Shortly after Newbridge’s promotion, Lester Zapf appeared in the lab inquiring about details about the project. Newbridge was both impressed and uncomfortable with Zapf’s level of knowledge. The next morning Newbridge went to speak with Dr. Goh and asked about Zapf. He learned that Zapf was being hired on and would be working with him on the project. Despite mixed feelings, Newbridge’s response to Goh was that they would be glad to have Zapf on the team. The mixed feelings continued once Zapf started working in the lab.
When Newbridge arrived home, he told his wife he was concerned that Zapf felt the need to “make like a genius twice a day” and was concerned it would affect the group. Zapf called at 2 a.m. to tell Newbridge about the patterning problems he had discovered while reviewing the reports he took home and how he had developed a new approach. The next morning the usual group meeting was called off so that Zapf, Link, and Newbridge could discuss Zapf’s findings. Newbridge was nervous about the findings because his work was something in which he took pride in and he was concerned that his methods were going to be shown as unsound.
The next group meeting, Newbridge brought up a problem that the group had gone over extensively. The other group members stated they felt they have addressed the problem thoroughly and there was not a solution within their capabilities. Zapf saw this as a challenge and wanted to know all about the problem and why it was it was no longer being addressed. After some discussion, Zapf disagreed with the group consensus that this problem could not be solved and presented his reasons why he held this belief. Newbridge was both impressed with the way Zapf pulled together his thoughts to present his solution to the group, but also annoyed when Zapf criticized group thinking and team ideas. Newbridge could also tell the other members of the group were uncomfortable with his statements. Zapf stated he felt he could solve the problem on his own. Newbridge said the meetings would continue because the whole reason this problem was getting readdressed was that it was brought up at the meeting and he felt that they helped the weaker members of the