5
Mike:
Well ... I have to fit in some other client demands,
unfortunately, so ... I’d say three weeks. Maybe four.
Ellen:
If I give you five weeks, would you feel comfortable about
committing to a final deadline?
Mike:
I can’t imagine why not.
Ellen:
Good. Because after that date, the department release
schedule would be badly affected — which means the
entire organizational publication projection would be
thrown off.
Mike:
Makes the script sound pretty crucial.
Ellen:
Right. Missing this deadline would do more than affect
your chances for future scripts. It can hurt the company’s
bottom line.
Mike:
Then I’d better get busy. Thanks for giving me the whole
picture, Ellen.Who Has Been Assigned Responsibility for the Problem?
Who is responsible directly? Indirectly? Include yourself in
the latter category, because it’s not just the team member’s
problem. It’s your problem, too, not just because of organizational
policy, but because you have team standards that won’t
be compromised.
Many managers tend to place the real concern about the
employee’s problems or substandard behavior “up the ladder.”
They make it seem as if company standards are strictly top-down.
That tendency shows itself in remarks like, “They will come down
hard on me if this continues ... ” or “The company expects you to
The Counselor Role: Confrontation and CorrectionThe smallest
accomplishment is
better than the
grandest intention.