Bad Blood on the Senior Team (HBR Case Study)

In the case study, Bad Blood on the Senior Team, two senior executives constantly create conflict within their organization, putting the company at risk. There is a personality clash between Ahmed, the Head of Sales, and Damon, the CFO. Ahmed prefers a relaxed management style while Damon prefers a hands-on approach. Their work is excellent and exceeds expectations, but they are unwilling to work together and put aside their egos.

Edgewood College
Bad Blood on the Senior Team (HBR Case Study)
Kevin Sidibet
447717
BUS 603: Organizational Development & Behavior
Stephanie Douglas, PhD, Edgewood College, [e-mail]
Individual case analysis – Due 10/29/2019

A summary of the case.
In the case study, Bad Blood on the Senior Team, two senior executives constantly generate
affective conflicts within the organization which put the company at risk. Ahmed, Head of Sales
and Damon the CFO are at loggerheads due to a personality clash. Ahmed prefers a relaxed
management style whereas Damon prefers a hands-on approach. Both are great in their work and
exceed expectations, but they are not willing to work together and put their ego aside. They are
constantly fighting, and their behavior become deeply disturbing. The CEO of the sports apparel
manufacturer has to figure out how to handle this ongoing conflict between them. Unfortunately,
that task won’t be easy knowing that this CEO, named Lance manages his team by applying an
unhealthy “laisser-faire” approach which allowed situations like this to get worse. The head of
sales, Ahmed Lund and the CFO, Damon Ewen have to work together by any means because
their constant fighting has started to affect the other teams within the organization. It has also
started to affect the success of the business as decisions cannot be made on business needs
involving the two executives. The CEO wants to bring a better working environment with
increased collaboration with the team, capital to reach their long-term goal. Several options came
out when he was talking with Nina Kelk, the company’s general counsel, who also oversaw
human resources. Those options include changing the company's compensation scheme to
encourage better collaboration, doing more team-building activities, firing the conflicting
executives or getting the executives coaching[ CITATION Bor19 \l 1033 ].

Theories, models, and explanations that may be used to explain and resolve the case.
According to [ CITATION Tyl17 \l 1033 ], the concept of micro organizational behavior
analyzes individual and group dynamics in an organizational setting. In this sense, at a micro
level, the first issue that can be pointed out and allow an ongoing conflict between employees is
that the CEO did not have an effective leadership approach to lead its team members. Laissez-
faire leaders, which was his management style approach, are often seen as uninvolved and
withdrawn, that can lead to a lack of cohesiveness within the group[ CITATION Les15 \l 1033 ].
In this method of leadership, the CEO doesn’t provide much direction; instead, decisions are
made by the two senior executives that don’t get along but need each other to perform in their
respective positions. Another point concerning the CEO is that rather than addressing the issue,
the CEO prefers avoiding the conflict and step back while tensions continue to spread. His
discomfort with conflict makes things worse and out of control. In fact, [ CITATION Reb18 \l
1033 ] define the avoiding style as uncooperative and unassertive. Leaders that use this style seek
to avoid conflict altogether by denying that it is there. They are prone to postponing any
decisions in which a conflict may arise. Conflict avoidance may be habitual to some people
because of personality traits such as the need for affiliation. However, conflict avoidance
becomes a problem when individuals avoid confronting important issues because of a dislike for
conflict or a perceived inability to handle the other party’s reactions.

Another aspect of the micro organizational behavior focuses on employees’ dynamics, which
also generates unhealthy interpersonal conflicts between, in this case, the CFO and the chief of
sales. Because of the CEO delegative leadership approach, those conflicts between the two
employees have led the company to drop the ball on inquiries from several retailers interested by
failing to coordinate, getting them into the company system quickly. Those conflicts also have
been having a ripple effect on the rest of the team and have led to an untrustworthy environment
between team members and generate a feeling that the principal internal stakeholders are not part
of the same team[ CITATION Bor19 \l 1033 ]. Interpersonal conflicts between the two seniors
when it is not the purpose of a healthy completion, result in an unhealthy environment and can
affect the motivation and productivity of the rest of the team including the protagonists. In fact,
people that exhibiting a competing style want to reach their goal or get their solution adopted
regardless of what others say or how they feel. They are more interested in getting the outcome
they want as opposed to keeping the other party happy, and they push for the deal they are
interested in making[ CITATION LumNA \l 1033 ]. This unhealthy competition has led to poor
relationships between the senior executives who always seeking to maximize their outcomes at
the expense of others’ well-being.

