It is now more difficult for U.S. organizations to succeed in the global marketplace than at any time since the push for globalization began. The number of employees with the skills and competencies to help their organizations work successfully with their international subsidiaries, global suppliers, and global customers is at an all-time low. And the pipeline for global talent is quickly running dry while training for success in this field is being left to artificial intelligence (AI) with all its inherent biases and inaccuracies.
To address this need, I interviewed Gabor Holch, the founder of China-based East-West Leadership (www.eastwestleadership.com).
Q: Why is the lack of global leaders in a near crisis mode?
GABOR HOLCH: We are facing a confusing dynamic in the world today. After decades of globalization, barriers between political and cultural blocks are re-emerging. But most corporate decision-makers know that career-changing opportunities come from global networks, not from home markets. Intercultural skills help managers maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of following global opportunities. Most managers at medium to large firms today either work across countries already or are one promotion away from managing projects and people across cultures.
Q: What do participants gain from taking part in a program such as your East-West Leadership Workshops?
HOLCH: The programs open the participants’ eyes to cultural hurdles, nuances, and best practices in tasks as simple as drafting an e-mail or hosting a video call, or as complex as implementing strategies or managing mergers between distant locations.
Q: What prompted you to design this workshop?
HOLCH: I have found that CEOs of top firms increasingly come from culturally diverse backgrounds, and they must lead an increasingly diverse workforce. While researching my book, “Dragon Suit,” I interviewed executives who were technically prepared, but their lack of cultural agility slowed them down. Negotiation and people management are obvious examples, but as I learned from Western and Asian executive clients over two decades, even accounting or performance management practices vary across East and West. Ambitious managers do themselves a favor if they prepare for such challenges as early as possible.
Q: What are some danger zones that talent and leadership development professionals must watch out for when offering or retaining a trainer for a cross-cultural leadership program?
HOLCH: Too often, intercultural programs call attention to differences but fail to help people bridge them for constructive cooperation. Such training can make things worse than not training at all. Another, equally damaging, approach is training based on superficial cultural stereotypes without proper attention to subcultures in each nation, mixed with professional, corporate, generational, and other cultural norms. For this reason, we never deliver the same workshop twice. Instead, we customize for specific cultural challenges participants face at the time of training.
Q: What critical factors should a talent and leadership development leader look for in such a program for their organization?
HOLCH: Every workshop requires intimate and intensive interaction between team and facilitator, but intercultural topics can cut deep. Training managers must engage facilitators with first-hand cultural experience in the given geographic and professional field, otherwise the trainer’s self-confidence might not match challenges from participants. The team also must be prepared. The pandemic and virtual technology spread intercultural exposure from senior managers to all organizational levels, but not everyone is aware that some of their challenges are cultural.
Q: Can most trainers deliver these programs by using an “off-the-shelf” program?
HOLCH: These courses require a unique blend of extensive intercultural experience, grounding in intercultural relations, empathy, and a highly interactive training style, especially in storytelling. We do not deliver off-the-shelf programs. Ideally, customized programs take four to six months from assessment to final delivery. First comes an orientation meeting with executives who help place the program into the context of their current vision and challenges. Next is an intercultural behavioral assessment and surveys with participants. By the start of the workshop, we know each participant. Workshops can be supported with follow-up Webinars and, if needed, coaching key superiors and HR managers so they can help skills trickle down in the organization.
Q: What qualifications should a facilitator have to lead a global leadership workshop?
HOLCH: Personal intercultural experience is crucial. All my team members speak multiple languages and have lived in several countries. I started living abroad as an expat kid at age 4 and count myself as one of the few Western consultants certified as a management consultant in Mandarin Chinese.
Q: Is it possible to deliver these programs virtually?
HOLCH: The main difference between personal and virtual delivery is that attention spans are much shorter online. We divide workshops into maximum 2.5-hour Webinars, otherwise participants lose focus. We carefully manage the attention curve within Webinars by alternating awareness-building modules with short learning, and then job-focused practice. We also form self-supporting learning groups for follow-up.
Q: Is executive coaching useful for global leaders?
HOLCH: Yes, coaching is crucial, especially for senior executives who hesitate to share their vulnerabilities, especially in a culturally challenging setting.
Q: Can you provide a recent example where a global company benefitted from this program?
HOLCH: Recently, we delivered Global Leadership for leaders of teams whose responsibilities remain international, but their travel budgets were cut back. Engaging culturally diverse stakeholders online or through sporadic visits is much harder, and political pressure on global business is higher. We help those leaders sharpen their intercultural communication and leadership skills on the impact they need.
If you have any questions, comments, or best practices regarding global leadership development, please send them to: Neal@NealGoodmanGroup.com or gabor@eastwestleadership.com