My Boss Resigned. Could I Be Next In Line? Do I Want His Job?

A Leadership Case Study by John DiCicco, Ph.D.

Part 1: The Case

Maria has been working as a third shift supervisor for Saverno’s Supermarkets (a chain of 40 supermarkets in the Northeast U.S. predominantly in New England). Maria lives in Braintree, Massachusetts, in a three-bedroom bungalow with her husband Wayne of 15 years, their two children Felicia,14 and Josh 17. Maria’s husband Dave works as an electrician and belongs to the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Boston Chapter. Dave is 43 and Maria is 40.

Their present income is suitable to their lifestyle and they do not incur any changes in the quality of their work life balance.

As to a little bit of Maria’s history with Saverno’s. She joined the chain of supermarkets when they were a single location in the store in Braintree where she is working now. Their expansion has been huge and continues to grow at a rapid pace on adding more supermarkets to the chain. Maria was only 16 when she started working for Saverno’s. This is the only job she has ever had and they have become like family to her. In fact, the Saverno family helped put her through school with tuition reimbursement and came to her wedding where they have provided the new married couple with a generous financial gift.

Maria’s position was secure and she honestly thought that she would be at her position until she retired. Her direct report was the store manager where she worked. His name was Rick Carlson. Rick had been with the chain for over 25 years and prior to his position as store manager he was promoted from his previous position as the second shift supervisor, which he held for 11 years. Rick was store manager for the past four years.

A position opened up at Saverno’s for district manager of the 11 stores in the New England area encompassing the states of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Rick applied for the position. The position was posted internally and externally in Saverno’s Department of human resources. Over 30 interviews have been conducted where internal and external candidates had been interviewed some as many as two or three times.

Maria did not even think of applying for the job. For one thing she couldn’t work the hours required of a store manager because she felt it would take too much time for her to be away from her family. There would also be some traveling involved in the position. Secondly, she was not interested in becoming a store manager, let alone a district manager, for much of the same reasons. The position will require limited travel, many store meetings and too much involvement in budgets and politics within the chain.

Maria was presently in a comfort zone that could keep her comfortable with her family and also secure at her job. She wasn’t going anywhere. She honestly felt that Rick was perfectly suited for the job and was aware that he had his final interview two days ago and he was told he would hear the store’s decision by the end of the week from Mr. Saverno himself. 

The organization was a family-owned business that never wanted to go public. They wanted to keep the company as a family-owned business because of its strong ties to the communities in which it served and did not want to be influenced by investors and the stock exchange. The supermarket food chain was doing very well and was very profitable. The store used its marketing resources well and as they say had a personal touch with all of the customers it served.

Rick had just gone for his third interview a few days ago and was told that he was one of the three finalists who would be chosen for the district managers job. The end of the week came and Rick was summoned to Mr. Saverno’s private office on the third floor of the original first store of the supermarket chain.  Rick spent almost 90 minutes talking to Mr. Saverno. Maria, knowing that Rick had been in Saverno’s office for that long, felt assured that he got the job and would come out of Saverno’s office with a big smile to make the announcement of his new position.

Part 2: What’s Coming Next?

To my ultimate surprise and dismay, Rick emerged from Saverno’s office looking quite grim and asked to speak to Maria for a second. He did not go into any detail but told Maria he wasn’t feeling well and was going home. He asked Maria to have her assistant take over for the rest of her shift and to manage the entire store for the rest of the day. He stated he would be back in the morning pending a visit to his doctor.

Maria said, “Okay.” Rick was gone like a flash. Maria did not know what to do and immediately got on the phone with her assistant and asked her to cover for her shift while she managed the store for the rest of the day.

As soon as Maria hung up the phone, a message came over on the loudspeaker for her to report immediately to Mr. Saverno’s office. Maria began to tremble, and her hands began to shake uncontrollably as she did not know what to expect and in her worst fears thought she might be let go. Although her thoughts did not appear to be rational, in the past two hours nothing seemed to make sense to her. She was totally hopeless and her lips quivered as she marched up the stairs to Saverno’s office. Maria had never been in his office before nor only communicated with him with an occasional “hi” and a smile.  All communication with him was handled through Rick.

Mr. Saverno was always dressed to the “nines” wearing, most times, a dark navy blue or black suit and a brilliantly white shirt with a polka-dot blue tie. He had diamond cufflinks laced with gold trim and a diamond stickpin going through his tie.

When Maria entered his office, he greeted her with a warm handshake, one hand over the other and asked Maria to please sit down.

Part 3: What Comes Next? (The Dialogue Between Mr. Saverno and Maria)

Mr. Saverno: “Maria, do you know why I called you into my office today?”

Maria: “I have no idea, Mr. Saverno. I’m very scared for my job right now but I know I did nothing wrong. I have been a very loyal employee for all the years I’ve worked here starting off as a cashier when I was only 16 years old and…”

Mr Saverno: as he put his hand up Mr. Saverno stated, “I am not calling you here Maria to attack your integrity and loyalty to this organization. I am calling you here because there is a call to duty on your part. If you should accept it.”

Maria: “Mr. Saverno, my heart is beating out of my chest. I feel faint and I think I might pass out. Please, please tell me what is going on. I can’t take the suspense or the anxiety much longer.”

Mr. Saverno: “Maria, I have been watching Rick for months now. In fact, for years. He appeared to be the most qualified individual to fill the job of district manager. I had no reason to doubt his abilities to run this district any differently than he ran the store for the past several years.”

Maria: “So why wasn’t he offered the job, Mr. Saverno?”

Mr. Saverno: “Three months ago, Rick went for a routine physical examination. His blood test revealed that there was something going on in his body that was affecting his ability to think straight, focus on his tasks and do his job. He got the results three days ago and it was confirmed that he has leukemia.”  

Maria: “Mr. Saverno, I am speechless. I don’t know what to say or what to do. I feel so badly for Rick and I don’t want him to die.” At this point Maria began to sob bitterly as Mr. Saverno handed her a bunch of tissue from his desk drawer.

Mr. Saverno: “Maria, we can only hope and pray for his medical attention and hopefully remission from this disease. However, because of his affliction, he can no longer do the job he was hired to do.”  

Maria: “What will you do now Mr. Saverno?”

Mr. Saverno,” Maria, I have been watching you for the past several years and I know your potential in what you are able to do both, under pressure and routinely. I do not want to start another interview process for the district manager. I want you to go home tonight and to think long and hard about what I am about to say to you. You don’t have to accept it and you can continue to go back to your job as third-shift supervisor, no questions asked…. your job is safe here.”

Maria: As Maria continued to tremble, she was slowly coming back to her instincts and gained her composure. “Okay, Mr. Saverno what do you want to ask me?”

Mr. Saverno: “This is more like the Maria I know and this is why I am going to ask you if you would like the job as the district manager covering Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island of my supermarket food chain?” Maria gasped and didn’t know what to say but remained composed.

Maria: “Can I think about it, Mr. Saverno?”

Mr. Saverno: “You will get all the training that you need and a hefty salary increase and bonus incentive. You’ll also be able to pick your own staff and the most talented people on your team will join you in this endeavor.” Maria listened attentively. “I am not going to offer you Rick’s job, as I already have someone else in mind for that position. I am giving you a double promotion. You have two days to make a decision and come back to me. It is your choice.”

Maria: “Okay, Mr. Saverno. I understand. I will have my decision for you in two days.”

Case Reflection

Based on the case study above, what do you think Maria’s decision will be and why?

Comment below!