Building Teams and Managing Underperformance – The NovaEdge Challenge – Prof. Rashmi Jha

2nd December 2025

Medium Link: https://medium.com/@rj1971/building-teams-and-managing-underperformance-the-novaedge-challenge-6ec761e1abb6

Course Relevance

This caselet is designed for the following PGDM / MBA courses:

• Human Resource Management (HRM):
  Covers performance management, employee development, and motivation.
• Organizational Behaviour (OB):
  Examines leadership, feedback, and team dynamics in cross-functional environments.
• Leadership & Team Building:
  Focuses on managing conflict, building psychological safety, and fostering collective accountability.
• Performance Management Systems (PMS):
  Discusses goal setting, appraisal frameworks, and developmental feedback.
• Change Management & Organizational Development:
  Explores how feedback and learning loops drive adaptability in project-based organizations.

Academic Concepts

This caselet draws on multiple organizational and psychological theories:

• Tuckman’s Team Development Model (1965):
  Describes the stages of team formation—Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing—mirrored by NovaEdge’s trajectory.
• Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory (1959):
  Differentiates motivators (recognition, growth) and hygiene factors (policies, pay). Aisha reignited motivators through empowerment and acknowledgment.
• Goal-Setting Theory (Locke & Latham, 1990):
  Demonstrates how specific, challenging goals enhance performance when coupled with feedback.
• Psychological Safety Framework (Edmondson, 1999):
  Highlights that employees contribute ideas freely when they feel safe from ridicule—seen in Aisha’s creation of “Friday 15.”
• SBI and Feed-Forward Models (Center for Creative Leadership, 2010):
  Provide structured, future-focused methods for giving feedback that drives learning rather than defensiveness.
• Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985):
  Emphasizes autonomy, competence, and relatedness as intrinsic motivators that Aisha successfully fostered in her team.

Background

NovaEdge Consulting Pvt. Ltd., a Bengaluru-based management consulting firm founded in 2015, specialized in agile, data-driven business transformation for clients across India, Singapore, and Dubai. With over 200 consultants, it was known for innovation, collaboration, and autonomy.

In 2024, CEO Rohit Bansal appointed Aisha Khan, a rising project manager, to lead The Horizon Initiative—a high-impact consulting project for a major retail client. The cross-functional team of eight consultants came from diverse backgrounds—strategy, analytics, HR, marketing, and design.

However, within a few weeks, Aisha noticed declining performance, internal friction, and missed deadlines. The challenge was not technical competence but team synergy, motivation, and ownership.

Situation

The team’s early phase was chaotic. Rohan, the strategy lead, monopolized meetings. Vikram, the data analyst, frequently missed deadlines. Meena, the HR consultant, was overly procedural. Tara, from marketing, was creative but impulsive.

Team members worked in silos, and client feedback turned critical. Aisha realized the group was stuck in the “storming” stage of Tuckman’s Team Development Model, where conflict, confusion, and dominance often stall performance.

To regain control, Aisha implemented structured yet empathetic interventions.

Key Interventions

1. Setting Clear Expectations

Aisha organized a “Team Alignment Workshop” to clarify roles using a RACI matrix (Responsible–Accountable–Consulted–Informed). She emphasized shared ownership:

“If one person underperforms, the entire team feels the impact. We succeed or fail together.”

This session restored purpose and accountability.

2. Addressing Underperformance Constructively

Vikram’s inconsistency was the most visible issue. Instead of criticism, Aisha used the SBI Model (Situation–Behavior–Impact) to offer developmental feedback:

“In last week’s client prep (Situation), your data model wasn’t ready (Behavior), which delayed the team’s review (Impact). Let’s find what’s blocking you.”

This personalized approach revealed disengagement due to lack of recognition. Pairing him with a peer mentor improved confidence and output.

3. Building Team Cohesion

Aisha initiated ‘Friday 15’, a 15-minute weekly reflection ritual where team members shared one success and one challenge. These sessions built trust and encouraged cross-learning.
Tara helped Meena streamline HR visuals; Rohan learned to delegate to juniors.

A buddy system also paired seniors with juniors, reinforcing collaboration and psychological safety.

4. Feedback and Feed-Forward Conversations

Aisha conducted mid-project feedback sessions focused on growth:

• To Rohan: “Use your leadership strength to empower others, not overshadow them.”
• To Meena: “Your structure is valuable—balance it with flexibility.”
• To Tara: “Your creativity energizes the team—bring others into the conversation.”

Each discussion ended with, “What do you need from me to succeed better?”—turning evaluation into partnership.

5. The Crisis and Turning Point

When a client rejected an interim report for lack of integration, Aisha used it as a learning moment:

“We failed as a system, not as individuals.”

She led a collaborative redesign session combining strategy, data, and storytelling. The revised presentation won client approval and praise for its clarity and synergy.

Outcome

By project completion, The Horizon Initiative was delivered ahead of schedule and received outstanding client feedback. Internal engagement scores rose 28%, and turnover intent declined.

• Vikram, once labeled underperforming, earned a promotion.
• Rohan transitioned into a mentoring role.
• The “Friday 15” ritual became a company-wide practice.

CEO Rohit remarked:

“Aisha didn’t just manage performance—she built a culture of trust and learning.”

Epilogue: Lessons Learned

The NovaEdge experience reveals that managing underperformance and building successful teams require clarity, compassion, and consistency. Key insights include:

1. Set expectations early to reduce ambiguity.
2. Coach, don’t criticize—underperformance often stems from disengagement, not incompetence.
3. Balance accountability with empathy to preserve morale.
4. Foster peer collaboration to sustain performance beyond supervision.
5. Recognize progress publicly to reinforce motivation and trust.

Teaching Note

Learning Objectives

After engaging with this caselet, students will be able to:

• Analyze how leadership style and team structure affect performance and morale.
• Apply feedback frameworks to real workplace challenges.
• Evaluate the role of psychological safety and trust in managing underperformance.
• Design team-building and feedback strategies for knowledge-based organizations.
• Reflect on the balance between empathy and accountability in managerial decision-making.

Key Discussion Points

• How can managers turn underperformance into an opportunity for growth?
• What distinguishes constructive feedback from evaluative criticism?
• How can leaders create a culture of continuous improvement without micromanagement?
• What systems or rituals can sustain team learning (e.g., retrospectives, reflection sessions)?

Suggested Classroom Activities

1. Role Play: The Feedback Conversation
   Students role-play Aisha’s one-on-one meeting with Vikram using the SBI model, followed by a group debrief on emotional tone and outcome.
2. Debate:
   “Should leaders prioritize accountability or empathy when managing underperformance?” Students to be divided into two groups to defend each position.
3. Reflection Journal:
   Students to write one paragraph on a time they received or gave feedback and how it affected motivation or trust.

Discussion Questions

1. How can managers diagnose the real causes of underperformance—skill gaps, motivation issues, or system-level barriers?
2. How should leaders balance empathy with accountability when building high-performing teams?
3. What feedback techniques (e.g., SBI, Feed-Forward) are most effective for creating a culture of continuous improvement?

References

• Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383.
• Herzberg, F. (1959). The Motivation to Work. Wiley.
• Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1990). A Theory of Goal Setting & Task Performance. Prentice Hall.
• Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. Springer.
• Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental Sequence in Small Groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63(6), 384–399.
• Center for Creative Leadership (2010). Feedback that Works: How to Build and Deliver Your Message. CCL Press.