Judgement Test Question 37 – A colleague is pulled between two programmes
Read the scenario and rate every action independently. Several actions can receive the same rating.
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Scenario
Leah works across your programme and another high-priority project. Both managers have been giving her urgent tasks without agreeing which work takes precedence. Leah has missed two deadlines for your team, and colleagues have started leaving her out of planning because they see her as unreliable. Leah says she raises clashes as soon as they appear, but receives different answers from each manager. Your next deadline is close. You need to resolve the competing demands and rebuild a workable relationship between Leah and the team.
Rate the actions
For each action, choose Counterproductive, Ineffective, Fairly Effective or Effective.
Action A
Tell Leah that managing expectations across both programmes is part of her role and she must decide what to do first.
Rate this action:
CounterproductiveIneffectiveFairly EffectiveEffective
Action B
Explain in the next team meeting that Leah's poor organisation has caused the recent delays.
Rate this action:
CounterproductiveIneffectiveFairly EffectiveEffective
Action C
Remove all of your programme's work from Leah until the next deadline has passed.
Rate this action:
CounterproductiveIneffectiveFairly EffectiveEffective
Action D
Bring Leah and the other manager together to agree priorities, available capacity and who will resolve future clashes. Share the agreed plan with both teams.
Rate this action:
CounterproductiveIneffectiveFairly EffectiveEffective
Click to reveal the answer
- Action A: Ineffective
- Action B: Counterproductive
- Action C: Fairly Effective
- Action D: Effective
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