Running a Global Organization: A View from APAC

Is it okay if I start this week’s post mentioning how fantastic it is to be a grandfather for the first time? Yes, I realize it happened 17 months ago, but I am reminded how wonderful it is every time I have the opportunity to spend time with Harrison, as well as Suzie and Casey!

Included in this week’s post is one of my recent Forbes articles based on my experiences while teaching in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

The article summarizes perspectives on:

• Giving Feedback Across Countries, Cultures and Language
• Soliciting Feedback When Colleagues are Reluctant to Speak Up
• Assigning Leaders to New Areas
• Managing Change, Controversy, Crisis

Here is the link to the article, and the full Forbes article is copy/pasted below.

Also, as I mentioned last week, while participating in the Kellogg India program in New Delhi, I had the opportunity to visit several historical sites. One of the sites that definitely caused me to self reflect was visiting the location where Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. We all know and have read what a remarkable values-based leader he was. However, in the crazy, polarized world in which we currently live, the need for leaders like Gandhi is more urgent than ever. Here are a few pictures I took at the site and some of his writings shortly before his death.

Running A Global Organization: A View From APAC

This post originally appeared on Forbes here.

From a rise in nationalism to tariff policies that threaten trade wars, running a global organization has never been more challenging. And yet, it is a reality for leaders around the world who need to understand themselves, their own culture and practices, and the many countries where their teams live and work.

This was the backdrop as I recently spent more than a week in Asia, teaching for the tenth consecutive year in the joint Executive MBA program of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Executives from China, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Russia came together for my class on “Leading a Global Organization.”

First of all, there is the sheer size of this region. Asia spans about 5,300 miles in length and 6,000 miles in width, accounting for nearly a quarter of the world’s land mass. With 36 countries in the region, there is an incredible range of cultures, languages, histories, and economies. Given that diversity from one country to the next, it was no surprise to encounter fascinating differences in leadership and management styles among the executive MBA students (such as in giving and receiving feedback, as we’ll discuss).

Importantly, there were also telling similarities—not only among this cohort, but also with the students I teach in the U.S., South America, and Europe. The biggest commonality is wanting to learn more about my four principles of values-based leadership.

No matter where in the world I’m teaching, my first principle of self-reflection is always the cornerstone to gain deeper insight into our values, priorities and goals, and areas for improvement. In fact, many of the APAC executives in my class were familiar with this concept, and several of them told me they were already engaged in self-reflection, personally, with their families, and sometimes with their teams. This recalled an experience I had as chair and CEO of Baxter International and visited Japan frequently. I was taken to a rock garden where people meditated and joined in the practice that was very similar to my own daily reflection, as well as the silent retreats I attend each year.

With self-reflection as our foundation and common ground, we moved on to my second principle of values-based leadership: a balanced perspective. Rather than make judgments or jump to conclusions, we feel compelled to understand the opinions and concerns of others. For example, executives from China, Japan, Korea and other areas in the region facing new tariffs being imposed by the U.S., did not lash out in our class discussions about these policies. Rather, they genuinely expressed an interest in understanding the current thinking in Washington as part of their own balanced perspective on trade issues.

The third principle of true self-confidence (knowing what you know and admitting what you don’t) and the fourth principle of genuine humility (treating everyone with respect) resonated with the APAC executives in the class. They seemed comfortable with the fact that no one has all the answers; we all must rely on our teams, particularly those who are closest to the customer. With respectful curiosity, they exhibited a deep desire to learn more about their counterparts within the APAC region and across the world.

Drawing on each of these principles of values-based leadership, we engaged in “question-and-opinion” sessions (as I always tell students, I have opinions—not answers). Our discussions revealed insights that may be helpful to leaders everywhere.

Giving Feedback Across Countries, Cultures And Languages
Many of the APAC MBA students wanted advice on how to be more effective in giving feedback to teammates who live in different countries, speak different languages, and follow varied cultural practices that influence their attitudes toward both positive and negative feedback. As the students and I discussed, we must take the time to relate to people before we try to lead them—and that’s especially true when there are cultural differences. For example, given the person’s culture, would a direct or indirect approach to feedback be more effective? Would a particular teammate feel more comfortable receiving feedback face-to-face (whether in person or by video) or in written form? There is no right or wrong approach; rather, it depends on how the leader can best relate to and influence people in each country and culture.

Soliciting Feedback When Colleagues Are Reluctant To Speak Up
This can be very challenging in cultures in which it is considered disrespectful to raise a question with one’s boss—let alone to tell the leader that something isn’t working. I dealt with this issue frequently at Baxter, as an American CEO visiting my team in Asia. In one-on-one conversations, I explained first what I needed and why—that their thoughts, observations, ideas, and feedback would be a true gift to me. I then told them they would be rewarded for giving me helpful feedback that enabled us all to do our jobs better. As team members observed colleagues being rewarded, they realized that my request was not just talk. Feedback was not only expected but also required.

Assigning Leaders To New Areas
Consider this scenario: Someone with strong leadership potential in one country is identified as being a great candidate to take a leadership role in a different country. But here’s the challenge. What helps make someone successful in a business environment such as Australia, which is known for being more relaxed, may not be transferable in a more reserved environment such as South Korea or Taiwan. But leadership potential—the ability to relate to and influence others—can successfully cross boundaries and borders. An approach I have found helpful is to provide immersive training for the new leader, such as a course or coaching on the culture, history, values, and norms of a particular country, to increase their cultural dexterity. In addition, when the leader is brought into a new country, instead of immediately becoming general manager or country director, they spend time in an advisory role, for example as special assistant to the general manager. Then, when the existing general manager is promoted into another role and the new leader takes over, there is a foundation of knowledge as well as rapport.

Managing Change, Controversy, Crisis
It’s a question I encounter wherever I teach: how to deal with so much change, not only within one country but among many countries. APAC executives in my class who lead teams across multiple countries told me the only constant they have is change, from establishing manufacturing operations to reacting to trade policies. From time to time, I advised them, change will escalate into controversy and even crisis. As I saw in my own career running a $12 billion global health care company, the bigger the organization, the more likely a crisis was going to occur at some point. Long before a controversy arose or a crisis erupted, my team and I agreed ahead of time on two key responses. First, we would do the right thing; second, we would do the best we could in the time we had. It is the only way I know to consistently face change, manage controversy, and lead in a crisis, while minimizing worry, fear, anxiety, pressure, and stress—for yourself and your team.

For leaders around the world, running global organizations today is an ever-increasing challenge. By turning inward first with self-reflection, they can better prepare themselves to direct their efforts outward in support of a global team—with consistency and cultural dexterity.

You can read more of my Forbes articles here.