Building the Asian Leadership Pipeline Spore 0412 by Meena Thurasingham - Talent Invest

Building a succession ready supply of leaders in the world’s most dynamic region

Diversity & Inclusion Asian Network, Business Community

April 2012, Singapore

What we will cover

• A changed economic/business landscape• More than just a supply-demand issue• Limitations of current approaches• Strategies for accelerating & sustaining change

• Concluding insights• Open discussion

A new self sustaining order....A sustainable growth model for Asia with good supply of talent

GDP 2008 2009 2010 2011

China 9.6 8.7 10.0 9.9

India 7.3 5.7 8.8 8.4

Asia 5.2 3.5 6.9 7.0

US 0.4 -2.4 3.1 2.6

EU 0.6 -4.1 1.0 1.5

Source: IMF Work Economic Outlook Apr 2010, Asia Economic Monitor, ADB 2010

.........creating a new pace of competition for talent in Asia....

53%

13%

10%

12%

5%

2%

4%

Global distribution of the talent pipeline by Region

APC/EEWENASAAfrMENA

Source: OECD/UNESCO 2006 (global talent pool defined as all individuals around the world who were enrolled in tertiary education in the year 2006

Rebalancing through blend of domestic demand, domestic investment & intra region exports

Global & Asian....The ‘new order’ will need a globally agile & exposed Asian leader

• who thrives in globalised and culturally diverse environments, curious and insightful about cultures (not just tolerating them)

• who has a global outlook to business and globally networked (not just experience or willingness to relocate)

• who enjoys leading through ambiguity and management paradox (not just follows)

• who can cope with the challenges that accompany a multiple time-zone/virtual environment

Top 3 critical skills in next 3 years*:•Driving/managing change•Identifying/developing future talent•Fostering creativity & innovation

*DDI Global Leadership Forecast 2011

The ‘new order’ will not guarantee previously successful Asian leaders will continue to be successful An experience gap that is not just time related*

Asia From Asia To

Strategy Adapt existing strategy to new market context

Develop new strategy to meet new market need

Execution Scale up a proven platform with limited localisation

Develop a new platform and scale up in new and diverse markets

Customer Improve services to established customer segments and needs

Build insights about new customers & unmet market needs

Skills Build and scale up a highly productive workforce with good technical skill

Build and groom diverse international pool of talent with creative skills

Team/culture Build the discipline of perf’ce and results in a culturally homogenous team

Build a high perf’ce team in a globally distributed, multi-cultural environment

*Conference Executive Board suggests a 5-7 year experience gap between Asian leaders and equivalent global leaders

At its core lies a talent/pipeline management challenge

ASIA Last decade 2010 and beyond

How to hire •Fitting people to jobs•Educational credentials•Experience profile

•Fitting jobs to people•Diversity of experience•Behavioural profile

What to assess •Personality /style•Performance (deficits)•Cultural sensitivity

•Cognitive & character strengths•Potential (strengths)•Cultural fluency*

What to develop •Management skills•Fixing development gaps

•Leadership skills•Regulating strengths

How to develop •Classroom training•On the job learning•E-learning

•Structured challenges/stretch assignments•Continuous feedback and coaching•Internal networking

Career growth •Functional/linear •Uni-dimensional•Local

•Cross functional •Multi-dimensional•International

*cultural sensitivity relates to awareness, cultural fluency relates to skills

MNCs operating in Asia also over-rely on recruitment solutions to close the experience gap

• Bidding war & job hopping of experienced hires • Exacerbation of the experience gap• Shallow recruitment industry skills - “time to hire” mindset• Value placed on time in role rather than ‘new order’ skills• Risk appetite – preparedness to take punt on untested talent• Leaders who don’t see themselves as talent scouts; vacancy &

expediency driven• Tactical approach to sources of supply• Corporate inertia around localisation

Key levers for strengthening the Asian pipeline requires an integrated approach

Sustainable pipeline to meet

Asian growth

‘Fit for Purpose’ assessment

Accelerated development interventions

Line leader insight & advocacy

Better management of derailment risk

Building cultural fluency

An over-reliance on recruitment solutions will not deliver sustained results

Some Companies are making great progress......

