One thing I love about working and living in this part of the world is the diversity it offers — APAC is full of rich geographic, linguistic, and cultural differences that make it a special and dynamic area. Nowhere was this been more evident than at Lead APAC, where 200 diverse leaders from across the region came together this September in Sydney to connect and learn from one another on how to be great leaders at Salesforce. But of course, when we all went home, we had to find ways to continue working together virtually and adopt effective habits for collaborating both in-region and globally.
Based on my 25 years of experience leading teams in APAC and EMEA, I've learned a few things about how these diverse, high-performance global teams work together most effectively and collaboratively. Here are my top 5 tips for how to manage your global team:
-
Be a leader people can trust. People want to be inspired and led by leaders they trust, and who trust them. I believe trustworthy leaders have a clear vision and operate with integrity, transparency, and authenticity. They create safe environments in which their teams can execute, succeed, and even fail. The more you show up as your authentic self and allow your teams to be themselves, the more successful we'll be as a company.
-
Co-create and align on the V2MOM. Annual V2MOM time at the beginning of the fiscal year is, without a doubt, the most important few weeks on my calendar. It sets the tone and plots the course for the next 12 months. By dedicating time to V2MOM alignment, I have absolute faith that my team will deliver to the vision we create.
-
Establish consistent systems and frameworks. I like everyone to be clear on operational requirements and the way that we manage them day to day, month to month, and quarter to quarter. Without clear expectations, teams are fundamentally dysfunctional and unproductive. The simple framework we have in place in APAC EBU is called the 4Ps: People, Pipeline, Process, Performance. Every action, conversation, plan, activity, or measurement must relate to one of the Ps; if it doesn't, that means it's inefficient.
-
Live our values authentically. I feel one of the best ways to build collaborative networks as managers is to live our values authentically. When this happens, people form partnerships and alliances organically. For example, to inspire collaboration through innovation, we should encourage our teams to have a “beginner's mindset” and to challenge the status quo. As leaders, we need to embrace the concept that what got us here may not get us to where we are going, and we should always be looking for allies to find a better, more innovative way of doing things.
-
Be patient and respectful of cultural differences. Most of my experience has been in Asia and Europe, and the biggest challenges I've encountered here relate to language and culture. APAC is such a large and diverse region — the difference in social and business culture between, say, Australia and Thailand is really profound, and it certainly keeps life interesting! Unless you grew up in South Korea or Japan, you'll never truly understand all of the cultural nuances, so every day is a learning opportunity. I've learned that you need to be respectful and adaptable to unfamiliar situations and approach things with an open mindset.
