Background
Problem Faced by Knowlton
Knowlton lacks confidence; he does not believe in himself when competition arises. According to the write-up, Bob Knowlton is the head of the project dealing with the photon correlator since his scientific breakthrough two years before. He has been good at this job for the previous two years. He even thinks that he has ‘produced’ just as Dr. Jerrold had advised him to do in order to be prosperous in his line of duty. However, the situation changes when Jack Remington arrives at the lab.
He gets irritated when Remington talks about the graphs he was analyzing. He thinks that Remington is very smart and competitive. He feels bad when he realizes that Remington is enthusiastic about work and is smart enough to find out the problem with the photon. He even describes him to his wife as a genius. During the morning meetings with his laboratory team, he realizes that Remington is organized and very thorough in his presentation. Knowlton is not comfortable to make a speech for a special meeting with projects heads and the financial investors. He brightly deceives Jerrold to allow Remington write and deliver a speech.
Ego-Defence Mechanism
Knowlton uses rationalisation as his ego-defence mechanism. He gives fake reasons for his resignation. He writes a letter to Jerrold saying that he has found a better position in another company. However, this statement is not true. In the real sense, he would receive a slightly lower salary than what he gets at Jerrold’s company. He indicates that he would not appear in the lab anymore for personal reasons and that he would gladly go back to help in case of any mix-ups in the group. In addition, he indicates that Remington is capable of providing leadership in the group. He then adds that his decision to leave suddenly is due to a change in his family circumstances. This assertion is also not true; he resigns because he is afraid that Remington will take his job and that he will have to work under him.
Power Bases That Knowlton Failed to Draw Upon
Knowlton was not able to draw power from the expert power base. This base of power involves employees believing that their leader has a high level of expertise and knowledge in a particular field. Knowlton, therefore, should have shown his superiority during the meetings with his employees for Remington to respect him as his superior. He should have written and read speeches to project leaders and financial investors. Leadership requires courage and readiness to share and teach.
Knowlton’s Leadership Style
Knowlton’s style of leadership is legitimate. Legitimate power refers to having a position of power in the company. For instance, being a boss or an important member of a team of leaders. He does not show any authority to the employees under him. He just guides them on what to do to achieve the goal of the project. He is offended when Remington shows up and insists on individual work.
Bob Knowlton’s Managerial Profile
Knowlton is a smart scientist who has made great progress in his field. He, however, does not have managerial skills. He is not confident in his qualities in the presence of competition. When Remington arrives, he thinks that he is not good enough. He is worried that Remington might find so many mistakes in the reports about the project. He does not believe that he can present Remington’s ideas to the project leaders. He is also not ready to embrace new ideas. Worse still, he is not happy that Remington is working single-handedly in troubleshooting the performance of the photon yet he advocates group work.