Chapter 5 - Rewriting the Script

Teddy Walsh leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing at the email that had just appeared in his inbox. The subject line told him everything he needed to know: "New Intern: Maya Harper – Shadowing Rotation." His groan was audible. The last thing he needed was to play babysitter to some fresh-faced MBA graduate who’d barely stepped out of a classroom. Worse, it was happening during the busiest quarter of the year - right when the competition between technical sales reps was heating up. There was no way he had time to handhold someone through technical architecture while fighting for his bonus.

He clicked the email open with resignation. It was from Elena Rios, VP of Customer Service.

“Teddy,” the email began, “Maya Harper will be shadowing you next week. Please make sure she gets an overview of our technical architecture and understands how we integrate with client systems. It’s important for her development, and I trust you to give her the best possible start.”

Teddy’s jaw clenched. "Best possible start?" What about his performance? What about his bonus? The system at GreenStream had always been clear: hit your numbers, secure your bonus. There was no mention of mentoring interns in that equation. And now, with Maya on his plate, all he could see was lost time - time that would have been better spent refining pitches, closing deals, and keeping his name at the top of the leaderboard.

He made his decision before the email even finished loading: he wouldn’t put much effort into this. Maya would have to fend for herself.

The following week, Maya Harper walked into the office with her usual mix of nerves and excitement. She’d heard a lot about Teddy Walsh - everyone talked about him like he was some kind of technical wizard. But she’d also heard whispers about his attitude. The word difficult had been tossed around more than once. Still, she was determined. This was her chance to learn, to get a deeper understanding of the technical side of GreenStream’s operations. She wasn’t going to let a tough mentor intimidate her.

“Teddy?” she said brightly as she approached his desk. “I’m Maya. I’ll be shadowing you for the next few days.”

Teddy barely looked up from his laptop, his hands still flying over the keys. “Right. You can sit over there,” he said, pointing to an empty chair across the room without bothering to shake her hand. “I’m in the middle of something.”

The first hour dragged painfully. Teddy spoke rapidly, throwing out technical jargon without pausing to explain. API integration, cloud migration strategies, middleware systems—the terms flew at Maya like bullets, and she struggled to keep up. Every time she tried to ask a question, he shot her down with short, dismissive answers.

By mid-morning, it was clear: Teddy wasn’t going to make this easy.

“You’re here to observe, not ask questions every five minutes,” Teddy snapped when she asked for clarification on their architecture design. “This isn’t school anymore. Keep up, or don’t. I’ve got too much on my plate.”

Maya bristled but held her tongue. She wasn’t here to win Teddy over, she was here to learn. But if he wasn’t going to help, she’d have to find her own way through. She jotted notes as quickly as she could, determined to figure things out on her own if necessary.

That evening, Teddy fired off an email to Stan Rorschach, Head of Customer Success, venting about the intern and how she was slowing him down. The message quickly made its way to the CEO, Max Green, who read it with a growing sense of unease. Something about Teddy’s frustration struck a chord.

Max had always believed in fostering growth and development at GreenStream. But the reality was stark: their incentive structure was working against that belief. Technical consultants like Teddy were rewarded based on individual performance - sales, client deals, efficiency metrics. Mentorship? Collaboration? Those didn’t fit into the system. And now that system was starting to show cracks.

Teddy wasn’t the problem, Max realised. The system was. By incentivising competition and individual results, they’d created a culture where people like Teddy felt threatened by new talent instead of nurturing it.

Max leaned back in his office chair the next day, going over the quarterly reports. The sales numbers were decent, but something felt off. As he scanned through feedback from various teams, he noticed a consistent theme - competition was stifling collaboration. GreenStream was growing, but at the cost of internal cohesion. Teams weren’t working together; they were competing against each other. The high performers, like Teddy, saw interns and newcomers not as potential colleagues but as threats.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. It was Elena, the VP of Customer Service.

“Got a minute?” she asked, stepping in.

“Sure,” Max said, motioning for her to sit. “I’ve been thinking about the feedback we’ve been getting lately. There’s a disconnect between our values and how we’re incentivising people.”

Elena raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess - too much competition, not enough collaboration?”

Max nodded. “Exactly. I keep hearing stories like Teddy’s. People are so focused on hitting their numbers that they aren’t mentoring or sharing knowledge. We’ve built this hyper-competitive environment, but it’s starting to backfire.” Max paused and took a deep breath “I think we need to rethink how we’re measuring success. It’s not just about individual performance anymore. We need to reward people for helping each other grow.”

Elena nodded. “I agree. But how do we shift the culture? It’s been this way for so long.”

“I think it starts with how we incentivise,” Max said. “If employees are not helping one another, they don’t get the full reward. After all, we are all in the same boat”

Elena smiled slightly. “You’re right, I guess a big change will be coming up.”

Two weeks later, Max stood in front of the assembled teams in the main conference room. It was an all-hands meeting, and the employees, especially the technical sales reps like Teddy, were buzzing with curiosity.

“Thanks for joining, everyone,” Max began, his voice carrying easily across the room. “We’re growing fast, and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished. But as we grow, we need to make sure we’re not leaving anyone behind. Lately, I’ve been hearing some concerns about our culture.”

Teddy, standing near the back, folded his arms, curious where this was going.

“We’ve built an incredible team of high performers,” Max continued, “but the competitive environment we’ve fostered is holding us back in some ways. People are focused on their individual numbers, and we’re losing the collaboration that makes GreenStream great. So, we’re making a change.”

Murmurs rippled through the room.

“Starting next quarter, we’re changing how bonuses and performance evaluations work,” Max announced. “Yes, individual performance still matters. But from now on, a portion of your bonus will be tied to team success. And we’ll be rewarding mentorship. If you’re helping others succeed, you’ll see the benefits. This change is about building a culture where we grow together.”

In the weeks that followed, the atmosphere in the office began to shift. The competitive edge softened as team members started to collaborate more. People were sharing their knowledge openly, working together on demos and projects instead of siloing themselves off.

One afternoon, Teddy found himself in the break room with Maya, grabbing a coffee.

“You know,” he began, his tone more relaxed than she’d ever heard, “this whole team bonus thing - it might actually be a good move.”

Maya looked at him, a little surprised. “Really?”

“Yeah,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee. “I’ve been thinking about it. If we help each other, we all win. Maybe I was too focused on my own numbers before.”

Maya smiled. “Well, I’m here to learn. I’d love to be able to contribute more.”

Teddy nodded, the tension between them easing. “Tell you what, next week’s demo, you’re running the intro. I’ll handle the technical part, but you set the stage. We’ll work on it together.”

Maya beamed. “I’d love that.”

The shift in GreenStream’s culture wasn’t just about a change in incentives, it was about a change in mindset. As people started to collaborate, they realised that helping each other didn’t just make their teams stronger - it made the company stronger. Teddy, once fiercely independent, began to see the value in bringing others along with him. And as Maya’s confidence grew, she started to show her potential in ways Teddy hadn’t expected.

The lesson was clear: growth wasn’t about individual success. It was about cultivating the people around you, helping them thrive, and in turn, watching the company grow as a result. For GreenStream, it was the beginning of a new chapter - one built on collaboration, not competition.