Tannis is also having a hard time gaining acceptance of the people she is will be working within Switzerland
The biggest challenge, Tannis faces during transition is filling the shoes of the indomitable Antonio Vella. Tannis is also wondering if she will be able to live up to everyone’s expectations of her as the new leader. Tannis is also having a hard time gaining acceptance of the people she is will be working within Switzerland.
The real challenge is being able to influence the change needed in the company. The other challenges involve perceptions and stereotypes; for instance, in the meeting at Brussels, no one perceives Tannis as the replacement for Antonio Vella, that is why they request her to get coffee for everyone. Everyone expects the new replacement to be a man.
The reason why Tannis will be able to achieve the necessary changes is that she has been transitioning her whole life. She is not new to adapting to the new environment. Firstly she was a child of mixed heritage who has through the child care system and grew up in an Asian household. These are factors that have helped her to effectively adapt whenever there is a need.
I would have been surprised but not shocked by van het Hof’s opening salvo, surprised because though I was expecting such questions, I did not expect them to be so blunt. However, I would not have been shocked because that would be a question on every employee’s mind for a new replacement.
Tannis prepared by learning about the culture and traditions of the people she will be working with; also, she made a point of researching the people she will be relating with at her work. Tannis would have prepared more on how to convince the people in the new company that she was not here to Americanize them as they thought. She should have made her intentions known outright to avoid confusion and apprehension.
One of the challenges Tannis faces is convincing everyone that she is not going to compromise their European values. Additionally, everyone is reluctant to accept her as their new leader; for some, it is because she is a woman and for others because she is not a European.
The real challenge is to exercise her authority as the woman leader. Female leaders are not widely accepted in such positions hence the challenge. Another problem stemming from perception is the fact that the males in the company may find her unable to juggle work and family. She will also face stereotypes that men are more capable than women.
During her fourth year in the company, she got an assignment task to re-haul a business process, and she was able to succeed. She also can work and deliver in high-stress and high-profile situations (Blanchard, 2013). Therefore, she will be able to bring a transition to the new company successfully.
My reaction after van het Hof’s opening salvo would have been that of apprehension. The salvo was not a friend invite and shows that no one expects her to do well like Antonio Vella. Tannis prepared by researching on employees and the company. She could have prepared more by studying Antonio Vella and his work strategies and his relations to everyone in the company. It would have been easy to convince people she understands where they are coming from, and that change is inevitable.