When Steve Becomes Stephanie:
Let me first write a disclaimer that I'm not an expert and that I did not read the expert opinions after the case. However, this case was probably the oddest one that I've read so far. Not that transsexuality is odd...it was just a very difficult one for me having no background.
First, the question:
How can Henrietta help Steve tranisition in a company where not everybody is on board?
The key players in the case:
- Henrietta: Senior VP of Human Resources at LaSalle Chemical
- Karl Deiner: CEO of LaSalle Chemical
- Steve/Stephanie: Group Sales Director of LaSalle Chemical
- Alex: Co-worker with Steve in the Sales group
Overview of the case:
Steve came into Henrietta's office identifying his upcoming gender transition. This was a completely out of the blue thing as Steve is a married man with kids and considered to be an athletic and attractive guy. He's 38 and considered the goldenboy of the sales group. Henrietta asks Steve if he's going to take a non-client facing role during this process. Steve then jokingly replies, "So I'll just be another lower paid woman in the office?" There was some discomfort, but Henrietta has some due diligence to complete before talking with the CEO.
He outlined his transition timeline and within 6 months the changes will start becoming apparent. A couple of weeks later, Alex and Steve were waiting for a flight home and talking at an airport bar on a Thursday afternoon. Steve mentioned how valuable working with Alex has been to being successful in his new position and wants Alex to know what a great job he's doing. Alex acknowledges the compliment but does not particularly like Steve. Alex is in his late 50s and felt that Steve stole his job after a merger occured with Steve's past company. They caught the flight back and as Alex was catching up on emails he noticed an anonymous manilla envelope on his desk.
Alex was heading on a two-week hiatus as he helps his wife recover after a first round of chemotherapy. So, Alex opens the envelope to see confidential information about Steve's transition timeline. Alex then storms into Henrietta's office to sit down and discuss this issue of what he feels is completely immoral and indecent. He wants to know if Steve will be fired.
At the end of the case we find Henrietta working out how to address the issue to the CEO the next Monday and how to come up with a strategy to create a positive awareness campaign at the organization level.
The question again:
How can Henrietta help Steve transition in a company where not everybody is on board?
Personal thoughts:
Very tricky case. While gender transition is becoming more mainstream...to the extend where transgendered individuals are mistresses on prime time television shows and competing to become America's Next Top Model....I don't think much of corporate America has created a lot of tolernce and education material for employees.
While Steve has every right to transition, there will be some employees that don't believe it to be socially acceptable. As such, his role of being the Director of Sales, a client facing role, may be a tough one to keep while transitioning. Many times sales folks are hired because of their personality and looks. The case made mention of Steve being an attractive and athletic guy. Being in a client facing role I think it could be important for Steve to ask his clients what their opinion is working with someone in his unique situation. If LaSalle Chemical stands to lose clients, then I don't think Henrietta has much of a choice but to offer Steve a healthy exit offer.
Regardless of what the clients say, Henrietta does need to create an awareness training regarding the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community. Essentially, we're all people. Exteriors change based on plastic surgery and other chemicals all the time....but we're still the same on the inside. Steve may start doing his job even better after transitioning into Stephanie as it will be a huge weight off her shoulders.
One thing is absolutely for certain, if an exit offer is extended to Steve of maybe 1-2 years worth of salary, Alex (his older co-worker) should NOT be given the promotion to the Director role. This won't be a one-time occurance in a company...and his acknowledgement of feeling that being transgendered or transsexual is immoral, he is not management material.
Phew...well, those are my thoughts, did anyone else that read the case have an opinion?
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