Reference no: EM132437647

Scenario: Dave is part of the research department team of a medical equipment organization. In developing new products for the organization, he has experienced challenges in dealing with the sales department. The research team is concerned that the organization rushes to market with a project before they have ensured the quality of the product. The sales department feels that the research department is too conservative, and they also believe that in order to compete, they must be first to market among their competitors.

Do you agree with this explanation on how this could be used as a leadership strategy with boundary spanning practices?

In the given scenario, Dave and the team have a polarity issue with the research team wanting to take their time to make sure all is right and the sales team wanting to be first in the market and rushing things. Attempting to solve a polarity with standard problem-solving skills will intensify the problem. Most people are used to dealing with problems that have one right answer while polarities have two or more right answers that are interdependent (Johnson, 1992). The most efficient method for tackling polarities would be a five-step process that includes mapping. The first step is seeing which includes just that, seeing the whole reality. If you over-focus on one side it will neglect the other side. Now you can move into mapping and that is another way of saying strategic plan. When you map out your issue, you are looking at what you want to achieve which is the desired results while also monitoring the downsides to avoid. Your action steps start with the end in mind. In this particular problem, Dave and the team would need to decide where to compromise on how much research gets done before going to market. It may not be as much as the research team wants but it would be more than the sales team was used to waiting for (Polarity Partnerships, n.d.).