Lance Best, the CEO of Barker Sports Apparel, was meeting with Nina Kelk, the company’sgeneral counsel, who also oversaw human resources. It had been a long day at the company’sBirmingham, England, headquarters, and in the early evening the two were going over theevaluations of each of Lance’s direct reports. Lance was struck by what he saw in CFO DamonEwen’s file. Most of the input was neutral, which was to be expected. Though brilliant and wellrespected, Damon wasn’t the warmest of colleagues. But one person had given him the lowestratings possible, and from the written remarks, Lance could tell that it was Ahmed Lund, Barker’shead of sales. One read: “I’ve never worked with a bigger control freak in my life.”“These comments are pretty vicious,” Lance said.“You’re surprised?” Nina asked.“I guess not,” Lance acknowledged.His CFO and his sales chief had been at loggerheads for a while. Ahmed’s 360 also contained afew pointed complaints about his working style1—no doubt from Damon.Lance sighed. Five years earlier, when he’d stepped into his role, he’d been focused on growingthe company that his father, Eric—the previous CEO—had founded. Barker licensed the rights toput sports leagues’ logos on merchandise and partnered with large brands to produce it for retailmarkets, and when Lance took the company over, its revenues were about £100 million. Soonafter, he’d landed the firm’s biggest partner, Howell. Negotiating the deal with the global brandhad been a challenge, but it increased business so much that Lance and his direct reports still feltthey didn’t have enough hours in the day to get everything done. They certainly didn’t have timefor infighting like this.According to a study from CPP Global, 36% of U.S. employees say they always or frequently dealwith conflict at work.“So what do we do with this info?” Lance asked.Nina shrugged. “This is the first time I’ve been through this process myself.”“Right. Clearly I’ve got to do something, though. I know that Ahmed and Damon aren’t mates,but I do expect them to be civil.”Nina nodded, but Lance sensed she was biting her tongue. “You can be honest with me, Nina. Ineed your counsel.”“Well,” she said tentatively, “I think that’s part of the problem. The expectation is that we’re civil,but that doesn’t translate to collaboration. We all trust you, but there isn’t a whole lot of trustbetween the team members.3“So does everyone think Damon is awful?” he asked, pointing to the report.Nina shook her head. “It’s not just about him. You can see from the feedback that Ahmed isn’t asaint either. He picks fights with Damon, and the tension between them—and their teams—hasbeen having a ripple effect on the rest of us. You see the finger-pointing. It seems like everyone isout for themselves.”Although Lance hated hearing this, it wasn’t news. He’d just tried to convince himself that theproblems were growing pains and would sort themselves out. After all, sales and finance wereoften at odds in organizations, and the conflict hadn’t had a big impact on Barker’s revenues.They’d grown 22% the previous year and 28% the year before that.Of course, none of that growth had come easily, and opportunities had certainly been missed.Barker had dropped the ball on inquiries from several retailers interested in its products by failingto coordinate getting them into the company’s system quickly. Now, Lance realized that might bea sign of more fallout to come. He needed to fix this. “My dad always wanted to do one of thoseteam-building retreats,”4 he said, smiling. This had been a running joke among Barker’s executivesfor years. Whenever Eric had sensed tension, he would mention the idea, but he never followedthrough. questioni. After reading the above case study advice on conflict resolution styles.
Lance Best, the CEO of Barker Sports Apparel, was meeting with Nina Kelk, the company’s
general counsel, who also oversaw human resources. It had been a long day at the company’s
Birmingham, England, headquarters, and in the early evening the two were going over the
evaluations of each of Lance’s direct reports. Lance was struck by what he saw in CFO Damon
Ewen’s file. Most of the input was neutral, which was to be expected. Though brilliant and well
respected, Damon wasn’t the warmest of colleagues. But one person had given him the lowest
ratings possible, and from the written remarks, Lance could tell that it was Ahmed Lund, Barker’s
head of sales. One read: “I’ve never worked with a bigger control freak in my life.”
“These comments are pretty vicious,” Lance said.
“You’re surprised?” Nina asked.
“I guess not,” Lance acknowledged.
His CFO and his sales chief had been at loggerheads for a while. Ahmed’s 360 also contained a
few pointed complaints about his working style1—no doubt from Damon.
Lance sighed. Five years earlier, when he’d stepped into his role, he’d been focused on growing
the company that his father, Eric—the previous CEO—had founded. Barker licensed the rights to
put sports leagues’ logos on merchandise and partnered with large brands to produce it for retail
markets, and when Lance took the company over, its revenues were about £100 million. Soon
after, he’d landed the firm’s biggest partner, Howell. Negotiating the deal with the global brand
had been a challenge, but it increased business so much that Lance and his direct reports still felt
they didn’t have enough hours in the day to get everything done. They certainly didn’t have time
for infighting like this.
According to a study from CPP Global, 36% of U.S. employees say they always or frequently deal
with conflict at work.
“So what do we do with this info?” Lance asked.
Nina shrugged. “This is the first time I’ve been through this process myself.”
“Right. Clearly I’ve got to do something, though. I know that Ahmed and Damon aren’t mates,
but I do expect them to be civil.”
Nina nodded, but Lance sensed she was biting her tongue. “You can be honest with me, Nina. I
need your counsel.”
“Well,” she said tentatively, “I think that’s part of the problem. The expectation is that we’re civil,
but that doesn’t translate to collaboration. We all trust you, but there isn’t a whole lot of trust
between the team members.3
“So does everyone think Damon is awful?” he asked, pointing to the report.
Nina shook her head. “It’s not just about him. You can see from the feedback that Ahmed isn’t a
saint either. He picks fights with Damon, and the tension between them—and their teams—has
been having a ripple effect on the rest of us. You see the finger-pointing. It seems like everyone is
out for themselves.”
Although Lance hated hearing this, it wasn’t news. He’d just tried to convince himself that the
problems were growing pains and would sort themselves out. After all, sales and finance were
often at odds in organizations, and the conflict hadn’t had a big impact on Barker’s revenues.
They’d grown 22% the previous year and 28% the year before that.
Of course, none of that growth had come easily, and opportunities had certainly been missed.
Barker had dropped the ball on inquiries from several retailers interested in its products by failing
to coordinate getting them into the company’s system quickly. Now, Lance realized that might be
a sign of more fallout to come. He needed to fix this. “My dad always wanted to do one of those
team-building retreats,”4 he said, smiling. This had been a running joke among Barker’s executives
for years. Whenever Eric had sensed tension, he would mention the idea, but he never followed
through.
question
i. After reading the above case study advice on conflict resolution styles.
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