Scenario: Whatever It Takes

Group Size: 4-15

Scenario

There is a project that needs to be done urgently. It will require temporarily pulling together key resources from different areas of the organization.

You are at the point of deciding who will lead the work. Elizabeth has a stellar reputation for getting deliverables on time and is very knowledgeable, experienced, and talented in the subject area. She does, however, have a poor reputation for burning out staff due to her extremely meticulous standards and blunt communication style. Turnover in Elizabeth’s substantive position’s unit has been very high for some time. The executive human resources team (HR) has been attempting to coach her on supporting a healthy workplace.

Arturo has a solid reputation for quality results in the same area and is well-liked by subordinates and colleagues. His performance is considered to be fair to good, but not outstanding on keeping projects on time and on budget. However, Arturo is among the best at maintaining loyalty and the dedication of teams. Many individuals look up to him as a mentor.

Categories

• Principles: Respect the Dignity of all Persons
• Values: Integrity, Stewardship, Excellence
• Cultural themes: Leadership, Teamwork
• Misconduct types: Not Specific
• GBA Plus themes: Not Specific
• Audience: Defence Team

Facilitator’s Guide

Learning Objectives

• Discuss the ethical obligations of “Respecting the Dignity of all Persons” in this situation.
• Discuss the ethical values of excellence, stewardship, and integrity in this setting.

Facilitation Questions

1. What would you do in this situation? What are the considerations?
   • Allow open discussion from the group.
   • Ethical concerns: Who is the better person to chose for an urgent project: the individual who can get the job done but at the expense of demoralizing their team resulting in significant attrition of employees, or a project manager who balances timely delivery with quality results, with maintaining team loyalty and dedication?
   • Personal factors: Who would you rather work for if you were a member of this project team?
2. What is the ethical dilemma in this situation?
   • This is an example of competing values.
   • The choice is between a manager who values the completion of the job to extremely meticulous standards over building an empowered, cohesive team that can function well, over the long run.
3. What are some potential courses of action that could be taken in this scenario? What would you do?
   • Hire both as co-leads on the project in the hope that their complementary skills will deliver the project on time, while maintaining employee morale and dedication.
   • Place the priority on the urgency of the project and chose Elizabeth as the project leader to drive results at the expense of the morale of the team.
   • Place the priority on the treatment of individuals and the ability of the leader to build a cohesive team that will be motivated to deliver quality results but could potentially lead to the project being late and/or the exceeding the planned budget.