We're not happy about this manager's performance but don't know why it's going downhill. How do we solve the problem with least damage to all concerned?

After several years of friendly, problem-free working relations, a blazing row suddenly broke out between one of the computer specialists and his departmental manager (a man widely respected for his effectiveness as a team leader). The computer specialist then subsided into angry silence.

The office atmosphere became extremely tense and the manager’s confidence in his managerial skills nose-dived.

The consultant established that the "trigger" for the row was the planned introduction of company-wide changes which would - unknown to the manager - cause serious problems for the computer specialist.

The computer specialist knew his value as a technical expert but feared he would be unable to cope with the sales support responsibilities being added to his job. The results of the personality assessment supported him. They also indicated that the specialist’s difficulties could not be solved by providing sales training.

The consultant obtained permission to share much of this information between the parties and helped them plan a way forward.

The manager used the psychometric assessment carried out on his subordinate to negotiate the maximum delay possible on changing the computer specialist’s job. During the interval, company plans changed yet again - which solved the original problem.

Fairly immediate benefits from this project included a dramatic improvement in the relationship between the computer specialist and his manager, as both sides became aware what the true problem was and that neither party was personally responsible for causing it. The manager regained confidence in his managerial skills when advised that the computer specialist’s personality would inhibit him from expressing his feelings until his situation became unbearable. The office atmosphere returned to normal.

An extremely conscientious manager in a high pressure operational post suddenly lost all enthusiasm for the job. He could not understand his loss of interest and became desperately worried about the fall off in his performance.

In the course of a single counselling interview with the consultant, the manager made the connections between his sudden loss of interest in the job and the recent diagnosis of a family member’s terminal illness.

The manager was then helped to obtain specialist support for the whole family, to set himself realistic performance targets and to "pace" the job during the medium-term future. The employer was protected against the risk of a key member of staff resigning for reasons unrelated to the job.