In a program, there are two university students Anna and May. Anna has been the co-ordinator for a year. She was well praised and congratulated on an excellent job done. Anna due to commitments could not continue with the post and hence, a willing candidate May was selected for the post for the current year.
A month into the program, Anna has been getting complaints about May. Complaints include lack of response when necessary, pushing the work onto co-workers and a sense of non-interest. Anna being the ex-coordinator and a senior member of the program talked to May about her responsibilities and asked her whether she was really interested in handling the post again. May replied that she was, however, the sloppy attitude still persisted. This time, Anna gets angry which led to a very stern conversation with May and told her that if she continues in this way, she would be taken out of the program. May gets upset and starts to cry.
A possible causes for such conflict could have been:
Self-Denial: May was not able to balance her work as a coordinator and her school work but refused to acknowledge the fact.
New Comer: Being new to the post, she was still getting used to it.
Peer Pressure: Anna was being pressurized from the committee, to have a proper successor.
Conflict of Personality: Anna being a perfectionist herself got irritated with May’s carefree attitude.
During the conversation at the end, May might have felt a sense of failure which led to her break down. She might have been depressed and pressurized. Anna on the other hand, must have felt like she was being pushed around to get results by the committee. She probably felt disappointed that her successor was not efficient. She must have also felt frustrated from all the peer pressure and her personal commitments.
What could Anna have done to avoid such a scene? Was there a better way for her to approach May? And what could May have done? Could she have handled the situation better?
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2 comments:
Hey Divya,
I guess Anna was quite pressurized that her successor wasn't up to standard. Perhaps she didn't want the committee thinking that she chose May without much consideration. She could also be disappointed with May, since if Anna could continue with the post, she would have done a much better job.
On May's side, she was initially a willing candidate, but now was seen to have a sense of non-interest. She might be bothered with school work or personal stuff. Or, she might just be facing too much pressure from the committee and even herself, with high expectations of doing as well as Anna.
Perhaps before threatening May, Anna could hear her thoughts out. I think it is quite certain that there must be something troubling May since she was interested in the position well in the beginning.
Hi Divya,
You mentioned a "Michelle" in the closing paragraph, which I am unable to find throughout your post. I will thus assume that "Micelle" is actually "May".
Anna's own expectation of May is certainly borne out of her own achievements in the same role. While she has valid concerns about the situation, she could have had a more constructive approach to the problem rather than simply asking May to "try harder".
One way would be to find out why May is not performing and how they can resolve any outstanding issues. By getting angry and putting May into a confrontational situation only serves to induce a fight of flight reflex.
Showing concern and empathy will certainly generate a better response than an accusational posture.
May, in view of her own problems, could have approached Anna for assistance. Anna, having high hopes for her successor, will certainly try to help May out.
Like getting angry, crying serves little in helping to resolve the problems at hand.
A win-win scenario of May doing a satisfactory job, can be attained via some emotion management and empathy.
Cheers!
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