Alternative solutions for the case. / Advantages and disadvantages of each alternative solution.
Instead of adopting a delegative leadership style which is undoubtedly an unhealthy approach
for his organization, the CEO of the company needs to embrace a coaching style approach.
[ CITATION Ind19 \l 1033 ] explain that the leader who adopts a coaching style is someone who
can quickly recognize their team members’ strengths, weaknesses and motivations to help each
individual improve. This type of leader often assists team members in setting smart goals and
then provides regular feedback with challenging projects to promote growth. They’re skilled in
setting clear expectations and creating a positive, motivating environment. The coach leadership
style is one of the most advantageous for employers as well as the employees they manage. In
this sense, getting executives coaching or doing more team building activities can be potential
solutions to handle conflicts between the seniors and improve the overall communication at
Beker Sport Apparel.
Unfortunately, it’s often also one of the most underutilized styles, largely because it can be more
time-intensive than other types of leadership. In fact, according to [ CITATION Nat19 \l 1033 ],
leaders aren’t using this option for one basic reason because they don’t feel like they have the
time to stop and help others with their responsibilities. It requires a lot of time and plenty of
patience, which the company lack, for this leadership style to start producing results. Some
companies may not be in a position where they can make such an upfront investment. There must
be time, and plenty of patience, available to allow for the formation of positive results. If time
and patience investments are not made, then the mentoring process will not be successful.

On the other hand, conflict management styles which companies use to handle disputes and
clashes between its employees can be used as an alternative solution to resolve this ongoing
conflict between the two seniors’ executive and lead to an improved working environment by
simultaneously get the conflict resolved and minimize the negative effects that come as a result.
Among the conflict management styles, the compromising style is a conflict management style,
in which individuals have some desire to express their own concerns and get their way but still
respect the other person’s goals. In a compromise, each person sacrifices something valuable to
them. Compromise exists when two parties try to find a halfway point for resolution and put their
ego aside[ CITATION Reb18 \l 1033 ]. One advantage is that the outcome can generally be seen
as fair to both parties because each gets something in return. This can also solve a short-term
conflict while laying the foundation to resolving a long-term problem. Another advantage is that
people respect those who are willing to compromise. In many cases, this willingness is seen as a
sign of maturity and a willingness to be a team player. However, the disadvantage of a
compromise is that neither party leaves the negotiating table completely happy. Since
compromises are short-term, they usually indicate that another conflict will occur in the future.
In the process of compromise, there are gains and losses for each conflicting party. Thus, it is not
sure that will accept and will weight with the same scale the gains and losses of each
party[ CITATION Reb18 \l 1033 ].

The collaborating style is high on both assertiveness and cooperation. This is a strategy to use for
achieving the best outcome from conflict when both sides argue for their position, supporting it
with facts and rationale while listening attentively to the other side. The objective is to find a
win–win solution to the problem in which both parties get what they want. They’ll challenge
points but not each other. They’ll emphasize problem solving and integration of each other’s
goals. Collaboration is the win-win form of conflict resolution in which, at the end of
negotiations, both parties feel they have gained something, and no one feels as if they lost
something. Collaboration is also effective with long-term solutions as it strives to satisfy the
needs of both parties and has high concern for personal goals as well as relationship[ CITATION
Tho74 \l 1033 ]. However, the disadvantage of collaboration is that it can be time consuming
since everyone must leave happy. Also, both parties must be interested in advancing toward the
same goal for collaboration to work.

Recommendations
According to the case study, the performance of both senior executives is greatly appreciated
by the company. They are an important part of why the company is successful each year. Thus,
fire them won’t be a wise solution. Instead, using a coaching style approach to establish a
collaborative environment between them would be more appropriate. Because of the role of the
two parties involved in the conflict, it is important to notice that the collaborative style would
work best. In fact, the collaborating style aims to find a solution that will meet the needs of all
parties involved. Instead of trying to find a middle ground solution, this style can find solutions
that satisfies everyone and at the same time enable the most successful outcomes.
The proposal to resolve this situation is for Lance to organize a meeting between Ahmed Lund
and Damon Ewen to have an open and healthy discussion about the problem. At the beginning of
the meeting, Lance, as a coach mediator, will address several introductory remarks that
demonstrate its neutrality and his willingness to solve this conflict for the benefice of all parties
involved and define the protocol and timeframe for the process. The debate will go for no more
than one hour to ensure that a well-structured and concise discussion can occur. During the
meeting, Lance will help to set the rules for the mediation and allow them to evacuate their
frustrations constructively. The coach will allow Damon and Ahmed the opportunity to state their
side of the story uninterrupted. After explaining their sides of the story, Lance will set goals that
are clear and reachable to monitor this conflict efficiently. Goals that will include a behavioral
management plan, and a reflective journal which will allow both parties to solve problems by
attempting to justify their actions, seek deeper meaning and suggest future behavioral changes.
Conclusion

Conflicts arise when two parties start to hate each other and try to use their power at the
expense of the other party. This was the result of conflict generated by the two-senior executives
at Baker Sports apparel. Even though they are productive, Lance the CEO of the company wants
then to work together for the good of the company. In this sense, after analyzing the situation, the
leader of the groups, needs to react constructively for both parties to beneficiate of the
implementing changes. React by changing his leadership style to a coaching style to provide the
two seniors the best help and most successful outcomes in order to prevent this kind of conflicts
to repeat in the future[ CITATION Ben171 \l 1033 ]. Problems between the two senior executives
hurt the organization and the rest of the team. If the issue goes unsolved, the risk of creating
unnecessary conflicts, delays, or even failure to produce deliverables can increase. In this sense,
the analyze of the managerial issue has shown that besides the leader to change his leadership
style to a coaching style, the company needs to address this issue by adopting a collaborating
style approach to effectively manage this conflict within his company in order to contribute to
the success of organizations.
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