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260 SNAKES IN SUITS
been disrupting and dominating the team to the point that many
don’t want to work with him anymore. He apparently doesn’t
come prepared, often comes to the meeting late, leaving a whole
room full of people idle, yells at folks, cuts people off while
they’re making their status reports, and embarrasses them if they
make a suggestion. People are afraid to speak up, and they’re losing
interest in the project because they feel they can’t do anything
right by Dave.”
“That’s really odd, Frank. Dave has always come across as a good
leader, and I thought he was well liked. Have you spoken to him
about this?”
“Yes, the first time was about three months ago, when I read his interim
report. It was a mess: a hodgepodge of material he seemed to
cobble together because I asked. There was no organization, no synthesis,
and no accurate timeline. He couldn’t—or wouldn’t—even answer
some basic questions about the details and figures. I told him I expected
more of a status report, complete with his personal analysis and
recommendations, and more details about dates, costs, and so forth.”
“How did he respond?” asked Frank.
“Well, at first he went ballistic on me, ranting about how we have
too many meetings at this company, I should trust him, and on and
on. I had to close the door because he was disrupting the floor. After
he calmed down, we spoke and I outlined my expectations. He
seemed to understand and said he would improve.”
“Did he?” asked John.
“Yes, actually he did—dramatically, I’d say. His next two reports
were outstanding. I didn’t agree completely with the timeline, and
some of the material was overly self-serving, but most of it was what
you would expect. So I was surprised when I heard things had gotten
worse on the people side of the equation; I was under the impression
that the team was working well together. Plus, some other things
have come up.”
“Could it just be a personality clash between Dave and your guy
on the team?” interrupted John. “Maybe Dave’s style is getting in
the way.”