DESCRIPTION: DR. Jerrold hired Simon Fester to work at the lab with Bob Knowlton, project head. Fester was very experience, skillful and at times very assertive, which translated to Bob as been arrogant. With Fester’s mannerism and Bob’s insecurities, they found their working relationship challenging which ultimately resulted in Bob early resignation.
DIAGNOSIS: Fester was a very smarter individual; he had extensive knowledge in data analysis and excellent problem solving skills. He brought exhaustive and rigorous research to the lab, but he had very poor people skills with the rest of the staffs. He undermined their previous work and indicated that their level of thoughts were inferior. The case quoted: Fester thought that the way the problem had been analyzed was typical of group thinking and, with an air of sophistication that made it difficult for a listener to dissent; he proceeded to comment on the American emphasis on team ideas, satirically describing the ways in which they led to a “high level of mediocrity.” He basically insulted the intelligence of the entire laboratory staffs. The synergy between Fester and the rest of the team was non-existence, because Fester’s criticisms were not constructive and sometimes came across as disrespectful.
On the other hand, Bob felt insecure because Fester was very erudite and he elevated the scale of their work. Bob thought his leadership role had been compromised. Bob also felt inadequate and less of a leader when Fester presented a successful presentation in front of the sponsors and Dr. Jerrold.
THEORY: Leadership is a process, involving reciprocal influence. It has its limitation, but in optimum conditions it can harmoniously harness and synthesize relevant knowledge, make sense of environmental features and changes, and co-generate new knowledge, usually in response to strategic demands and exigencies. (Walji,