Organisation The Challenge The Approach The Outcome

Top tier private bank Market requires ‘new order’ skills, competence; Leadership team unprepared for the shifts

•Defining ‘from-to skills•‘Fit for future’ assessment •Strength based deployment

•Shared view•Up-tiered management team; Clarity about talent criteria

Global investment bank Patchy pipeline, lack of diversity at Director/MD levels

•Addressing root cause of slow progression•Targeting identified skill gaps of high potentials

•Accelerated progression

Global engineering company No shared view making talent development and deployment problematic

•Line managers talent calibration skills•Strategic projects as platform for sponsorship

Work in progress

Global Commercial Bank Slow progress of local talent; silo’d development

•Challenging dominant logic/organisational bias through the talent calibration process

Greater/more accurate picture of the issues; country specific plans

Global resources company Derailment of lateral hires ; localisation plan jeopardised

•Executive coaching program•Supported by cross divisional mentors

•Early warning system•Reduced attrition through better assimilation

Global FMCG company Leaders sensitivity to diverse markets & cultures

•Immersion program in remote communities

•Challenged cultural stereotypes •Greater cultural fluency


Asian growth






Only 33% of Asian leaders & 21% HR professionals rate leadership quality as high*

* DDI Global Leadership Forecast 2011

The employee view:Only 24% of employees in Asia agree with the statement “my employer has the leaders needed to succeed in the future”Global Labour Market Survey, Corporate Executive Board

‘Fit for Purpose’ talent identification/assessment Tendency to employ expedient ‘one size fits all’ approach

• The opportunity– Identifying talent that will thrive given region specific market, skill and

cultural distinctions (nature of potential)

• The challenge/barriers– Assessment methodologies too generic– Talent nominations based on one manager’s unchallenged perspective– Over-reliance on personality based assessments

• Some solutions– Skilling up managers in calibration skills; more direct role in

assessment– Culturally neutral assessments– A more rigorous ‘fit for purpose’ succession lens

‘Fit for Purpose’ AssessmentAligning competence, experience, strengths & derailers to market need

• Strategic agility• Investment mindset• Speedy decision making • Risk taker• Value creation ideas• Astute investment

judgement• Organisational discipline

• Strategic execution• Performance mind-set• Stakeholder consultation /

engagement• Risk manager• Profitability • Astute business

management judgement• Organisational alignment

Market Leaders Mature / Stable Markets

Market Leaders High Growth / Emerging Markets

Energised by investing Energised by managing

© TalentInvest 2009, All Rights Reserved

Challenge: to understand deeply the nature of someone’s potential not just whether they are talented or not

A Case study: better fit between assignment & talent Top tier private bank trying to ‘turbo-charge’ its Asian growth plan

• The challenge:– Fundamental market distinctions, not properly acknowledged– Senior hires parachuted in from parent company not successful

• Approach taken– Facilitated ‘from-to’ conversation– A ‘fit for future’ assessment of regional management

• Outcomes achieved– A shared view of ‘fit for future’ regional needs– Reassignment and exits of regional team members– Market focused approach to talent management


Asian growth






While 52% of companies had increased their leadership development budget for Asia, only 1/3 of leaders rated efforts as effective*


High impact development/acceleration interventionsOnly 32% of Asian employees expressed satisfaction with alignment between current job & professional interests*

• The opportunity– Providing inexperienced leaders accelerated development and high

impact in-job experiences• The challenges

– Failure to use deployment as critical development tool– Over-reliance on classroom training and rotations– Shrinking HO means fewer HO stints available

