20
February 19, 2016 / The National Business Review
Special
Report
Educating executives
for a globalised world
It’s often noted that executive education is the toughest classroom there is. Time-poor and tenacious executives often challenge each other
just as much, or more, as the professors. Today the delivery of business education has changed to an open and digital ecosystem. Ongoing
business challenges – new technologies, business models and globalisation – has made career-long learning a necessity.
Say ‘om’ – the modern, mindful
approach to leadership
Nick Grant
Among the many things an effective modern leader needs for success, self knowledge is increasingly seen as fundamental.
According to David Shearer, director of
the University of Canterbury’s executive
development programmes, this is part of
developing the skills to be a more competent leader.
Developing the whole self is important,
as well as understanding who you are in
the context of the entire organisation, he
DAVID SHEARER: New breed required
says: “The ability to lead yourself, lead others and lead the business is crucial.”
can operate effectively in this environMr Shearer says this is a direct and
ment are more likely to be in the top 20%
rational response to the environment
of financial performers compared to those
lacking such leadership; Harvard Business
that modern businesses operate in and is
reflected in the way senior management
Publishing has boiled the key competenretreats now often emphasise “better
cies required down to eight (see box story).
understanding of yourself and how you
This reality “requires quite a different
contribute to organisational success rather leader from what we had 10 years ago, let
than fine-tuning technical skills.”
alone 20 years ago.”
Not that technical competencies are
no longer considered relevant, Mr Shearer
The art of being self aware
The past decade has seen the idea of
stresses – the University of Canterbury’s
executive programmes still focus on the
the “authentic leader” gain a great deal
of traction in the popular imagination –
technical capabilities and business acumen to actually run a business.
“essentially saying, ‘I am who I am’,” says
But, he notes, we all live in a ‘VUCA’
Mr Shearer. “It is the ability to encourage
followers through the legitimacy of action
world that demands “the ability to navigate through a volatile, uncertain, complex and positive relationships that imbue
and ambiguous environment.” Research
staff with the confidence that not only are
suggests organisations with leaders who
you who you say you are but you can fol-
low through – that ability to implement
remains the key.”
And that’s where active self-awareness
comes in. “How can you lead others and
your business when you can’t lead yourself?” Mr Shearer asks.
Which is why these days – and the more
traditionally minded may want to have
Harvard’s eight critical capabilities for leading in a
complex world – the executive summary
1. Manage complexity
Effective leaders must be “skilled at solving
problems and making decisions under fastchanging systems” – even in the absence of
definitive information
2. Manage global business
Networking is no longer about “advancing one’s
career”; instead, effective leaders “embrace
networking as a way to foster collaboration while
serving organisational goals.”
6. Inspire engagement
Globalisation means maintaining “a global focus”
to “identify and capture opportunities unfolding in
global markets” is now essential.
“Workers and managers who feel engaged are
more creative and productive on the job.” It also
helps with retention, “the No 1 human capital issue
for organisations around the world.”
Developing a long-term strategy and sticking to it
doesn’t cut it anymore. Instead, “a more continuous
process” is required, with “leaders ... always ...
prepared to adjust their strategies to capture
emerging opportunities or tackle unexpected
challenges.”
Don’t fall into the ‘that’s-how-we’ve-alwaysdone-it’ trap: not only might it not “necessarily
work under present conditions ... given how
radically the business world has changed, applying
old approaches to new challenges could prove
destructive.”
3. Act strategically
4. Foster innovation
Resting on one’s laurels isn’t an option either:
thanks to ever-increasing levels of competition, “no
strategy can sustain a company’s competitive edge
indefinitely.”
5. Leverage networks
Advance your career with
a business postgraduate
qualification
MAKE AN EDUCATED DECISION
the smelling salts handy before reading
further – UC’s leadership programmes
includes a session “on mindfulness and
meditation.”
‘It’s a way of clearing the mind, getting rid of the noise, putting out the rubbish and setting up for the rest of the day.
And I think that’s the key thing,” he says.
