Strategic of Successful Leader
Thailand, which is a developing country, has been targeted from multinational organization around the world. There are many gaps of culture, background and believe between west and east people in organization. Increasing connection among countries and the globalization of corporation have resulted in increasing of cultural barriers ( House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman and Gupta, 2004). The managers from across continent will be successful managers at other country when they thoroughly understand multinational environment concepts. There are universal principles of effective leaderships that relate to adjusting a strong sense of culture and acquiring a multicultural mindset (Fernandez and Underwood, 2006). There are three steps to achieve effective leadership in multinational environment.
The president of Du Pont China, Charles Brown, expressed opinion about working aboard.
"You have to listen. Don’t come with preconceived ideas about the best way to approach the market, the best way to approach the customers, how to do business. The first thing you have to do is listen and try to understand your customers and employees. Once you have that, you can begin to develop your strategies and plans” (Fernandez and Underwood, 2006).
The president of Bertelsmann Direct Group Asia, Ekkehard Rathgeber, mentioned about adapting yourself without losing your style.
“If you simply adapt yourself to the local habits, then you lose a lot of advantages. First choose your battles, insisting on only truly necessary changes and second, work patiently” (Fernandez and Underwood, 2006, p. 17).
“If I were perceived as an outsider, every decision made would be analyzed by the employees, but if I am a part of them I am sure every decision I made could be accepted by most of the people” (Fernandez and Underwood, 2006).
Moreover, the patience is another heart of successful multinational management as it will position the manager in a safe place. This concept was confirmed by Guy McLeod, president of Airbus China:
“When people have arrived, they want to change things. But making quick moves in the wrong way isn’t the right thing to do. You need to have patience, patience, patience. You need to make a long-term strategy and stick to it” (Fernandez and Underwood, 2006).
- Step one: Serve the organization by adapting to the host culture.
The president of Du Pont China, Charles Brown, expressed opinion about working aboard.
"You have to listen. Don’t come with preconceived ideas about the best way to approach the market, the best way to approach the customers, how to do business. The first thing you have to do is listen and try to understand your customers and employees. Once you have that, you can begin to develop your strategies and plans” (Fernandez and Underwood, 2006).
- Step two: Establish a corporate vision but do not abandon your national culture.
The president of Bertelsmann Direct Group Asia, Ekkehard Rathgeber, mentioned about adapting yourself without losing your style.
“If you simply adapt yourself to the local habits, then you lose a lot of advantages. First choose your battles, insisting on only truly necessary changes and second, work patiently” (Fernandez and Underwood, 2006, p. 17).
- Step three: Lead people to greatness with humility and patience.
“If I were perceived as an outsider, every decision made would be analyzed by the employees, but if I am a part of them I am sure every decision I made could be accepted by most of the people” (Fernandez and Underwood, 2006).
Moreover, the patience is another heart of successful multinational management as it will position the manager in a safe place. This concept was confirmed by Guy McLeod, president of Airbus China:
“When people have arrived, they want to change things. But making quick moves in the wrong way isn’t the right thing to do. You need to have patience, patience, patience. You need to make a long-term strategy and stick to it” (Fernandez and Underwood, 2006).