Abstract

How do you handle a team member who is underperforming - and assuage the client who suffers as a result? How do you encourage your team to work at full potential without making them feel burned out? How do you reconcile the interests of your team members with those of your client? The case presents three vignettes in which teams at a mid-sized public relations firm are struggling with these issues. In the first vignette, an executive vice president must figure out how to calm an angry client and deal with her client services manager after the client expresses dissatisfaction with the manager’s leadership. The second vignette describes an overworked practice leader overseeing an exhausted team. In the third vignette, a client services manager leading a team confronts an executive vice president about their client’s uncooperativeness and the unreasonable deadlines he has set for the team.  

Learning Objectives

Together, the three vignettes highlight the challenges of leading successful and effective teams in professional service firms.

Subjects Covered

Leadership, Work/Life Balance, Professional Services, Team Dynamics

Setting 

Geographic: United States

Industry: Public Relations Firm