To move toward her goal, Cheryl Hailstrom, a newly appointed CEO of Lakeland Wonders, can implement a two-part plan. The first objective involves changing her style of leading others to gain favor with managers. The second part of the plan focuses on negotiation and persuasion.
The first step related to Cheryl’s leadership style will require her to engage in self-reflection and correct her communication mistakes. Her current style may be perceived as autocratic and aggressive, which leads to employee resistance. Cheryl should get rid of the habit of attracting too much attention to her individual opinions since it may contribute to personal animosity and affect team coherence and decision-making speed. Next, instead of attempts to prevent managers from speaking at meetings, she needs to introduce the elements of the democratic style, such as information sharing, active listening skills, and an atmosphere of mutual respect (McNulty, 2002). Such changes can help to reduce tension between Cheryl and her co-workers, thus creating a healthier climate for negotiation.
Next, Cheryl should implement a negotiation strategy to further justify her vision. Mark has concerns about the speed of Cheryl’s outsourcing plans and does not recognize the benefits of her proposal (McNulty, 2002).
Considering that, she needs to conduct research and prepare a clearer proposal that uses data to predict profit growth resulting from outsourcing activities and proves that Lakeland Wonders will not suffer brand identity and reputational losses because of changes in manufacturing locations. Given her managers’ current position, she should be ready to make small concessions, adjust her proposal to their concerns, and make suggestions that will be beneficial for the company and for them personally. For instance, Cheryl can offer Mark to oversee and inspect overseas manufacturing processes to set a high benchmark and retain the current quality level. The opportunity to expand his scope and participate in innovation might change his perspective.
In summary, it can be challenging for Cheryl to proceed with her initial vision. To achieve this goal, she is recommended to adopt a new leadership style and engage in negotiations. Making her argumentation more thorough and considering other managers’ perspectives and concerns are also critical to success.
Reference
McNulty, E. (2002). Welcome aboard (but don’t change a thing). Harvard Business Review, 1-5.