Bob Knowlton analysis - Case Study Example

Bob Knowlton Case analysis Bob Knowlton case cannot be described in one word but in one sentence it would be termed as a case of feeling threatened in the presence of someone more brilliant and bright to the extent that you could not see his obvious weaknesses. Interestingly, while Knowlton was obviously threatened by a new person in the group, he was willing to acknowledge Fester's brilliance. However when someone is so deeply disturbed by a new thing or person, it often causes him or her to be blind to the obvious weaknesses of the person. Had Knowlton saw that there were areas where he was clearly better than Fester, he would have never felt the need to retire. It is now important to analyze the case's various aspects. Bob Knowlton's strengths: Bob Knowlton had been working with Simmons Laboratories for two years and had been made project head only recently. He was a leader whom people loved and respected. He had a good relationship with company's head, Mr. Jerrold. He was a capable leader who would enjoy developing relationships with others and encouraged group thinking. He felt that while there were some problems that could not be solved by group thinking, in most cases, the ideas that emerged from such an approach were helpful. Knowlton had been promoted when he had accidentally stumbled on the idea of photon reactor. Knowlton was hardworking and enjoyed staying late in the office. This helped him find some quiet time to think over various problems and to assess project's progress. He was a man with a traditional yet highly admired style of leadership. Threat of Fester: A person of Bob Knowlton capabilities is however not without his fear of insecurities. While Knowlton felt he knew his job well, he was definitely not looking for someone to come in and make him prove himself. He obviously didn't want his knowledge or style of management to be challenged by someone who was bright and intelligent but nonetheless new to the firm. For this reason when Fester joined the firm to see what position he would like to work at in the lab, Knowlton smelled trouble. For one, Fester was obviously very brilliant. He knew his work and had in-depth knowledge of different analyses and arithmetic calculations plus "some autocorrelation functions of surfaces." Secondly, Fester was fully aware of his capabilities and was way too sure of himself and his intellectual capacity. Knowlton felt threatened because Fester was quick to spot problems, knew about things that he had barely studied at the lab, and could single handedly solve huge problems- some of which had been abandoned long time back. Fester was intelligent, confident and secure but what Bob failed to see was that he was a poor team player. How Fester Threatened Knowlton: From day one, Fester made it clear that he had immense knowledge. He told Knowlton he could tell what his project was about by simply looking at the graphs. Knowlton was quick to acknowledge this when he met Jerrold the next day. Fester was introduced to other members of the team and went right ahead to tell Link, the mathematician, what he was doing wrong. Fester challenged the group thinking, believing it only led to mediocrity. Knowlton had always believed in group-thinking and Fester had suddenly come up with solutions single handedly which made Knowlton question the efficacy of group thinking. Fester would often come up with analysis and scientific knowledge that Knowlton was unaware of. Instead of helping Knowlton understand what he was talking about, Fester would enthusiastically go on explaining his theories expecting everyone to already know what he was talking about. This gave him a superior status while everyone else felt inferior to him. During one meeting, he challenged Link's way of thinking and offered solution to a problem that Link had long abandoned feeling that it could not be solved. Fester also pointed out the weaknesses in various experiments and experimenting method and claimed that if this method were followed, resulted would be inconclusive. Fester's weaknesses By the look of things it appeared that Fester was some science god who knew more than anyone else in the business. But he had some inherent flaws, which were never discussed but were obvious regardless. Fester was a bad team player. He was an individual to the core. The fact that he didn't believe in group thinking was because he couldn't possibly work with others. He was rude to others and often made it clear that he knew more than anyone around. Fester believed in solving problems single-handedly, which didn't leave much room for others. This is never a good sign for a person who wants to be a leader. He was too sore a team player to become effective leader. Fester considered himself superior to others and thought everyone else possessed mediocre knowledge compared to him. He liked to dominate meetings and it was because of him that many people started skipping morning meetings that had always been enjoyed by employees before Fester joined the lab. Knowlton's mistake Knowlton was felt so threatened by Fester that he totally blinded himself to his obvious flaws. Had Knowlton been more secure and sure of himself, he would have talked to Jerrold and pointed those flaws. It would have then become easier to see that Fester could never replace Knowlton as the leader because Knowlton was a true team player- a key trait of a good leader and a pre-requisite for becoming a leader in the first place. Recommendation: Bob Knowlton should have focused on his own strengths as a leader. He already knew that he couldn't possibly know about everything but he was a good leader who could use his people's strengths to his advantage. He would have challenged Fester on various occasions to make him see that there were things that he was wrong about. But instead of challenging him, Knowlton would remain quiet and then praise Fester in meetings or gatherings. He should have spoken to Jerrold about the problems he could spot in Fester's character. Knowlton jumped to conclusions too fast and combined with some insecurity and possible threat of replacement, he took drastic actions and the results were disastrous. Read More