• Some solutions– Willingness to fit jobs to people rather than fit people to jobs– High impact acceleration programs integrated with mentoring,

shadowing, dedicated sponsors, in-region stretch assignments– Better design of stretch projects– Actively managed career paths e.g. professional ladders

*Global Labour Market Survey 2011, Corporate Executive Board

Case study: addressing root causes in the pipelineGlobal Investment bank concerned about lack of diversity in Director/MD pipeline

• The challenge– Perception of “lack of leadership potential” and “lack of communication

skills” could not be explained by job performance/qualifications– Personality and style issues standing in the way of promotion (loudest

duck metaphor)• Approach taken

– 2 day facilitated workshop focused on more ‘universal’ attributes– Opportunity to openly explore cultural nuances in how success is

defined – Promotion panel training

• Outcomes achieved– 250 Asian VPs/Directors; improved pipeline over 18 month period– Now rolled out to other regions


Asian growth





Building culture that values Difference

88% of companies with effective talent management systems reported active senior sponsorship & involvement, compared with 19% with ineffective systems*


Insight & advocacy of senior leadersDominant logic/institutional bias can often stand in the way of new behaviours

• The opportunity– Ensuring talent management is business led (not HR led)

• The challenge/barriers– Leaders who may not fully grasp the significance of the issues – Fly-in fly-out visits by senior executives with no time to take deep dive– Autocratic , command/control style of some Gen X Asian line managers – Transparency and disclosure*

• Some solutions– Challenging the dominant logic of senior teams– Use of action learning projects (senior sponsored) as platform for

exposure– Rethinking mentoring; introducing accountable sponsorship

* only 1 in 3 companies in Asia tell their talent they are talented)

Developing skilled & insightful advocatesCreating awareness is not enough

Organisational

Interpersonal

Individual

Most organisational

efforts now focused here

Awareness raisingAwareness of my own filters and biases

Skill buildingSkills in building diverse and inclusive relationships

Leading ChangeChallenging dominant logic & institutional bias & removing barriers to change

LevelFocus of intervention

Case study: driving greater leadership advocacyGlobal Commercial Bank concerned about local representation in leadership roles

• The challenge– Expedient, under-leveraged hiring; time in role mindset; only 14% of

talent were locals, STAs* going to ‘safe pair of hands’• Approach taken

– CEO led global talent calibration offsite in Shanghai– Pre-work structured into a ‘philosophers walk’ exercise– Explored and actioned 6 identified organisational biases

• Outcomes– Deeper insight about real issues– ‘change starts with me’ plan– Country specific localisation plans

*STA – short term assignments

Case study: line manager skills & sponsorshipGlobal Engineering Firm trying to improve skills of its talent managers

• The challenge– Talent review meetings reflect a level of inexperience of local line

leaders’ conversations about talent, let alone calibration ; no shared view – silo’d and biased

• Approach taken– Local leaders skills in talent calibration; HR partners’ master class– Strategic (action learning) projects as sponsorship platform; paired

with advocate from different division and 2 levels up• Outcomes intended (WIP)

– Better quality talent review conversations leading to greater talent differentiation

– More direct knowledge of talent through sponsored project work


Asian growth






New leaders in Asia are 4 times more likely to derail than the global average*

58% HR Professionals picked risk aversion & 44% picked approval dependence as the 2 key derailers

*Source: Corporate Executive Board

Better management of derailment risksOnly 26% of companies had formal programs to manage leadership transitions*

• The opportunity– Accelerated development often accompanied by higher derailment risks

• The challenge/barriers– ‘Face saving’ tendency and propensity to soldier on with “I don't need

help” makes early detection difficult– High approval seeking and risk averse behaviour

• Some solutions– Skilling up local line leaders to be better coaches– Concrete support for key transitions going beyond ‘meet and greet’

induction– Support of internal mentor from Day 1– Externally sourced executive coaching support for complex transitions

