Becky DeStigter of The International Entrepreneur interviewed me about the challenges of running successful global businesses and the global leadership issues critical to successful outcomes. If we think domestic business issues of competition, growth, profitability, and sustainability are daunting, those issues magnify exponentially when we move outside our geographic operating core.
In preparation for this interview, I reflected on the international growth experiences I have observed over the years, both successful and unsuccessful. Too often, even successful experiences resulted from luck rather than method, and we could fool ourselves into thinking that international business was easy. In a global theater, we could usually deny our mistakes under the guise of, “This local business just doesn’t have what it takes to be successful.” Sometimes, we closed businesses and moved to other locations or allowed marginal business results to decline.
In today’s highly competitive global marketplace, we no longer have the luxury of making mistakes – the consequences are too high. We must approach global business issues with the highest business acumen, deliberate planning, and exceptional execution. To be successful in international business – there is no other choice.
With this backdrop, I organized my thoughts for the following interview.
Q1: What are the biggest mistakes you see companies making regarding global talent management?
Over the decades, the same obvious mistake continues to happen. We don’t consider the cultural nuances of the international business culture in which we are either doing business or with. From an American perspective, we think other cultures will naturally adapt to our American business culture, and we stumble every time. We must understand and then acknowledge the differences, teach them, and incorporate them into the business operating style, mentality, and practice of every person responsible for interacting globally. If employees can’t make that leap – they should not be allowed to play on the global playing field.
Q2: What traits do you look for in a successful global corporate leader?
I look for a global citizen with global business acumen, cultural business acumen, and the ability to adapt leadership styles and practices to local cultural needs. If an organization is committed to global growth, it needs to develop a bench of global leaders before a specific need arises. A crash course in working globally doesn’t necessarily create the proper multidimensional global/cultural mindset that a true global leader needs. The worst scenario occurs when an organization has a global post that must be assigned. The leader assigned is a home office SME but has never worked internationally. This person is ‘immersed’ in everything local in the two weeks before being reassigned, and we consider that person ‘fit for purpose.’ Consider that an emergency measure – not a long-term global strategy.
Q3: How important is cultural competency in international business hiring/promotion decisions?
Cultural competency is a fundamental strategic and operating skill. If that skill is missing, the strategic business impact can be damaging and derailing. I have seen instances where a lack of cultural competency sidelined an organization’s growth for five years. Can we afford those types of mistakes in a highly competitive global marketplace? I don’t think so!
Q4: What advice can you give a growing company about hiring locals for positions in foreign subsidiaries?
If you can find local talent who can understand your organization’s goals, hiring locally is best. However, you must bring that person into your central operating hub so the local hire can learn about your organization first and understand your operating culture. I have seen examples of when the local person is hired and left to figure things out. That usually does not end well.
If you cannot immediately find local talent, you must send a non-local employee to start the process but immediately construct a plan to find and develop local talent. Be sure that the non-local employee has the ability to work in a local and global environment.
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