What follows is an all too familiar story often played out in organizations– especially when leaders are under pressure to get things done (which is most of the time).

The main character in this case is Dr. Roger Doit, a very bright MD, who is capable of being a highly effective leader, but not always.

The story is told from the perspective of a consultant.

A few days ago, I received a call from Dr. Roger Doit, MD, an old friend of mine. We met originally when he was the Vice President of Clinical Research at Curepill Pharmaceutical Company. As usual, he didn’t waste time with small talk but got right to the reason for his call. “I have changed jobs,” he said, “And I am now the President and CEO of a 450-bed hospital. I have a problem I think you can help me solve.”

Thinking back, I recalled that I had previously helped Roger build clinical research teams composed of MD’s, PhD’s, and other medical professionals. At that time Roger frequently commented on my ability to size up individuals and identify their “work styles.”

Roger went on, “I’ve got a team problem. My executive team is composed of “bean counters,” Human Resources types, nurses, MD’s and others, none of whom seem to get it. They are all working against each other, and against me.

I agreed to meet with Roger for a half-day preliminary discussion to see if I could help identify what was going on in his operation. A week later I met with him at his office in the hospital executive wing. The layout of his office didn’t surprise me at all. He had an enormous walnut desk, and in front of which stood six leather chairs arranged in a semi-circle. He invited me to sit in one of the chairs and he sat behind the desk. My first impression was that he was looking down on me, and I realized that his chair was slightly elevated. This brought back memories of a meeting we had had at Curepill, when he told me I had the contract to help him build clinical research teams. “You need to understand,” he said at that time, “that working with physicians is different from working with other people. We view ourselves as the MDeity.”

I asked Roger to describe the problems he was having. “My executive team is composed of nine people who just don’t get it,” he began. “We are supposed to be working together to improve the hospital’s operations, but they are more hindrance than help. They miss assigned deadlines and are always blaming each other for delays and mistakes. Things have gotten so bad that the Board of Trustees is beginning to question my leadership ability. I have a proven track record that I’m proud of, and I need to find and fix the underlying cause of this problem quickly. I think we need some teambuilding to get these people back on track.”

We continued discussing the hospital’s management issues for about an hour, and then I asked Roger to take me on a tour of his operation. Although he had previously agreed to meet with me for half a day, he said that he had another meeting scheduled at 11:00 AM. However, he reluctantly agreed to take me on what he called a “speed tour.” As we left the office he said to his secretary, “I’ll be back in 15 minutes. I’m just going for a quick look around the place.” “Thank you,” she replied, “Don’t forget your 11 o’clock appointment.”

As we left Roger’s office, we walked down a long hallway with three office doors located on each side. Two of the doors on one side were open and the occupants were standing in the hallway outside of their offices having a conversation. A little further down was another open door with a person peeking out into the hallway–all you could see was her head. As we started toward the two people conversing in the hall, they glanced at us and then quickly stepped into their offices, closing the doors behind them. The peeking-head person waved and disappeared into her office, also closing her door.

We left the executive wing and entered the hospital proper. As we approached other employees they all turned away from us. One notable exception was a young woman who seemed to be upset. She came toward us, and Roger didn’t introduce her. He later told me her name was Clair Concept and she was the Vice President of Human Resources. Roger asked, “How are the troops?” She replied, “About the same. There is still a lot of union talk and cards being signed. If our staff will do their part we will be OK.” “Good,” said Roger, “Head them off at the pass.”

Exactly 14 minutes after we had left his office, Roger looked at his watch and commented, “I have to get back for my 11 o’clock.” Approaching his office door he said, “You need to go over our discussion and let me know what you think is going on here.” I agreed to call him in a few days to arrange a follow up meeting. With that, we shook hands and Roger disappeared into his office closing the door behind him. As I headed down the hallway for the hospital exit, several people greeted me and wished me a good day.

If you pointed the finger at Roger as the cause of the problem, your initial reaction would have been in agreement with my first thoughts. After all, Roger’s modus operandi is exerting power over people, his staff avoided him, and he likes to blame his staff members for being a “dysfunctional team.” Well, wait till you hear the rest of the story!

I proposed to Roger that I talk to each member of his executive team to get their input by posing the following three questions:

1. How well do you think the executive team works together?

2. In what areas do you work best together?

3. What suggestions do you have for the team to improve their relationships with each other?

I reassured Roger that I was only getting his staff’s viewpoint and in no way would I reveal who said what.

Roger approved the plan, and I individually interviewed each team member, as well as Roger, and here is what was found:

____________________________________________

Question #1

Using a scale to measure the “how well is the executive team working together” question, the results showed:

                         X

                       XX

            X  X  XX

1    2   3   4   5   6   7

Poor–Fair–Well

(The shaded X is Roger’s answer)

I did not ask for comments or justification of their ratings.

Question #2

Area(s) where we work best together:

a) Coordination between medical staff and administration

b) Budget planning/control

c) Motivating employees

Question #3

Suggestions for improvement in team relationships.

a) Stop leaking information to the board members regarding management of the hospital.

b) “Give us credit for knowing what to do and not to do in the Union drive.”

c) “Stop treating us like dummies.”

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Two members, (Roger and the HR VP), were critical of several of the executive team members commenting that, “They are not supporting Human Resource actions designed to fend off the union.”

________________________________________________________

Although Roger bears some responsibility for the situation, he did not seem to be the immediate cause of the “team problem.” Summarizing the information from all of the interviews, it appeared to me that the problem was related to the union drive and specifically to the way the HR VP was working with the members of Roger’s team. Several comments from executive staff members led me to the conclusion that the HR VP was causing friction on the management team and might not be a “team player.” I then began to focus on the HR VP as the potential cause of the problem.

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Stay tuned to find out how this story ends! In the meantime, here are some questions to consider:

1. What is your initial reaction regarding the problem? What are the ‘symptoms’?
2. What do you think of Roger as a leader?
3. What do you make of the reactions from staff members?
4. When analyzing this problem, in what ways might you intervene? In other words, what steps might you take in order to provide and test a diagnosis?