Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior - Soltanieh ...

382 SHELLEY A. KIRKPATRICK
close friend, Bart Thierry, who was heading up Addison’s team at O ’ Brien Industries.
Thierry and McKnight spent several hours comparing stories, only to discover that they
were seeing the same behavior from Addison. Soon, all four team leads under Addison
began to compare notes.
McKnight was struggling to manage both her team and Addison. Her team took long
lunches and frequent sick days. Some told her that they were experiencing physical symptoms,
such as headaches and nausea. McKnight knew that clients were also feeling confused,
especially when they were getting one answer from Addison and another from the team.
On one occasion, Addison asked McKnight to take three team members and begin
analysis for a new type of aftershave, telling her, “ If you do well, I will nominate you for the
MidState Researcher of the Year Award. ” She spent several days researching and planning
the effort. When she asked usually calm and cooperative staff member Kim Harbold for
assistance locating a journal article on chemical compounds, Harbold was less than helpful.
At the next status meeting Harbold ’s unusual behavior became clear when Addison
announced that he was having Harbold, not McKnight, lead the aftershave project.
In response to this slight, McKnight built up the confidence to confront Addison, not
about the decision – Harbold was more than capable – but about how the decision - making
process was handled. When she requested a meeting, Addison replied that he only met
with staff after 6:00pm on Fridays. She canceled her usual “ girls night out ” to meet with
Addison. Her fellow team leads expressed even more displeasure than McKnight regarding
Addison ’ s “ office hours,” noting their displeasure at the conflict between their family
commitments and Addison’s schedule. That Friday, McKnight drove to headquarters,
arriving well before 6:00pm to allow time to catch up on paperwork. Finally, the appointed
time came and went – Addison never showed up.
A dejected McKnight popped her head into Modell ’ s office; she and Modell had always
gotten along well, so she felt comfortable confiding in him. She explained her confusion
and frustration in dealing with Addison, “ I worked hard to earn my doctorate, putting
myself through graduate school, and I ’ve worked hard at MidState for over 10 years with
an excellent track record, yet he makes me feel like a child. ”
Modell presented a balanced perspective, noting that Addison had landed some really
big accounts and thus had considerable sway with the leadership team. However, Modell
also told her that he had been hearing the same thing from the other team leads and that
he would speak to Addison. Modell said that Addison was probably just tired and stressed.
McKnight went home relieved that Modell would take some action.
Rock bottom. That weekend, McKnight met a grad school buddy, Carlos Landy, for dinner.
Landy, now a professor at the University of Massachusetts, was not surprised at all
to hear what was happening. “ Didn’t MidState check Addison’s references? ” he stated,
adding, “ When he was on the U. Mass faculty, he routinely talked down to his graduate
students and even promised the authorship on papers which he promptly ‘ forgot ’ about.
One of his students, Matt Light, a really promising researcher, was often the target of
Addison’s outbursts. Eventually, Matt had a psychological breakdown and hasn’t returned
to campus since, poor guy. ”
The following week, McKnight called Modell to find out the result of his meeting with
Addison. Modell told her, “ I set up a meeting with him on Tuesday but he never showed