for 10 months. She has implemented two procedural changes that have streamlined the work and resulted in cost savings for the company.

She reports jointly to the three (3) General Managers but her main interest is in the systems. The Executive General Managers are concerned about Marion, despite her obvious talents. There is no denying that she has had a positive impact in Head Office, but Marion is not fitting in so well. Marion is a poor communicator and seems to have alienated quite a few of her peers and Centre Managers as well as their teams.

She is often aloof and distant, and her usual way of motivating performance is to simply dictate what will be done and expect compliance with her orders. She has good ideas but has little ability to present them well or to work as part of a team.

You are the General Manager Human Resources and have agreed with the other General Managers that you should coach Marion.

Discuss this with your group and then discuss the following questions on your own paper.

How would you approach her and what would you say?

What issues would you work with her on?

How would you hold Marion accountable for improvement on the issues you identified?