Joe Newcomer assigned a major project to Fred Staid and Sally Ambitious. The project involves assessing and realigning the process for ordering and retrieving purchased items from the warehouse to ensure that they are delivered in a timely manner to the customer service desk for pick up. The problem has been vexing Joe for weeks, exacerbated by the vacancy of the team leader position for the customer service desk. Joe was stretched thin and was not able to focus on the problem the way he would like. He felt confident that Fred and Sally could manage the assignment and would provide the ideal mix to creatively and carefully improve this process.
Joe selected Fred because he has an analytical mind. He thought Fred would have a lot of good ideas about how to improve warehouse efficiency. Fred also takes a deliberate, methodical approach to addressing problems. Joe selected Sally for her energy. In contrast to Fred, Sally tends to operate from good instincts about how to improve processes. Many of these instincts have led to the successful implementation of processes that have greatly improved efficiency in the warehouse. She is a go-getter and would be a good balance with Fred’s more methodical approach.
Convincing Fred and Sally to work together was not an easy task. Although they generally get along with one another, they had not worked closely together until this project. It would be the first real test of their relationship. Having learned from Professor Justice a process for encouraging collaboration, Joe spent time individually with Fred and Sally convincing them that working together would produce positive results for them and the organization. In doing this, Joe had to address each party’s concerns regarding the additional workload this project created, reservations each had about his or her ability and role in taking on the assignment, and personal perceptions each had about the other and his or her working style. Slowly, Joe was able to persuade them to take on the challenge.
This working arrangement worked great—for about five minutes! It was not long before Fred and Sally were griping about every little thing. Sally kept jumping in to address problems, and Fred kept telling her to hold on and take some time to think things through. Further, it became evident that Fred and Sally had completely different ways of communicating and working. There were also evident differences in culture and values.
After a week, Fred and Sally each approached Joe separately and begged to be removed from the assignment. Joe decided to set up a meeting to talk with both of them about the project and their difficulties in communicating.
questions.
1.Joe must mediate a dispute between Sally and Fred to encourage them to work together on a project. How successful was Joe in facilitating a process for mediating the dispute without imposing his own outcome on the parties?
2. What went well in the mediation process?
3. Provide your perspective and what you might have done differently.