By Chris Blauth
I’m a frequent reader of the Wall Street Journal. This week I saw an article about IBM that caused me to reflect on an apparently endless trend: the outsourcing of jobs to emerging markets. WSJ reports that over 70 percent of IBM’s 400,000 employees work outside the United States, up from 65 percent in 2006.
The obvious incentive for IBM and others to embrace this trend is to tap into lower-cost talent in non-U.S. markets, resulting in greater profits for shareholders. Advances in technology continue to fuel this trend, of course.
What does this fact mean for leaders? A thought immediately comes to mind (and I would welcome your comments): As never before, leaders need to be culturally literate.
In the past, high-potential U.S. managers and their families often relocated to foreign markets for extended periods. The deep insights these leaders gained about conducting business in other cultures was invaluable in strengthening their company’s brand at home and abroad.
Today, overseas assignments are less common. Advances in technology and the Internet now allow for a vivid cultural intersection between, say, a manager in Canada and another in Greece – without either leaving home!
Below are three best practices for leaders of virtual cross-cultural groups, who do not have the benefit of a quintessential sojourn assignment:
- Work hard to understand the other cultures represented in your group. On thing you can do is spend time on the webpage for the Center for Intercultural Learning to get better acquainted with communication styles and relationship-building in other cultures.
- Be the emblem of your brand, always. Represent not just the values and visions of your cross-cultural group, but also the essence of your brand in the marketplace.
- Be self-sacrificial. Act in the best interest of the group, as opposed to solely in your own interest.
