« What We Do  «  Consulting    Psychotherapy

 

JFC works in diverse industries. In the examples that follow, we give you scenarios we have faced and resolved successfully. It will give you an idea of the breath and depth of our work.

 

Example 1 - Great Rainmaker - Poor Director

International consulting firm hires a seasoned woman as a director. She brings with her two large clients that increase the company revenues by millions. As a senior leader with many strengths, she begins to derail. The 360 assessment reveals: she is defensive, guarded, withholds information, and is hard to read emotionally. People on her team “don’t know where she is coming from and whether they are in or out.” Her direct reports find her controlling, and a micro-manager. Her team has complained about her for months. One of the directors discussed the situation with her only to find her defensive and unwilling to change. The company has a culture that looks down on firing people. They prefer the person to “see the light” and change or resign. The “heart-to-heart talk was unsuccessful, little by little she saw her projects moved to another team, responsibilities reduced, and then direct reports moved. The firm hired us as a “last ditch effort” to resolve her resistance to change.

 

Example 2 – Administration and Teachers in Conflict after contract dispute

The teachers of a large school district worked without a signed contract for over two years. When a settlement was reached between the teacher’s union and the administration, scars and hard feelings remained with each side. Teachers found themselves uncooperative and suspicious of administrators. Administrators were overly critical and negative toward the teachers. Administrating for a school district requires close cooperation between teachers and supervisors. The contract conflict had strained relationships to the point of outward hostilities that were affecting teacher performance and teacher-student morale. The para-professional staff was caught in the middle torn between their employer (administration) and their day-to-day work the teachers. Relationships were also strained with parents of whom many were involved in the contract negotiations that stalled. Neither side had a process for handling the aggression generated by the events of the past.

 

Example 3 - Team Captain Wants to Run the Team

A professional hockey team drafts a player who has won a number of Stanley Cups at another team. He immediately becomes team “captain” and older statesman to the younger guys. His first season, the team finishes with the best record in NHL history. The assistant coach’s began to notice subtle behaviors that indicated the player was resisting the coach’s authority. The head coach chose to ignore it, saying “it would work itself out.” At the NHL awards dinner, the player accepted his Player-of-the Year Award and gave everyone on the team credit for a great season but the coach. It was an omission everyone noticed, the general manager, the media, other professional coaches. The general manager says, “You can’t let this go. You have to talk to him or he’ll be running the team behind your back next season.” The coach minimizes the event and ignores what everyone else perceives as an obvious “put-down” and declaration of “war.” He also chose to not follow the advice of the general manager to confront the conflict head-on. The coach, a religious person, decides to pray about and pray for the player. He believes that things “will get better next season.” The new season begins with the captain escalating the conflict, acting disrespectfully, and instructing the younger players to follow “me on the ice.” This lead to chaos on the ice, a losing streak, sports writers questioning why a talented team is losing games and to the general manager practically begging the coach to confront the player head on.

 

Example 4 – Owners Resist Managing Their Personnel

An out-patient center run by three owners is losing clients. The owners believe that the counselors are to blame because “they don’t know how to keep clients.” The assessment period reveals that the problems of the clinic are not so simple. There are problems in the clinical and financial divisions. Counselors are losing clients because they need training on how to handle difficult situations. The partner in charge of the clinical division of the business has a resistance to supervising them. “Why should I have to hold their hand.” A second partner in charge of finances is having issues on the financial side of the business. There is no efficient system for collecting fees. Thousands of dollars are outstanding. The third partner is resistant to conflict and therefore, relegates himself to marketing.