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M400 case 2.1 Wolf

What is your assessment of Brodsky’s performance? Please be specific.

Brodsky’s hands-off management style led to numerous problems in the company.

Firstly, Brodsky’s failed to interact with subordinates, demonstrating the lack of social skills and

emotional intelligence. Although he is a strong analyst, his distant relationship with subordinates

undermined his relationship with coworkers, subordinates, distributors and other stakeholders.

Secondly, Brodsky was not ready to take the lead in addressing operational issues and exhibited

a total lack of interest and commitment. For example, when there was an issue with the

company’s largest distributor, instead of resolving the problem himself, he delegated the task to a

sales representative. Eventually, the sales representative did not reach a deal and Brodsky’s

claimed the situation could not be resolved. Yet when Keller committed to the issue, he was able

to reach an agreement with the customer, leading to the withdrawal of the lawsuit. Thirdly,

Brodsky’s exhibited poor judgment and incapacity. In one instance, despite the importance of

collaboration between sales and marketing teams and key distributors, Brodsky’s missed team

building opportunities during the Munich flight. Instead of assigning seats by bring together

members of sales and marketing teams and key distributors, he allocated all the front seats to

sales and marketing personnel and all the back seats to the firm’s main distributors. As a result,

the two groups could not engage. Accordingly, Brodsky’s performance was inadequate both in

terms of leadership and operational aspects. Despite his leadership position, his approach to
management is incompatible with the organizational environment, leading to numerous

misunderstandings negative relationships with his colleagues, subordinates, customers, and

distributors.

How effective has Keller been as a coach to Brodsky? Why? Could you have done

better? Why and How?

Keller played a critical role in trying to address the weaknesses associated with

Brodsky’s leadership. Despite Keller’s best efforts as a coach, the differences in their

management styles only led to tensions in the office. Brodsky did not view Keller’s actions as

constructive criticisms; instead he saw Keller’s actions as an attempt to undermine his success.

Given the unhealthy relationship between the two, the mentor-protégé relationship was not well-

developed. Accordingly, there are several things Keller could have done better. Firstly, Keller

should have provided Brodsky with ideas on how to address problems in the office. Brodsky was

a highly analytical individual. As a result, it was difficult for him to think critically. Although

both Keller and Brodsky are problem solvers, they approach problems differently. Keller should

have considered Brodsky’s personality, strengths and weaknesses and designed a coaching

program emphasizing his strengths (for instance compliance with rules and procedures), while

minimizing his weaknesses (for example, lack of initiative).

In terms of Brodsky’s inability to meet deadlines, given Brodsky’s weakness in this area,

Keller should have provided shorter deadlines on tasks he assigned to Brodsky. Under the

approach could, shorted deadlines could motivate Brodsky to complete his tasks on time and

prevented him from spending too much time on tasks. Moreover, by dividing tasks into smaller

goals and evaluation Brodsky’s success in each milestone could motivate him to strive for more

excellence to satisfy his need for achievement.

 What are the underlying causes of Brodsky’s performance problems? What actions

should Keller take upon returning to Kyiv? Be specific.

Brodsky’s performance problems are connected to his personality, management style, and

world views. As an analytical introvert, Brodsky executes the tasks assigned to him through the

established procedures. His single approach to problem-solving means once tried methods fail,

he gives up on the challenge since he finds it difficult to think of alternative ways of addressing

the same problem. Similarly, Brodsky’s poor relationships with coworkers are subordinates can

be explained by his lack of interpersonal skills. He has difficulties in interacting with others and

forming bonds. As a result, he prefers to keep to himself or delegate tasks where face-to-face

communication is needed. The aforementioned traits have contributed to Brodsky’s poor

relationship with different stakeholders, including coworkers, subordinates, and customers.

Upon returning to Kyiv, given Brodsky’s affinity to rules and procedures, Keller should

develop a comprehensive action plan to guide Brodsky in his day-to-day activities. As part of the

plan, Keller should review Brodsky’s progress and issue positive feedback by first helping

Brodsky to understand his mistake and subsequently providing the details on the next cause of

action. For the strategy to work, Keller should establish clear deadlines for each milestone and

provide the methods and goals to help Brodsky meet the set expectations. Most importantly,

given their age differences, Keller should establish long-term relationship with Brodsky based on

respect and friendship to enable him understand Brodsky’s views and challenges, and

subsequently help him overcome them.

What are the implications for Keller’s own development as a leader?

 In as much as Keller has risen through the ranks to take on management role at a younger

age, there are still areas he needs to improve as a leader. The first quality Keller should learn is

empathy. Leaders have to be sympathetic with their subordinates by understanding their

worldviews, while providing the support they need to grow as individuals and contribute to the

success of the organization. Accordingly, Keller should acknowledge the individual differences.

The differences also lead to unique leadership and management styles. Through empathy, Keller

can understand employees such as Brodsky better and provide tailored recommendations to help

them improve on their performance. Secondly, Keller should trust his employees. Managers

cannot succeed on their own without the support of subordinates. Accordingly, it is important for

Keller to build trusting relationships by believing in employees. Even when workers fail to

deliver on his expectations as a manager, the solution should not be to demean them. Instead, he

has to provide ideas on how they can improve their performance.