*Source: Corporate Executive Board

Quality of development support is critical in preventing costly & painful derailmentsRapidly evolving markets & pace of organisational change effort are fertile ground for derailment

Low High

High

Development supportavailable

Development Challenge

Source: TalentInvest

High risk appointment(high probability of

derailment)

Good fit appointment/assignment

(highest organisational payback)

A safe pair of hands(little organisational

payback)

Poorly leveraged appointment/assignment

(Over-deployment of scarce development resources)

Case study: assimilating lateral hires successfullyLarge global resources company, known for its strong company culture

• The challenge– 6000 senior managers in the region held accountable for Localisation

plan (as one of 3 D&I commitments)– high proportion of lateral hires derailing within first 12 months,

jeopardising localisation plans• Approach taken

– Skilled executive coach with experience in organisational culture/ knowledge of Asia on 2 year retainer to provide combination of face to face and virtual coaching support for lateral hires

– Accountable cross divisional mentor for 1st 100 days• Outcomes achieved

– Coaching program as early warning system allowing company to recognise issues and deal with them before they became derailers


Asian growth






68 % of Western leaders, compared to 91% of Asian leaders, felt managing culturally diverse people & operations required different skills*

*2007 Conference Board Study: Painting with 2 brushes

A culture skilled in intercultural communicationAwareness of cultural differences does not go far enough

• The opportunity– Cultural fluency is best learnt in the ‘field’ (not the classroom)

• The challenge/barriers– Minority oriented thinking standing in the way of progress– Program driven rather than culture change driven

• Some solutions– Shift away from awareness training to skill building – Accreditation of promotion panel members; license to hire module for

hiring managers– Exposure to reality on the ground e.g. through Vox Pop sessions.

Reverse (group) mentoring etc – Immersion experiences to deepen cultural understanding/fluency

8 ‘universal’ cultural drivers most likely to improve talent retention in a ‘hot’ talent market

percentages denote leaders who agreed with the negative sentiment (global data from Gary Hamel Management Lab)

Structure: is the organisational culture hierarchical and rigid or fluid and flexible?

Bureaucratic: are management processes bureaucratic or a source of competitive advantage

Goals: are organisational goals focused on bottom line growth or do they include other goals?

Influence: is influence based on a personal formal position or his or her abilities?

Decisions: are key business decisions closed or open for discussion?

Innovation: are the opportunities to innovate only for senior leaders or for everyone?

Power: is power held by people who value the status quo or people who value innovation?

Values: are values shared and meaningful to employees or are they not?

54%

44%

38%

37%

61%

43%

32%

41%

Case study: Building cultural fluencyFMCG company supplying household/hygiene products in some of the world’s poorest regions

• The challenge– How to develop its leaders’ engagement and fluency across different

cultures while getting ROI for the business• Approach taken

– 6 week immersion experience in remote community to create shift in root perspective and build collective/societal purpose

– Complete isolation from current role, little or no access to home base; designed to ‘disturb’ institutional thinking and generate ‘disruptive’ ideas/learning

• Outcomes achieved– Challenged cultural assumptions/stereotypes, fresh insight about

markets and opportunities– Greater cultural fluency


Asian growth






A combination of high-touch, high-impact development interventions required to close the experience gap

Concluding Insights

• Over-reliance on recruitment solutions won’t deliver success• But there are plenty of examples of progress/success to learn

from • Building a pipeline of a new breed of Asian leader requires us

to:– Challenge current notions of what to develop– Challenge current notions of who to develop– Challenge current notions of how to develop

• Creating the right management culture, challenging dominant logic & fostering cultural fluency

Open Discussion......

• What talent management principles have you found endure irrespective of environment?

• How have you addressed the need for a new breed of Asian leader?

• What is your biggest challenge in creating a compelling experience for your most talented Asian leaders?

For more on these or other ideas on leadership contact [email protected] or visit www.talentinvest.com.au to access resources and to read our leadership blog or follow me on twitter @CapableLeaders

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