“Because the more complex the environment, the more noise there is coming from
every single angle, the more that ability
to deal with that volume and ambiguity
becomes important. You have to find those
moments of stillness, to reflect, to make
the right decisions.”
The effect on students of taking the
time to reflect is “quite profound,” says
7. Develop personal adaptability
8. Cultivate learning agility
“Routinely seeking out and learning from new
experiences is a crucial capability in a changed
business context.”
Source – Harvard Business Publishing
0800 AUT UNI (0800 288 864)
[email protected]
aut.ac.nz/businesspostgraduate
AUT Business School
The National Business Review / February 19, 2016
Mr Shearer, who relates the reaction last
week of a new intake of MBA students to
a session on leadership that included 20
minutes of meditation. “They said they
couldn’t believe the impact that had –
regardless of everything else we covered –
in terms of thinking differently about how
they approach work, how they approach
family, community and their study.”
This kind of disciplined reflection promotes “the idea that a leader doesn’t have
to be the one making all the noise,” Mr
Shearer says.
It also “helps create the persona of a
leader that others want to follow.”
Compare and contrast the leader
“who’s a listener, who appears comfortable
in their own skin and projects a sense of
confidence.”
Which is not to say the modern leader
is meant to be the strong and silent type
– thanks to the aforementioned fact we
now reside on planet VUCA, “the ability
to craft stories that gets others on board is
critical,” he says. “Rather than saying, ‘this
is what we’re going to do – now go and do
it,’ it’s about creating a narrative tailored to
who you’re talking to.
“People have to have something to
believe in, something they can hang their
hat on and say, ‘that’s where we’re going,’”
Mr Shearer says. “It doesn’t have to be a
strategy or a plan – it just has to be a sense
of direction.”
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SPECIAL REPORT: EDUCATING EXECTUIVES FOR A GLOBALISED WORLD 21
Do entrepreneurs
really need training?
Emerson Howitt
Some entrepreneurs think executive education isn’t for them.
However, executive education providers say entrepreneurs can benefit from
business courses and networks to help
each other. Conferenz training director
Lone Tapp says training helps business
owners and employees solve problems
and hone skills.
“Entrepreneurs are solution-seekers
so, if the course can help them find a
solution, then it will be of interest to
them,” she says.
A detailed training plan needs to be
written up outlining objectives and the
type of training to be delivered. Ms Tapp
says there are certain characteristics most
entrepreneurs share, which helps them
find common ground when arranging to
attend courses.
“They’re self-starters, ambitious, curious and open to new ideas. They are not
afraid to take risks and they don’t let anything hold them back. They are passionate about what they do and enjoy being
masters of their own destiny.”
Ms Tapp says entrepreneurs are always
on the lookout for new opportunities and
new knowledge and don’t have patience
for training that doesn’t add value.
An example of a successful training
assistance is New Zealand Trade and
Enterprise’s capability voucher scheme.
This scheme subsidises small start-ups to
access training courses by covering 50%
of the course fees.
Ms Tapp says this lessens the financial burden on entrepreneurial start-ups
of participating in executive education
courses.
But how does an entrepreneur who
has completed an executive education
course compare to one who hasn’t? AUT
executive education programmes and
business relations director Sarah Trotman says entrepreneurs with training are
more prepared for the challenges of the
business world.
She believes that, while entrepreneurs
are incredibly skilled in their specific
fields, when dealing with other parts of
business they often struggle.
“They’re often technically well qualified and experts but the reality is they
still need to file GST returns and manage staff, both of which require a huge
amount of training.”
She says entrepreneurs of small businesses generally don’t have advisory
boards and operate under the steam of
their own optimism and enthusiasm
and “without the fundamental business
skills.”
Courses create networking
opportunities
Executive education can also help startups by facilitating the exchange of information which could be vital to for the
company’s future success.
Ms Trotman says the importance of
executive education courses shouldn’t be
underestimated. They can build contacts
and help people interact to discuss new
ideas, creating vital networking opportunities. “I think it’s important entrepreneurs have others they can call. The life
of an entrepreneur is often quite a lonely
one.”
