How to be a Leader in a World Beyond Borders March 27, 2014 Carlos Ghosn Chairman and CEO at Renault-Nissan Alliance Several times a year, I have the opportunity to talk with students at the world’s top universities. I enjoy hearing their take on business and the changing world around us. Whether it’s Keio University in Japan, the Indian Institute of Technology, Stanford University in California or France’s grandes écoles, I often hear the same question: “What skills do we need to be successful global business leaders in the 21st century?” Many of today’s graduates eventually will work in multinational, multicultural workplaces – immersed in what we at the Renault-Nissan Alliance call “radical diversity.” They will be working in cross-functional teams of people with different native languages, who report into different hierarchies with different targets and incentives, often led by senior executives from different companies. So how do you lead and excel in a business world without borders? Be mobile: Don’t let your passport determine your destination. No matter your age or rank, raise your hand for overseas postings. In nearly every consumer industry, we can see tremendous long-term opportunities in the growth markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China, as well as those “beyond the BRICS”: Africa, the Middle East, Mexico and Latin America. If you can’t relocate now, look for assignments in charge of a new partnership or a division with global scope, based in your city. Be humble: When you start an assignment with a partner company from a different culture, don’t presume you know better or more than your new colleagues. Keep an open mind and “best practice” approach; be a student. When someone has a better idea than yours, show flexibility to change direction. Give credit where it’s due. That earns respect. Be curious: Absorb the new culture, ask questions and appreciate differences. Acknowledge what you don’t know. And above all, listen. A desire to learn, understand and connect with people is more of an asset than book smarts. Be flexible: Give some thought to where you want to be in 5 or 10 years, but remember that life is “predictably unpredictable.” When I was offered the job to help turn around Nissan, I had recently relocated my family to Paris from the USA. A move to Japan was the last thing I was expecting. I questioned whether I was ready. But I took on the challenge, which became a once-in-a-lifetime growth and learning opportunity. The lesson: Don’t over-plan your career; accept unexpected opportunities; move outside your comfort zone. Be multilingual: Study a foreign language (or two). I was born in Brazil, so my mother tongue is Portuguese. Then my family moved to Lebanon and I was educated in French schools. Today my most common language is English. Even if you grew up in a monolingual environment, making the effort to communicate in other languages helps break down personal barriers and can open doors in business and life. Be a “smart failure”: Obviously, you don’t want to fail consistently. But any successful executive will tell you they learned more from their failures than from their successes. Failure is an opportunity to grow. Likewise, if you have a terrible boss, consider it an opportunity to learn what not to do when you become a manager! Be thoughtful: Take time to think, to understand global trends, to read about people and ideas outside your own industry and area of expertise. True leadership means identifying new possibilities that create value, then executing them relentlessly. Above all, 21st century business leaders must embrace the spirit of “continuous improvement” - what the Japanese call “kaizen.” That spirit has been a major reason why the Renault-Nissan Alliance has thrived and is celebrating its 15 anniversary this week as the auto industry’s longest-lasting and most productive cross-cultural partnership. At the same time, we are launching a major initiative to converge four global functions across both companies: Engineering, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, Purchasing, and Human Resources. Starting April 1, thousands of employees from Paris to Yokohama, and many points in between, will work on even more multicultural teams, balancing the needs of two very different companies. When teams from different companies or cultures come together on a project, it’s usually more challenging than working within a group where everyone speaks the same native language and works within the same cultural and corporate frameworks. “Radical diversity” doesn’t come naturally and forces many people beyond their comfort zone. But when managed well, diversity enhances the partner companies’ performance and prospects, and it develops more accomplished and stronger leaders. Our customers come from all walks of life. It’s foolish to think we can develop the right products for them without embracing diversity from within.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 15:03:26 +0000
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