Bob Knowlton was project and group leader of the photon unit at Simmons Laboratory. Knowlton was content with the work of his group and he considered himself to be a team player. Dr. Jerrold, head of the laboratory, felt integrating a new member into Knowlton’s team would act as a catalyst for improved results. Simon Fester, an individualistic, brilliant scientist was brought into the group by Jerrold. Fester’s perspective was talented and unique, adding much to the results of the group. However, Fester’s aversion to “democratic principles” as the route to mediocrity created paranoia in Knowlton concerning his own abilities. This eventually led to a lack of group cohesion and Knowlton’s abrupt departure from the laboratory.
Fester’s addition to the group added much in terms of project output, but it also created a lack of group leadership, a lack of group cohesion, confusion over group roles, and further deteriorated group communication. The following are the causes of the problems at Simmons Laboratory:
Bob Knowlton’s inability to communicate openly and honestly
Dr. Jerrold’s inabilities to communicate effectively, clearly delineate roles, and clearly define goals
Knowlton’s inability to unite different personality and learning styles
Simmons Laboratory’s lack of leadership training and lack of performance measures
The success of teams may depend on the efforts of team members, but team leadership is just as critical for success. Bob Knowlton displayed a lack of team leadership once Fester was introduced to the project. Instead of keeping the team clear and directed toward its goals, Knowlton descended into anxiety, fear, and worry. Research notes that the most successful leaders use a combined leadership style that contains aspects of both democratic and authoritarian management styles (Teams, 2002, 10). In line with this research, there are four conditions determined to be crit...