Intercultural communication teamwork and leadership/Communication in the workplace/bad manager scenario

'Bad' manager scenario summary

Part 1

Soraya comes to Paul's office because he has asked to see her. He immediately asks her if she has any idea why he's asked her to the meeting and stares at her in silence while she thinks of an answer. She jokingly replies that she thinks Paul is going to offer her a pay rise. Paul says it is to discuss her absence from work yesterday.

• What would have been a better way for Paul to start the conversation? Why?
  • When you have finished thinking of your own ideas, click here for some other suggestions.
    • As Paul knows that Soraya needed dependency leave the previous day, a more empathetic approach would have been to start by asking how Soraya is. Also, it is unsettling for Soraya to have to guess what the reason for the meeting is. Paul should state clearly at the beginning of the meeting what the purpose is; ideally, he would have also let Soraya know this when he organised the meeting with her.

Part 2

Paul asks the reason for her absence, and Soraya says it was dependency leave. She tries to give more of an explanation, saying that it was related to her son, but Paul keeps interrupting her and does not want to hear anything more. He points out that she has had four absences for dependency leave in the last six months. Soraya says that other people in the company have taken more dependency leave than her.

• How could Paul handle Soraya's attempt at explanation better?
  • Click here for suggestions
    • Paul should give Soraya an opportunity to explain her absence, instead of interrupting.
• What emotional reaction is Paul's behaviour likely to provoke in Soraya?
  • Click here
    • Soraya quickly becomes defensive and frustrated.
• What benefits might there be if Paul listened to Soraya's explanation?
  • When you are ready, click here
    • Soraya would feel more supported by Paul, so is less likely to become defensive. Also, sharing an understanding of the situation would help Paul and Soraya discuss possible solutions.

Part 3

Paul refers Soraya to company policy about the need to monitor absences, but refuses to show her a copy of the policy, saying that it is up to employees to find it on the internal website and become familiar with it.

Soraya becomes increasingly upset because Paul doesn't want to know the reason for her absence; he continues to insist on policy, focusing on the need to protect the company's interests with regard to employee absences. Paul tells her that if there is another absence, he will have to call her into a disciplinary hearing. Soraya becomes even more defensive and angry. Paul says that he is being very fair, because he could have taken disciplinary action right away, without giving her this warning; however, Soraya doesn't think he is being fair at all.

• What do you think about Paul's claim that he is being very fair?
  • Click here for a suggested answer
    • Paul probably thinks he is being fair because he is following company policy very precisely, and in fact giving her a warning first.Soraya, on the other hand, probably feels he is being unfair to her because he is not taking her individual situation into account, is not listening to her, and, in her perception, is not treating her the same as other staff who have taken dependency leave.

Part 4

Soraya asks Paul what he would do if she tried to book emergency leave in advance, and he responds with a statement of company policy. Paul remains very calm, but Soraya sounds increasingly upset. She says that Paul is being very inflexible and that she feels she is being bullied. Paul tells her she is over-reacting. Soraya feels that she is being pushed out of her job and says that she will appeal if she gets an official warning. Paul begins to look annoyed and advises her against appealing because her absences are a clear breach of policy. Soraya says that she is going to get help from her union representative, and walks out of the meeting angrily.

• What are the outcomes of this conversation? How could better outcomes have been achieved?
  • Click here
    • The outcomes depend on your perspective on the situation - and your intrapersonal communication. Paul has achieved his aim of making Soraya aware of company policy on absences and has given her a warning about future absences. In his intrapersonal communication, he is probably telling himself that he has done his duty as a manager, and has been clear and fair, while Soraya has been unreasonable and emotional. However, another outcome is that he now has a resentful and angry staff member, who is threatening to get her union involved. Soraya is probably telling herself that Paul is a very unfair boss and that she has not done anything wrong - this may well make her feel uncooperative in future. Paul has also failed to find out the reason for her absences, so he and Soraya have not had an opportunity to identify solutions that might work well for both the company and the employee.