Caselet 2: “Coach” Charlie Hustle Michael Messina and David Fong graduated from college together. After graduation, both accepted job offers with the same company. Michael went to the company’s...

Caselet 2: “Coach” Charlie Hustle

Michael Messina and David Fong graduated from college together. After graduation, both accepted job offers with the same company. Michael went to the company’s Pittsburg office, and David went to the firm’s San Francisco office. During a refresher training course held one year later, the two finally got to see each other again. Michael listened for a couple of days as David, a competitive tennis and basketball player, sung the praises of his sales manager, Chuck Houser. David commented that Chuck’s employees called him “Charlie Hustle” or “Coach” because of his style. “We come in, and Coach tells us what to do,” David said. “I never have to wonder what’s up or how to deal with a problem. He tells me what to do. He is super results-oriented. You always get pats on the back, and he even has a miniature scoreboard in his office where he can display our sales. He calls them ‘points.’ If you don’t produce points, he’ll be on your case and tell you what to do. Reminds me of my old tennis coach.” Michael wondered about a supervisor who was always telling his salespeople what to do. “Man, David, Chuck sounds like a high school coach—not the leader of your sales team.” “What do you mean?” countered David. “He seems like the perfect leader. What else should he be doing?”

Question

1. Put yourself in Michael’s shoes. What should he tell David about other leadership behaviors Coach could use?