Building a Strong Team in Japan: My Early Lessons as a General Manager
Starting a new leadership role is always a challenge — but stepping into it without a break between jobs adds a whole new layer of complexity.
At the end of March 2025, I left my previous company and moved directly into my new role in the medical device industry. To prepare, I took a few days off from my former position to join the new company informally for a short handover. The previous head of the Japanese subsidiary, who was also the VP for APAC, had decided to resign at the end of March. His departure meant that my onboarding began in the middle of a critical leadership transition.
Those three intense days before officially joining were dedicated to:
- Meeting the core team
- Meeting key external stakeholders such as our law office, regulatory partners, and accounting partners
- Assessing the true situation of the subsidiary
I was told early in the recruitment process that I would be entering a chaotic environment. When asked if I was interested, I simply said, “I love it.” It was a conscious decision — so there was no room for complaints.
Once I officially joined in April, I organized one-on-one meetings with every team member, asking them to travel to our Tokyo headquarters from across Japan. I’m not naturally good at remembering names or faces, so I prepared a small Moleskine notebook with photos from the organization chart. During each meeting, I wrote notes about their comments, hobbies, and motivations. This helped me better understand their backgrounds and what drives them.
Those conversations were invaluable. They provided the foundation for building trust and aligning goals — essential steps before the real test of team building, which would come just a few months later.
