Regional Leaders – Global outfits

• As the Asian business grows in size, relevance and complexity I see organizations struggling to choose the right profile for the head of the geography position.
• The early days of Asian business development could well afford the ‘man from the mother-ship’, who had worked at the Headquarters and was a source of comfort to all within – a person who could be trusted to run the business many thousand miles away
• While the corporate comfort associated with this model was obvious, life for the individual (despite the lucrative hardship allowance!) was hardly a privilege. From having to cover a widespread unknown terrain band-aid(ed) by creaky infrastructure that was just about evolving, to struggling with the local business culture that varied radically within the continent itself (not to mention the differences with the west), the social challenges and the local cuisine, seductive but treacherous to the body! Business volumes & expectations were minimal and the Asia presence was largely considered a ‘rounding error’ in the worldwide revenue roll-up. Japan, the second largest economy in the world perhaps was the only exception!
• Then came the Asian revolution. Taiwan, Hong Kong & all of South East Asia started the momentum in the early 90s that continued to ramp despite the slow down of 1996 & 2001 and gathered further momentum as China & India joined the fray. Asia and Asian business would never be the same again! Along with this the model for Managing Asia would also need to change big time…
• So what does it take to develop and put in place not one but a string of successful regional leaders who successfully take the organization through its different stages of evolution? Do not assume that the profile of the leader who sets up the first beachhead is consistent with the one who builds the team & the run-rate business or the one who drives tier 2 & tier 3 growth initiatives while building a real organization. The skill attributes, personalities and individual competencies of these individuals are very different & they thrive in very different worlds. Once in a while, we do come across individuals who scale through all these levels, possess a different mindset and end up building their destinies very differently than most mortals all the way to the corner office!
• An effective Asian leader needs to use the distances and diversities of the geography to his advantage rather than succumb to them! He takes a ‘big picture view’ and determines the unique moving parts, uses them, leverages them (be a great user of Kotler’s 5Ps) and drives competitive advantage, revenue, margin & share for the organization while providing value to customers and partners! Tall order but hardly undoable!
• All initiatives have to start & end with people. Leading more than ten nationalities, speaking different languages, subscribing to different religions & business practices does not help! So how does one get this diverse band together??? Building a powerful vision that stands for success, commitment, value & integrity while clearly explaining the ‘Why’ is a great starting point. Communication therefore is key – regional leaders have to be ‘Great’ communicators with strong abilities to feel the business pulse. They need to be able to keep their troops in the geography motivated and on message while being natural marketeers of their geography with credible business acumen and dependable vision of the future to the home office.
• Building a strong leadership team is the next big step. Thankfully talent is plentiful but finding the right fit can be tricky within a situation of high demand. A leader with a strong track record and effective local network can put together a productive leadership team by quickly earning the trust and respect of his direct reports based on established credentials & reputation from past positions. He can also delve into past trusting relationships and draw talent into the organization. Good leadership teams not only bring in good quality talent who are familiar with each others work style and are capable of quickly producing results. These early movers also effectively sculpt the reputation and the local culture of the organization – so these guys better be good!
• This high quality leadership team consequentially attracts more high quality people. As the team builds the region head needs to ensure that people quality is never compromised. No leader (worth his salt) should be worried about hiring people stronger than them – I understand and appreciate the paradox here. A smart team makes the leader’s position strong and provides the leader with the bandwidth and the platform to further strengthen the geography both externally and internally, especially within the HQ. A weak team leaves the leader scrambling to meet the tactical goals of the business and provides him with minimal options and bandwidth to strategically build the business
• Assuming the leader does have the right team in place, it is very easy to stifle top talent if they are not provided a conducive environment to thrive in! I have personally benefited much by following a simple set of procedures with the talented teams that I have been fortunate to lead: establish a common understanding & agreement regarding ‘why we are doing what we are doing’, setting agreed upon goals, determining & providing what is needed to get the job done, setting the right expectation of what latitude is available (you cannot obviously give everything that you are asked for!), provide adequate authority and hold the person hugely accountable for the results. I firmly believe that authority & accountability go hand in hand. One does not work without the other!
• A leader while supporting and standing by his team also needs to make the tough calls – be fair and equitable. Good leadership does not necessarily mean getting along with everyone and keeping everybody happy. Very often leaders forget that they are being watched, their every action scrutinized by people within and outside the organization. Self awareness therefore is a major attribute of all leaders – they are very aware of the impact of their behavior & actions on others. I have made many wonderful friends through my career. Some of them are part of my team – I share a honest but unwritten code with them – friendship is friendship and business is business, we never mix the two. This simple rule has paid great dividends over the years and has help deepen both relationships.
• Able leaders do not just focus on driving business. These are obvious. They spend time contemplating the Infrastructure that needs to be put into place to sustain & support their growing businesses. Communication skill and internal credibility is key to make his happen. The leader needs to step out of his comfort zone and communicate with non-sales functional groups, market his team’s ideas and garner support for infrastructural investments and support from the headquarter. Failure to do so not only leads to unutilized opportunities but also causes de-motivation and loss of credibility within the team.
• I am sure by now you are looking for the shopping list, the attributes of these successful leaders. Well, its common sense really – impressive and sequentially growing contribution to the organizations top and bottom line (this is a ticket to entry to the Hall of Fame), growing faster than competition, the geography and the rest of the organization garners additional respect. The icing involves doing stuff that would not have happened if the leader did not drive it – new market or segment entry, strategic initiatives, conceptualizing and driving new segments, strategic partnerships change the playing field, methodologies that strengthen the organization and people development activities that create a ‘winning’ workforce and a slew of top quality leaders. Do these and you will surely build your legacy where you are. You will look back with pride at what you have left behind when you choose to walk away.