Case Study:Career and Credibility
It’s essential to tell the president of sales that I wasn’t the leak, but since the leak came out of my team, I will contain it. Swift action is needed to mitigate the damage done. First, I have to follow protocol and assemble my team to learn who might have leaked the information to the CFO. It’s essential if the president of sales helps in the process, and this might help in rebuilding the trust. If the president of sales does not trust my judgment and decisions, then it’s essential to implement measures that will help in clearing my name and at the same time not put the project in any more jeopardy.
It’s essential to understand who, where, and how the person has been passing information from the team. Tracing the leak might be easy since a person in my group should be responsible. I will set up a one on one meeting with each member in private and explain to the members how their action has impacted the project and the company negatively. I will also make them understand the consequences of their activity. If I find the leak, I will report the person immediately to the president of sales. I don’t see the leak I will narrow down a list of potential suspects, stay alert and set a trap. I will disclose different confidential information to every person and whoever takes the bait is the suspect. I hope the blabbermouth with blab and the right channel will be followed.
The good thing is that the COO is on board with the changes and that the president of sales wanted to implement. To come up with a good communication strategy, it’s important to determine methods of engaging the team, the president, and the COO. I would hold a participatory meeting with the president of sales to give me a report of our findings on the impact of the scope of changes. We would acknowledge the damage done and assure the president that such an incident will never happen again. Project management skills need to be applied to save the project in jeopardy. It’s imperative to see what has already been compromised and what the team can do to put the plan back on track. I would advise the president of sales to tell the CFO that it was not his intentions to introduce changes without consulting him.
Changes that the president of sales was going to put in place could positively impact the project. The COO had backed up the plan, and my team would do everything possible to ensure the stakeholders see detailed research on the scope of changes. All this would be done through proper channels and protocols. If the team is given the go-ahead, then the project will continue as planned, be put back in action and the progress and performance will be measured. I will do everything possible following proper protocols. All the steps I will take will be per the company’s rules and regulations. I hope this will help my career, and my credibility will not be in question anymore.
My seniors must know that this will never happen again. Confidential information should remain confidential if a company is to thrive. I will take my time to teach my teammates the importance of keeping secrets and the consequences of not doing the same. The initial mole that caused all this trouble should be fired or demoted to be a lesson to the others. I will also use this as a lesson, before trusting a third party with confidential information, I should be able to trust them fully.