Under performance case study 3
Consider the following scenario and what you might do if you were the manager. Read each section, think about the possible way forward and look at the suggested approaches if required.
Stage 1
You are appointed to the Head of School. You have within your school a very high performing research group. One of the senior research fellows, by the name of Dr Spark performs very well and is well respected in his field of expertise within the University as well as nationally and internationally. He is however causing you a number of concerns with regard to his behaviour within the group. He is consistently rude and aggressive (his voice can often be heard down the corridor he shouts so loudly) to all other group members and the group feel they have to walk on egg shells within the office and the lab for fear of upsetting him. The staff turnover in the group is very high and anecdotally you hear that other staff within that group are not performing as well as they might.
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Stage 2
Dr Spark tells you that he is never rude to colleagues or junior members of staff and as a calm individual cannot remember when he last raised his voice and states that your actions are unreasonable. The following week you turn up to his office unannounced to find him shouting very loudly at a group of junior staff
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Stage 3
Dr Spark on this occasion listens to what you are saying and admits that he struggles to control his temper due to the enormous amount of work he has and the stress he feels he is under – he does however say he will try to calm his temper. After a number of weeks you find there is still no improvement.
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Stage 4
Dr Spark still refuses to attend the training and there is no improvement in his conduct – a further incident has occurred where he was extremely rude to another member of staff from the school
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