You and Bryan from the sales department have been working on a presentation about a large and important client due by the end of the week. Your supervisor will present your work to the board of directors. Bryan is responsible for gathering data related to the customer, while you are responsible for transforming his data into presentation slides. Accidentally, Bryan has collected the data from a wrong document which caused you to produce 30 inaccurate slides.
Your manager is counting on the presentation to be ready on time for the weekend meeting.
What is the most effective response?
Explain to the supervisor that Bryan has made an error gathering the data - which can cause a delay in the presentation. Ask Bryan politely if he could amend the mistake - as it was mostly his doing.
Tell the supervisor that you and Bryan made an error while building the presentation from the data. Modify the inaccurate slides accordingly with the help of Bryan.
Don’t tell the supervisor about the mistake. Hand him notes with some corrections to include while presenting the presentation.
No need to bother the supervisor with this. You should talk to Bryan about modifying the inaccurate slides as soon as possible.
Correct answer is B
Response (B) employs the practice of admitting mistakes and sharing responsibility. Although Bryan played a larger role in committing the mistake while gathering the data, by sharing the responsibility for the mistake, you are showing that you are a team player (teamwork). By telling the supervisor that both of you have made an error you are showing that you are responsible and have the integrity of admitting your mistakes – thus allowing your supervisor to take the possibility of being late for the deadline into account. By working together to amend the mistake – your team has the potential of solving the task effectively by the deadline.
This question tests for the ability to share responsibility in a team and the ability to admit mistakes while having the willingness to correct them. The trick for solving the question is to choose the response that employs both integrity and teamwork- while solving the problem effectively.
Response (A) may seem like the correct response as Bryan is certainly responsible for the problem. However, by dropping all the blame on Bryan and not offering to work together on solving the problem- you show that you are unwilling to share the responsibility- thus showing low teamwork competency. Also, by criticizing Bryan behind his back you might cause unnecessary damage to his relationship with the supervisor- as he should be given a chance to explain himself.
Response (C) lacks responsibility and problem-solving. Handing the supervisor notes is only a partial solution if the supervisor hasn't agreed to this solution- and is not prepared in advance for this solution. The quality of your work here is diminished – so you are also showing a lack of thoroughness and attention to detail.
It is difficult not to choose response (D), as willing to work together with Bryan in order to solve the problem on time shows a high level of teamwork. Since the intention communicated in this answer-choice is to “not bother” the supervisor- choosing this question reveals a low level of being responsible and a problem with working under supervision- as you are not allowing your supervisor access to valuable information which could affect his decision-making regarding the presentation and the deadline.
