Harvard Business School 9-482-037

November 17, 1981

Assessing Managerial Talent at AT&T (C)

Donna Lawrence's Results

When Donna Lawrence graduated from college in 1970 with an engineering degree she
joined AT&T as a level 1 engineer in the network department. Subsequently she was promoted to a
level 2 engineer and was responsible for long-range planning and cost analysis. When she was sent to
AMPA she held a level 3 district level manager position. Donna discussed her feelings about
participating, in the assessment program, her experiences at AMPA and her feelings about her
feedback and the "moderate" rating she received:

"When I heard my boss had nominated me to attend AMPA I was flattered and anxious.
Several years ago I had attended a lower level assessment program and knew basically what to
expect. Although I had done very well there and was promoted, I was still very anxious about
AMPA. I was sure my competition would be much tougher. I envisioned polished MBA types with
enthusiasm, energy, and real management potential. I was certain it was a do or die situation. I
learned I'd be going to Atlanta about 1 month before I went; my anxiety built up steadily during that
month.

"When I got to Atlanta my fears were confirmed. The first night a bunch of the assessees went
to dinner and I distinctly remember one woman in our group who set the tone by talking about what
a cut-throat experience we'd be going through and she wanted us all to know she wasn't planning on
giving anyone any support and suggested that we all look out for ourselves. She stunned a lot of us
and intimidated me but finally a couple of us told her we didn't think it had to be a back-biting
session but if she were going to back-bite us we'd be sure to back-bite her. That sort of set the tone for
our group. It turned out to be very competitive and there was little camaraderie. There were
subgroups formed of people who had similar reactions to that first encounter with 'back-biter.' I was
with a group of about 6 who met for drinks and dinner and shared experiences, albeit reservedly
under the theory that mutual support was as appropriate at AMPA as it is in life. That added to my
anxiety. As anxious as I was though, I wasn't as bad as some. Some people were afraid that if they
didn't 'pass' they'd have to quit their job because they couldn't bear the embarrassment of having
gone through assessment without a promotion. To be honest I guess I did feel some of that pressure
too. . . . During the program I really had no idea of how I was doing. On some exercises I thought I'd
done very well when in fact I didn't do well at all. In other aspects of the program I was sure I'd done
poorly but in fact, I'd done well. On the group exercises specifically I could feel I didn't participate
enough. When I did speak I wasn't speaking clearly, intelligibly, I was disorganized, distracted and

This case was prepared by Emily Stein, Research Assistant, under the supervision of Michael Beer, Lecturer, as a basis for
class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation.
Copyright © 1981 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted In any form or by any means —
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without the permission of Harvard Business
School. Distributed by HBS Case Services, Harvard Business School, Boston, MA 02163. Printed in U.S.A.

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 482-037 Assessing Managerial Talent at AT&T (C)

still very anxious. Maybe that was because the back-biter was in my group. She really did intimidate
me. I think I performed better on the paper and pencil tests. I guess I felt less anxious on those
activities than during the group exercises themselves.

"As I left the center I was exhausted, relieved, numb, and had grave doubts about how I'd
done. I finally got feedback at an off-site meeting with a psychologist from Atlanta. True, he was very
skillful in the way he presented it. He started out by telling me the good things, then the bad things,
then he gave me the bottom line overall rating. That was clever of him because if he'd given me the
rating first I probably wouldn't have heard the rest. Anyway, he told me I was intelligent and very
charming. He really stressed the intelligence aspect and that was great. Then he mentioned that my
written communication skills were poor and that I was lacking in administrative abilities. He
recommended I get an MBA to build up my areas of weakness or at least take some kind of English
composition course. At the time I felt that the feedback was odd. Part of my job involves writing
letters for my boss. I've never had any complaints about them, they always go through. That made
me think that part of the assessment was inaccurate. No one has ever complained about my writing
before so I was surprised by that part of the feedback. The psychologist also told me that I have
received a moderate rating. He explained that the rating was one of the higher ones given in my group.
I felt very upbeat when I left that meeting. It took me several weeks to get over how intelligent I was!

"When I look back on the assessment experience, in a way, I feel intruded. In one sense, I
think in my case, the program measured how I reacted to anxiety rather than how capable I might be
as a level 5 manager. In all my years working, I have never been put in as pressure filled a situation
as I had been in Atlanta. I also felt the group exercises were more game-playing than anything else.
When you are in a work environment you know who you're dealing with; why they are there; and for
the most part you are all working for a common goal. At work, people are more concerned about
their reputations as fair and honest people. At the assessment center it's a group of short-term
strategists, with diverse motives; that just isn't like work. I don't think the exercises meant that much.
For me the paper and pencil tests were more constructive than the exercises. When I think about how
I did personally I can't help but think that the program put unrealistic time limits on me which just
muddled my thinking. Also the back-stabber really intimidated me. That really made me too anxious
to perform the way I really can perform. One other thing, when I think of the feedback I got I
question their conclusions. No other source in my life had given me the kind of feedback they did, so
I can't help but question it. I have some real questions too about the developmental
recommendations. They make me feel intruded upon more than anything else. I'm too busy to take a
course or get an MBA right now, to be honest I just don't want to now. I wonder what that will mean
for my future here."

2
This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Sujit Shekhar Maharana's MBA-HRM 2021-23/Competency Management at Indian Institute of Management - Ranchi from Sep 2022 to Mar
2023.