Question

"Pat, a colleague from your functional area, calls you aside after a project meeting to complain about an individual from another functional area with whom she is partnered for a set of project tasks. She states that this person rarely listens to her input and ideas. As a result, Pat feels that her partner has taken over the project. The best response would be to"

Answer 1

Question options:

-Meet with pat's partner and make him aware of Pat's concerns

-Offer to meet with Pat and her partner to discuss the situation

-Discuss pat's dilemma with a different colleague and ask for that colleague's assistance in resolving the matter

-Tell pat to stand up to the other person and insist that he listen to her.

Answer:

Offer to meet with Pat and her partner to discuss the situation

Explanation:

In offering to meet with Pat and her colleague, you could be able to hear both sides of the story and be sure Pat is actually telling you a fact that must be justified. However if you choose to go behind Pat's back such as "Discuss pat's dilemma with a different colleague and ask for that colleague's assistance in resolving the matter", you have not taken the first good step of hearing from Pat's colleague(both of them together) and you could be escalating the problem and not solving it instead.