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What is The Value That You Bring to Your Job?

Exceptional career success requires excellence in your job performance and that you deliver results, but also that you deliver high added value to your company. The importance of this is expressed in different ways by several executives in China whom I’ve spoken with.

C.K. Tsang, managing director of WesTrac China, the exclusive dealership for Caterpillar equipment in Northeast China, said, “When I’m hiring or promoting someone, it usually comes down to one basic question:  What kind of value can he or she bring to my operation? When I asked that question to a recent MBA grad, his response was that he was a very good strategic thinker.  That’s all well and good, but that doesn’t mean much to me. I want to see more tangible things for my business, such as an ability to generate revenues, bring in new business, develop and lead staff, drive key processes and projects, or execute our service excellence to clients.  Those are the critical things that we need to do as a company in order to compete and be successful, and that I need our employees to deliver.”

A general manager of a US electronics manufacturer in Shanghai said, “I tell my staff that the best way to stand out in a crowd is to do things that have a significant effect on a business that most others don’t do well. When talking about management roles in China, that would include areas like the ability to develop staff and build a team, come up with and implement solutions, improve key processes, bring new opportunities to the company, or provide critical industry or market expertise. No matter what the industry, anyone able to deliver in these areas is going to be highly valued in this market.”

Bob Aubrey is the founder of Metizo, a company with offices in Beijing and Paris that specializes in personal and professional development services for leading international companies, top universities and business school programmes throughout China. To add greater value to their roles, Aubrey thinks mainland professionals need to first develop a strong sense of what that requires. “Many mainland professionals lack a basic understanding of what value-creation is,” he said. “There are disconnects between the ultimate objectives of their roles and what they should be contributing to reach those objectives. They need to think more deeply about how they can add value to a transaction or activity, and then do it. That begins with an understanding your company’s key business objectives and by determining what you can do to help your company achieve success in those areas. By understanding those things, you can make a significant difference in your company’s success and your own.”

Are You An Impact Player?

On any winning sports team, the contributions of all players are essential for team success. There is a term that is used, however, to describe certain players on a team who seem to have an ability to influence the outcome of a competition. They make key plays at key moments, do something better than anyone else on the field, or just have the ability to figure out a way to win. Such people are called “impact players.” 

Impact players can also be found in successful companies; they always seem to have an ability to make key, significant contributions that allow a company to do its business well.  These are employees who, above and beyond what their job description requires them to do, are able to make a difference in the outcomes of the situations that they are a part of. 

Kent Hambry, a former vice-president of human resources for BP China, said, “Especially as you move higher into management roles, you have to make yourself distinct by offering ideas and by affecting situations that you are a part of. Most mainland professionals need to be more conscious of their behaviour. 

“They need to identify to a greater degree the ways they can affect a final result. You do that by making choices regarding the role you think you can play in any situation. For instance, it could be as an expert who can help identify a solution, as a facilitator who can provide assistance somewhere in the process, or even as a pair of helping hands to make sure the job gets done.

“The higher you advance into management roles, the more that others in the company, both below and above you, look to you to solve problems and deliver solutions. As a result, the more important it is for you to come into a room prepared to talk about business and ready to contribute, no matter what your function is or what the topic of the meeting is about. For instance, I focus on internal HR (human resources) issues, but I still think about how HR department’s initiatives can affect our company’s ability to become more competitive and profitable.  Ultimately, that’s where my true value as a manager or executive is going to be measured by the company,” Hambry said.

If you’re looking to climb into the management ranks of an international company, you should have a firm understanding of the key contributions successful middle managers have made in your global organization. Although this may seem straightforward, many mainland professionals that my company comes across don’t seem to have a clear picture or very deep understanding of what a really good manager is, or how a successful manager adds value to an organization and to those around them. Without having a strong sense of this, your efforts in the office may not necessarily move you closer to your ability to advance into and capably handle the future management roles that you seek.