She says leaning on friends and family for business advice isn’t a panacea
because they’re typically not experiencing the same challenges. “You need to be
able to get solid advice from a peer network where the people in it have actually
experienced similar challenges.”
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22
February 19, 2016 / The National Business Review
SPECIAL REPORT: EDUCATING EXECTUIVES FOR A GLOBALISED WORLD
Time to throw out the old
cross-cultural textbooks?
Nathan Smith
One of the more frustrating aspects of
globalisation is the lack of a uniform
business formula that sidesteps cultural
barriers. In reality, there is no single way
of doing business, which can make dealing with employees of other cultures and
in different countries a nightmare.
Coordinating catering to differing
cultural idiosyncrasies is the responsibility of a manager. And it’s fair to
say, given the growing body of
research, that many managers struggle to deliver suitable
cross-cultural leadership skills.
The Western model of doing
business is as close as the world
has ever come to adopting a uniform business formula or, more precisely, structures such as limited companies,
shareholder control, the C-suite, leveraged buyouts, initial public offerings,
negotiations and others drive globalised
business today. But it is a long way from
being easily transferable across cultures,
even in the internet age.
And because tertiary institutes are
always looking for new ways to develop
curriculums to meet the needs of the
modern work environment, MBA
programmes are teaching business
administration skills that don’t assume
employees share a cultural background.
The key is being agile.
Yet as course providers step back
and reassess their methods, they’re
noticing how unprepared present curriculums truly are for the needs of a globalised workforce. For instance, Victoria
University MBA and Post Experience
Programmes director Arun Elias says
focusing on US case studies of cross-cultural management is well past its used-
ARUN ELIAS: ‘Our own strengths, such
as Maori business offer some good
lessons. Where is the solid research in
those areas?’
by date – assuming they were ever useful.
“It’s time to revamp business courses.
Often they run with US theories for
cross-cultural education. I doubt this is
the right thing for New Zealand. We may
want to look at other parts of the world
as well and learn other things. Even our
own strengths, such as Maori business
offer some good lessons. Where is the
solid research in those areas?
“That, for me, is the problem: we need
to change this mentality. I don’t think
that is happening as of now,” says Dr
Elias.
After all, companies do not simply snap together like plastic building
blocks. For those with employees in
different continents, this is especially
true. And the most important asset in
any company is esprit de corps. So none
of the necessary snapping or cooperation can be summoned without a bit of
understanding that not everyone sees
business the same way.
How would New Zealand managers
working in Russia, for instance, respond
to an employee suggestion to ask local
officials to raid a business rival’s offices
and subject it to a criminal investigation?
Or consider that in South Korea, employees aren’t assumed to be working unless
they’re sitting at their desk.
Cultural context key
Chinese and Indian employees will
often report to managers only the most
appropriate news for the moment – their
instinct is to oblige requests, not reject
them. In Nigeria, a high-level official was
recently fired from his job for allegedly
paying millions of dollars to a local witch
doctor in an attempt to vanquish a rival.
Even clothing can be a minefield:
Wearing leather in India can be offensive,
the colour yellow is reserved for the royal
family in Malaysia and white is the colour of mourning in many parts of Asia.
According to Richard Steers and Carlos Sanchez-Runde, authors of Management Across Cultures, managers have
two choices when faced with this global
challenge. First, in international transactions, they can assume that they are who
they are and the world should adapt to
NOW IS THE TIME
them (“I am a New Zealand manager
with New Zealand traits, and everyone
will make allowances”).
Or they can work to develop greater
multicultural competencies that allow
them to either adapt to others where
possible or at least understand why
others behave as they do (I am a New
Zealand manager who is working to
understand the cultural context in which
my counterparts operate”).
Dr Elias prefers the latter approach.
He says it isn’t helpful to expect other cultures to adapt to a new company’s ways.
