James Wilde arrived home after a 16-hour meeting. He was grappling with whether to accept the global sales and marketing team manager position. Wilde spent the entire day with the senior lleadership of the team trying to understand the group’s challenges. However, the meeting had raised more questions than answers.Already a rising star within his company, Wilde was only 33 when he was offered this highprofile position to lead a diverse 68-person team whose members hailed from Central America, the Caribbean and the USA. The team’s recent performance had seen a quick decline, resulting in the previously well-regarded manager departing the company in a state of disrepute. Employee satisfaction also plunged by more than half its peak nearly two years prior. Should Wilde accept the position, he would be expected to reverse the performance lag in less than two years, achieving substantial sales growth and increasing market share. However, should he fail to resurrect the team in the allotted timeframe, his status as a high-potential would be jeopardized. 2Wilde hoped that meetings with both the senior executives and the outgoing manager would help him decide whether or not to take the position. The meetings thus far had been exhausting, but revealing. Wilde had a greater understanding ofthe team, but still had one more week to make up his mind. The following day, he would begin his tour of the Eastern Caribbean, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago to meet the rest of the team. He wondered if a week was enough time to assess the situation, but he pushed this question to the back of his mind and started packing.James WildeWilde began his career as an electrical engineer with KPS in Cayman, where he worked on industrial projects in sales, business development, and project management. Eventually, he became the project manager for a $20-million contract. Four years later, he moved to TT Technologies and joined an exclusive list of “high potentials” whose progress was re-evaluated every two years. He had the potential to be promoted every 18 to 24 months and learn a variety of roles within the company. This visibility within the firm would provide him with a fast-track route to an executive role. Even though he was constantly being evaluated by senior executives, being on the list meant plenty of opportunities.Questions1. How do you make sense of the team’s decline? Discuss 2. Can Wilde turn the team’s performance around in two years? Discuss
James Wilde arrived home after a 16-hour meeting. He was grappling with whether to accept
the global sales and marketing team manager position. Wilde spent the entire day with the
senior lleadership of the team trying to understand the group’s challenges. However, the meeting
had raised more questions than answers.
Already a rising star within his company, Wilde was only 33 when he was offered this highprofile position to lead a diverse 68-person team whose members hailed from Central America,
the Caribbean and the USA. The team’s recent performance had seen a quick decline, resulting in
the previously well-regarded manager departing the company in a state of disrepute.
Employee satisfaction also plunged by more than half its peak nearly two years prior. Should
Wilde accept the position, he would be expected to reverse the performance lag in less than two
years, achieving substantial sales growth and increasing market share. However, should he fail to
resurrect the team in the allotted timeframe, his status as a high-potential would be jeopardized.
2
Wilde hoped that meetings with both the senior executives and the outgoing manager would help
him decide whether or not to take the position.
The meetings thus far had been exhausting, but revealing. Wilde had a greater understanding of
the team, but still had one more week to make up his mind. The following day, he would begin his
tour of the Eastern Caribbean, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago to meet the rest of the team. He
wondered if a week was enough time to assess the situation, but he pushed this question to the
back of his mind and started packing.
James Wilde
Wilde began his career as an electrical engineer with KPS in Cayman, where he worked on
industrial projects in sales, business development, and project management. Eventually, he
became the project manager for a $20-million contract. Four years later, he moved to TT
Technologies and joined an exclusive list of “high potentials” whose progress was re-evaluated
every two years. He had the potential to be promoted every 18 to 24 months and learn a variety of
roles within the company. This visibility within the firm would provide him with a fast-track route
to an executive role. Even though he was constantly being evaluated by senior executives, being
on the list meant plenty of opportunities.
Questions
1. How do you make sense of the team’s decline? Discuss
2. Can Wilde turn the team’s performance around in two years? Discuss
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