The Challenges of Teaching Self-Management Adopted from “The 27 Challenges Managers Face” by…

The Challenges of
Teaching Self-Management Adopted from “The 27 Challenges Managers
Face” by Bruce Tulgon

Among the members of the
team you manage Is Sandra, the primary receptionist for all of the business
units that operate out of your location. Her primary tasks include answering
and routing Incoming calls as well as checking in clients and guests who are
visiting the office. Sandra has been with the firm for a total of about 5
years, however she just recently moved to her current capacity on your team.
Previously, she was part of the online customer support chat team reporting to
a different manager. This team had representatives on staff 24/7 to meet
customer needs and Sandra typically worked a mid-shift from 12:30PM – 9:00PM
with occasional weekends and holidays. In her interview with you, she mentioned
that although she loved the chat position, she wanted a more regular schedule.
In this position, her established schedule is 8:00AM – 4:30PM Monday through
Friday,

For the first 3 months
after moving to your team, Sandra showed herself to be very skilled at
directing callers and visitors to their appropriate destinations, and always
met the performance expectation of answering the phone after no more than two
rings. She is generally referred to as a source of knowledge regarding the
daily schedules and whereabouts of the employees at the firm, and to the best
of your knowledge, is always at her workstation promptly for the start of her
shift. Lately, however, you have begun to encounter some performance issues.

A couple of weeks ago,
you went to the lobby to greet a client for an 8:00AM appointment and noticed
that Sandra was not at her desk. Upon speaking with some of your colleagues,
you learn that she has recently been arriving as late as 8:10 or even 8:15.
Additionally, you were approached by a manager from the sales department who
relayed a complaint she’d received from one of her highest volume customers,
who stated that Sandra had been quite short and rude with him when he called
last week. Unfortunately, her calls are not recorded, so you are unable to
confirm this yourself. You are naturally a bit surprised to learn all of this,
as Sandra had come highly recommended from her previous manager in customer
support, and seemed very eager to take on her new role on your team. Rather
than resort Immediately to disciplinary measures or termination, you want to
talk with Sandra to determine what the cause might be for these sudden issues
and to develop a plan for corrective action.

In your conversation,
Sandra acknowledges her recent tardiness, but offers no excuses for why she has
been arriving late to work other than simply having difficulty waking up and
getting ready for the day. The complaint regarding her tone with the customer,
however, was met with complete surprise, as she assures you that she treats all
callers and office guests with the same level of professionalism she showed her
customers while on the chat team.

1. Which challenge(s)
discussed in this chapter is Sandra exhibiting traits of? Please provide
evidence from the case to support your response.

2. For each of these
challenges, describe your strategy for how to address them with Sandra.