Skills of a globally dexterous leader David Landers General Manager, East Asian Growth Markets AIMWA, Perth 31 st October 2013
Topics • Austrade’s value • The globally dexterous leader • Comparing different societies to Australia • Leading in different cultural settings • Business ethics and culture Australia Unlimited
Who we are •80 offices in 48 countries, with 44 of those offices in 15 markets in Asia. •An ‘inverted pyramid’ – more than 60 per cent of our 1,000 people are offshore, and 60 per cent of those are in Asia. •More than 400 of our staff have one or more Asian languages. •Of the people we send overseas, and our executive officers, two-thirds have experience working in the private sector •Work at the ‘market & firm-specific’ level, not the lead on trade policy & negotiation Australia Unlimited
Where we are Australia Unlimited
What we do Our role is to advance Australia’s international trade, investment and education interests. Specifically, we: •Assist Australian companies to grow business in international markets , including through administration of the Export Market Development Grants scheme and the TradeStart program. •Provide coordinated government assistance to attract productive foreign direct investment (FDI) into Australia. • Promote the Australian education sector in international markets and assist Australian education providers with market information and services. •Provide advice to the Australian Government on its trade and investment policy agenda. •Deliver Australian consular, passport and other government services in 16 designated overseas locations. •Manage the building Brand Australia program to enhance awareness of contemporary Australian skills and capability, and to enrich Australia’s global reputation. Australia Unlimited
Our great strength -- sustained on-the-ground presence in offshore markets • We identify opportunities in market • We can interpret the business climate and local commercial practice, and provide language support as well • We can brief you in-depth on the market and the companies involved • We can refer you to potential customers in market • We can develop a visit/contact program for you • We can set up, and direct you to your appointments • We can provide ongoing in market assistance to assist in establishing your business presence. Australia Unlimited
The globally dexterous leader
Why? “You have to know how to motivate people who speak different languages, who have different cultural contexts, who have different sensitivities and habits. You have to get prepared to deal with teams who are multicultural, to work with people who do not all think the same way you do.” - Carlos Ghosn Australia Unlimited
The globally dexterous leader – Carlos Ghosn Australia Unlimited Image sources: Mercopress, Wikipedia, ahchen.wordpress.com
Competencies of a culturally dexterous leader according to Ghosn • Thirst for learning • Sense of humbleness (arrogance is the antithesis of cultural dexterity) • ‘Common’ sense (building a shared basis for understanding as in ‘common ground) Australia Unlimited
So what is culture? A definition of culture: “The learned beliefs, values, rules, norms, symbols, and traditions that are common to a group of people.” Australia Unlimited
How Germans and Chinese perceive each other Australia Unlimited Source: Yang Liu (2007), Oft trifft West ( East meets West)
Ideal of beauty Australia Unlimited Source: Yang Liu (2007), Oft trifft West ( East meets West)
“The Boss” Australia Unlimited Source: Yang Liu (2007), Oft trifft West ( East meets West)
Problem solving approach Australia Unlimited Source: Yang Liu (2007), Oft trifft West ( East meets West)
Australia Unlimited
Connections and contacts Australia Unlimited Source: Yang Liu (2007), Oft trifft West ( East meets West)
Complexity of self expression Australia Unlimited Source: Yang Liu (2007), Oft trifft West ( East meets West)
At a party Australia Unlimited Source: Yang Liu (2007), Oft trifft West ( East meets West)
Comparing different societies to Australia
How to measure culture? • Work started by Hofstede’s global study of IBM in the 70’s • Continued and modernised by the GLOBE study – 17,300 middle managers interviewed – 951 organizations worldwide – 62 cultures – Focused on leadership, not just culture • Why is it useful? – Objective comparisons – Adapt strategy Australia Unlimited
GLOBE’s cultural measures of society Performance orientation Uncertainty avoidance Humane orientation Institutional collectivism In-Group collectivism Assertiveness Gender egalitarianism Future orientation Power distance Australia Unlimited
Society: Power distance The degree to which members of a collective expect power to be distributed equally. Normative statement: Followers are (should be) expected to obey their leaders without question. Morocco Netherlands Nigeria Denmark TOP THREE: BOTTOM THREE: El Salvador Czech Republic Australia Unlimited
Society: Institutional collectivism The degree to which organizational and societal institutional practices encourage and reward collective distribution of resources and collective action Normative statement: Leaders encourage (should encourage) group loyalty even if individual goals suffer. Sweden Hungary South Korea Greece TOP THREE: BOTTOM THREE: Japan Czech Republic Australia Unlimited
Society: Assertiveness The degree to which individuals are assertive, dominant & demanding in their relationships with others. Normative statement: People are (should be) generally dominant . Albania Sweden Nigeria New Zealand TOP THREE: BOTTOM THREE: Hungary Switzerland Australia Unlimited
Society: Future orientation The extent to which a collective encourages future- oriented behaviors such as delaying gratification, planning & investing in the future. Normative statement: More people live (should live) for the present than for the future. Singapore Poland Switzerland Argentina TOP THREE: BOTTOM THREE: Netherlands Russia Australia Unlimited
Example: What is remarkable about this picture? This picture generated 40,000 reposts and thousands of comments on Sina Weibo. Why? " This is something unbelievable in China," said Tang, a Chinese-American citizen. "Even for low-ranking officials, we don't do things for ourselves. Someone goes to buy the coffee for them. Someone carries their bags for them .“ Q: What does this say about the differences between US and Chinese culture? American Ambassador to China Gary Locke, ordering coffee in Seattle Airport. Australia Unlimited Source: ChinaSmack.com
Leading in different cultural settings
“The Jack Welch of the future cannot be like me. I spent my entire career in the United States. The next head of General Electric will be somebody who spent time in Bombay, in Hong Kong, in Buenos Aires.” - Jack Welch Australia Unlimited
Question? How would you describe a good Australian leader? Australia Unlimited
Do different cultures really prefer different leaders? Able to anticipate Effective bargainer Intra-group conflict Ruler avoider Administratively Egocentric Ruthless Intuitive skilled Elitist Self-effacing Irritable Ambitious Encouraging Self-sacrificial Just Sensitive Asocial Enthusiastic Logical Sincere Autonomous Evasive Loner Status-conscious Cautious Excellence oriented Micro-manager Subdued Class conscious Foresight Motivational Trustworthy Communicative Formal Motive arouser Team builder Compassionate Habitual Noncooperative Unique Confidence builder Honest Nonexplicit Willful Coordinator Independent Orderly Win-win problem Cunning Indirect Plans ahead solver Decisive Individualistic Positive Worldly Informed Dependable Procedural Dictatorial Intelligent Provocateur Domineering Intra-group Risk taker Dynamic competitor Australia Unlimited
Example: Leadership styles and cultural differences Second lowest world rank for Third highest rank for modesty among leaders institutional collectivism in society Australia Unlimited Image sources: CNN/Getty.
The globally dexterous leader – Carlos Ghosn Australia Unlimited Image sources: Mercopress, Wikipedia, ahchen.wordpress.com
What the study says about Australian leaders Australia Unlimited
Australia vs Qatar Most important leadership attributes to Qataris Human orientation Inspirational Team integrator Least important leadership attributes to Qataris Autocratic Self centred Malevolent Australia Qatar Australia Unlimited
Australia vs India Most important leadership attributes to Indians Visionary Team integrator Administratively competent Least important leadership attributes to Indians Autocratic Self centred Malevolent Australia India Australia Unlimited
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