Modern management training demands
getting acquainted with a target culture,
which often requires immersion in the
country. This is a major innovation tertiary institutes are adopting because it
offers – like a splash of cold water – a
view into the intricacies these future
business administrators can expect from
a culture.
“Managers must work to understand
different cultural attributes and why people act in particular ways. For instance,
the concept of health and safety is
incredibly different in India from New
Zealand.
“Many of our MBA students are taken
aback when we take them to visit various industries in India. So we need to
have our own case studies or ideas and
emphasise travelling to the country, even
for just a few weeks, to feel the pulse on
the ground,” says Dr Elias.
The good thing about New Zealand
managers, Dr Elias adds, is their excellent
travel experience and the New Zealand
way of broad thinking and enthusiasm
in learning about other cultures. But
sometimes that’s not enough, especially
when managing an Indian in Auckland is
very different from managing an Indian
in Mumbai.
“Take into account the family and
power relationships or the importance of
seniority in Asian cultures, such as age.
You have to deeply understand these
subtle differences with Asian counterparts. I doubt whether in the current
educational system we are doing much
about that,” he says.
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The National Business Review / February 19, 2016
SPECIAL REPORT: EDUCATING EXECTUIVES FOR A GLOBALISED WORLD 23
To degree or not to degree?
Chelsea Armitage
When hiring new staff, it can be a difficult call to make whether to upskill
existing employees or conduct an external search.
But companies that invest in the development of existing staff rather than hiring
fresh talent will reap the rewards, says AUT
executive education director Ken Lee.
Among the many benefits of supporting executive development are fostering innovation, loyalty and a culture of
advancement as well as encouraging
employees to stay focused and work harder, he says.
While the majority of students enrolled
in AUT’s master of business administration (MBA) self-fund the course, they often KEN LEE: Says if students are being funded by their
receive other forms of support from their employer, there’s an incredible motivation to prove
that the investment was worth it
employers – such as flexibility – which is
integral to their success.
“If you’re being funded by your
right people, then someone with the right
skillset can bring a fresh perspective, menemployer, there’s an incredible motivation
to prove that the investment was worth it.
tor existing employees and help the team
The motivation is equally as powerful if
develop crucial skills.”
you are self-funding as either one requires
While university is one place for
a significant investment of personal and
employees to develop their professional
family time,” he says.
education, there are many other options
Signium director Maurice Ellett says his available in New Zealand, including inexperience recruiting executives showed
house training programmes.
that companies’ interest in professional
development is focused on a select few
University still relevant?
employees deemed worth keeping.
NZ Association of Training and Devel“Clearly, companies are investing
opment (NZATD) Auckland branch
in development of existing employees
president Jacinta Penn says university
because they don’t want to lose them and
degrees are losing relevance in compariare aware of the cost of finding a replaceson with in-house training.
ment,” he says.
“University degrees are less impor“But they’re also hiring new executives
tant while skills and knowledge are more
as the others are moving on to other posiimportant. The world is changing so fast,”
tions. Also, hiring new executives may
she says.
come from a desire to change the culture
“In saying that, most businesses are
or focus or introducing a new skill they
doing both types of training. They send
don’t currently have.”
them to outside education for more genMr Lee agrees, saying there is still value
eral learning and doing internal courses
in bringing in fresh meat.
for more specific education.”
“Seeing new hires come in can motivate
But Mr Ellett disagrees, saying to enter
your top performers. There is a balance – it the business world in the current economdepends on the industry and the life cycle
ic climate it is essential to have a business
of the individual business,” he says.
degree, which may not have been the case
“Clearly fresh hires need to adjust to
20 years ago.
your company culture but, if you hire the
“Most people looking for jobs need to
have some kind of degree now. It’s more
important now than it has been in the past
simply because the job market is more
competitive,” he says.
“If a company wants to bring in a new
specific skill, however, they’ve invariably
got to get a new individual rather than
spending a great deal of time and effort
developing an existing employee.”
As AUT’s Mr Lee says, it’s all about
balance.
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