Exercise 15-G: The Case of the Take-Charge Team Leader
You are a member of a team that is meeting for the third time. Your goal is to reduce the number and dollar amount of
workers compensation claim. The team consists of members from safety, human resour ces, legal, and medical (e.g. staff
nurses and doctors). The team leader –a senior level manager demonstrates a “take charge” approach in that he/she
believes he/she knows more about the task and assignments than anyone on the team. Early in the team existence, the
leader shared a project milestone chart that the team accepted. While the group has k ept up with its assignments and its
working rather effectively, the team leader seems impatient with the team’s progress. In fact the leader would like to exert
greater control over the team’s activities because he/she already has supporting data from outs ide groups and departments
about the task and wants to complete the project in record time. How ever, you and other team members are concerned
that (1) there may be other issues that have not yet surfaced, and (2) if his/her ideas are accepted, one of the team
members may lose his/her position in the firm.
Questions:
1. What issues are at play?
2. How would you feel in this situation?
3. If the leader is so capable, why do you suppose management created a team to address this particular (a nd highly
visible) problem?
4. At this point, what would you do and why?
5. If no change were made, what do you think the final outcome would be?