Wanda Brown had worked hard to achieve her rapid advancement from shipping/receiving clerk to shipping/receiving manager. She had an uncanny ability to focus on a task, break it into its component parts, arrange the parts in a logical sequence, and tackle each part in order until the entire task has been accomplished- usually well ahead of schedule. She used this ability to quickly climb from the bottom of the ladder to the top in her department.

Now, as manager, things seem to be falling apart for Wanda. Rather than focusing exclusively on tasks, she is finding it necessary to deal with people. Often her subordinates don’t agree with her concerning how best to do the job. They have ideas, problems, and feelings- none of which Wanda wants to hear about. Her attitude is “Forget your ideas, problems, and feelings; just focus on your work and do it my way.”

Questions:

Discuss the following questions with your groupmates:

Why might it be difficult for a manager who used to be a talented technician to let employees do their jobs?

What personal inhibitors will such an individual have to overcome to empower his or her employees?