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Ideas That Count For Middle Managers

Because of our experience with recruitment services and management development workshops, my company sees what it takes for high-potential candidates to win a position with a global company, but also what it takes to succeed after getting the job.  The following areas are most often emphasized by our clients for when evaluating the performance of a manager in their organization today:

Ability to Consistently Achieve Performance Results

Most mainland professionals have strong records of consistent delivery of results, one among the high value-added areas identified for management success. Prior to taking on management roles, many demonstrate their abilities to perform reliably as individual contributors in achieving their goals. 

At the manager level, however, the importance of a manager’s ability to reliably achieve results is multiplied as the scope and effect of their responsibilities increase. Failure to deliver on results comes with much greater penalties to your team, your company and yourself.  “In a non-management role, if you don’t deliver, it can cause some damage. But it’s mainly the objective that suffers. Your report or idea may be rejected, or you don’t get the sale,” explains Nicole Bernard, CEO of Sli Siar, a business consulting firm in Beijing. “But as a manager, if you don’t deliver a result, the consequences are much more severe. Key opportunities are missed or a significant amount of time and money is wasted by the company. Careers can be adversely affected; jobs can be lost.”

Ability to Develop and Lead Others

The reasons why organizations value employees with strong people-development skills so much was explained to me by a country manager of a US media services company in Shanghai.  In highlighting how important good coaches are for his operation, he asked, “What is more valuable to me than having a super-sales person in my organization?” After a pause, he said, “It’s having someone in my organization with the ability to develop and lead ten super-sales people. That’s what gives a company the ability to grow its business.”

As a manager, you have to achieve success through others and not just through your own efforts. “When considering someone for a management role, I look for leadership and people skills over functional ones,” says Graham Brant, country manager for the international consulting and investment firm, Ferranti. “To develop others and help them be successful, you need to share information, resources, and know-how, instead of being afraid to give those things away. Therefore, the critical question for me when evaluating a potential manager is always, “Is this person someone who is going to kill a team or be able to build one?”

Ability to Solve Problems and Come Up With Solutions

Doing business in China means that you can count on the unexpected to happen, as so many companies enter new markets, launch new products and services, and implement new processes and systems.  As a result, the ability to handle unforeseen issues and come up with solutions has to be an essential capability of successful managers here. 

While your primary role as an individual contributor is to execute on tasks, as you move into a management role, you are the one who is supposed to work out solutions to problems and who others look to for answers.  “If there’s one thing that mainland managers need to do better, it is to tackle problems,” says Perry Ching, former director of operations for Oracle Software Systems in China.  “Unfortunately, many don’t want to or don’t know how to manage problems or to deliver quality solutions.  Whatever success I’ve achieved is largely a result of my ability to make something work, whether that something is broken or needs to be figured out. That’s the ability to break down tasks and see a clear route and a solution in an unclear world, and then communicate that to others.”

Strong Project Management Abilities

Expanding multinationals in China all have significant, corporate initiatives that are critical for further developing their businesses in this market. These initiatives may relate to improving a company’s business systems and operating processes, developing internal resources and capabilities, or launching new products and services.

Given their large scope, these projects typically require the cooperation of individuals across various departments who are not under your direct supervision. And because such project implementations are usually being done for the first time in your organization, there are typically many issues that need to be worked out. 

“The ability to successfully manage key initiatives for your company requires you to have very strong, well-rounded soft skills,” says Kent Hamby, former vice-president of human resources for BP China.  “These include strong communication and leadership skills, as well as the ability to plan, to motivate and influence others, to identify and leverage resources, and to drive for the final result. Good judgment and sound decision-making are also necessary in overseeing such initiatives, such as in knowing when to push and when not to push, recognizing who the key stakeholders are and identifying those who can and will help you champion a project.” 

Work Well With and Support Others Across The Organization

The higher you advance into management roles, the greater your interaction with individuals in other departments and operations in the company will be. As your job scope grows to meet companywide objectives, these objectives can create conflicts. For instance, the sales organization is actively entertaining clients to make sales, while the finance department is trying to control spending for the company. Or a business unit wants to quickly bring additional staff on board in response to hot market conditions, while human resources is trying to closely manage the recruitment process to avoid poor hiring decisions. In such cases, the ability to create win-win situations becomes crucial.

“Unfortunately, too many mainland professionals that I see can be highly political in their actions, particularly when it comes to working with other departments,” says Graham Brant.  “They place too much emphasis on pursuing their own agenda, or they are unwilling to share information and details.  I realized early on that you can’t achieve real success as a manager by being an island. That might work in some instances or in the short-term, but inevitably you need to the support of others in the company to help you achieve your team’s objectives. That becomes very difficult if those that you need help from view you as someone who would not readily help them out to begin with.”