360 Autumn 2006 Virtual Leadership

8/10/2019 360 Autumn 2006 Virtual Leadership

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Customer satisfaction strategy

Fearless listening

The organisation's path to successful expatriation

Organisational spirituality away with the fairies?

Strategy as relationship

The Ashridge Journal Autumn 2006

ALSO IN THIS VOLUME:

Leading virtual teams:mastering the challenge

MAIN FEATURE:

360


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4 My angle

Paul Hampton, Chief Operating Officer of Aramark Ltd, outlines seven core attributes that successful leaders

have in common.

marter pricing

6 Virtual leadership

In todays global economy, virtual teams are a fact of life. Drawing on three years research,Ghislaine Caulat

examines the skills, competencies and techniques needed by managers to lead teams successfully in a virtualenvironment.

12 Customer satisfaction strategy

Gary Luckchallenges any producer of goods to know the size of the market for their product. He illustrates how

this knowledge will remain elusive unless customer satisfaction, in its original sense, is allowed to drive

organisational strategy.

20 Fearless listening: the hidden factor behind the power of fearless consulting

Through reflection and enquiry into his personal consulting practice and that of some 100 executive coaches,

Erik de Haan, the author of recently publishedFearless Consulting, looks at consultants vital skill of listening

without fear.

26 Snakes and ladders: the organisations path to successful expatriation

In this second article on factors that enable successful expatriation,Arno Haslberger and Sharman Esarey

discuss ways in which the organisation can tip the scales in favour of its expatriate employees.

32 Organisational spirituality: away with the fairies?

Eve Poole suggests how the concept of organisational spirituality may help organisations to achieve some

breakthrough in the intractable problems associated with employee motivation, engagement and well-being.

38 Strategy as relationship

Chris Nichols looks at some of the terms in which strategy is usually discussed, and finds the consequences

disturbing. What happens if we look at strategy just as relationships, stripping out the usual imagery? Could the

answer change both the focus and practice of strategy?

Contents


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4 www.ashridge.com/360

360 The Ashridge Journal My angle Autumn 2006

This year, I was invited to address Ashridge MBA participants at their graduation ceremony.

It was a pleasure to witness the delight, comradeship, not to mention relief, as each MBA

graduate celebrated their own success and that of their colleagues. They had all been through

a great deal of personal sacrifice to reach this achievement. All knew they had gained a

qualification of significant value to themselves and to their organisations. Each should go

on to achieve further accolades, prosperity and success as a result.

Many of them will go on to become leaders in business and perhaps in other fields of endeavour

too. It is this theme of better leadership that runs throughout Ashridges work, and underlines its

innovative offering. Ashridge is leading the way in developing new kinds of leaders across all

sectors, with the vision and the ability to understand and motivate their people, within a rapidly

changing world.

I believe there are seven core attributes that all successful leaders have in common. The first

is that they have absolute clarity about what they are trying to do. They dont try to complicate

things: they know what their objectives are.

Leaders are all optimistic. Not one leader I know or have worked with sees the glass half

empty. Philip Green, for example, whom I was privileged to work with when he was not so

famous, was optimistic about what he could achieve and hes certainly gone and done it.

Leaders tend to be reflective. You might not see this demonstrated on programmes likeThe Apprentice, but many leaders often do nothing. They look, they wait and above all they

confer before making their decisions.

Yes, leaders have egos, and good for them! Too many people can be self-deprecating in this

politically correct world. Good leaders make sure they give credit to their teams and dont

misuse their power. Instead they know where they bring value.

Leaders also have focus. They know what is the core activity and more importantly the core

score of their organisation. They may have lots of measurements, but they really focus on the

one most important thing. For us at Aramark, this is our client retention rate, because losing

a customer in the food business is like getting fired.

Choosing heroes is something else leaders do very carefully. Who leaders reward, how they

support and recognise those who are delivering and how they treat those who are not, saysa great deal to everyone else about what is valued.

My angle


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Autumn 2006 My angle The Ashridge Journal 360

However, the most important thing that great leaders do is cultivate trust. They trust their

staff to deliver. They understand their teams skills and capabilities. They know where the gaps

are and how to fill them. They are acutely aware that trust is the glue that holds the diverse

and different parts of an organisation together.

This issue of 360reflects the diverse and different parts of Ashridge and its activities. The

lead article, Virtual leadership, by Ghislaine Caulat examines the dynamics of leading teams,

whose members are based in different countries. The increasing global nature of a modern

managers work is also explored in Snakes and ladders: the organisations path to successful

expatriation by Arno Haslberger and Sharman Esarey.

Strategy is a key management activity for every organisation and the article by Chris Nichols,

The four sided triangle looks at the benefits that can be derived from viewing strategy

through different language and images. Customer satisfaction strategyby Gary Luck outlines

innovative methods that can make an organisation the most preferred supplier in every

instance, through its ability to always ensure full availability.

At the other end of the spectrum from manufacturing and supply, Eve Poole analyses how

organisational spirituality can be embraced to achieve some breakthrough in the intractable

problems associated with employee motivation, engagement and well-being, in her article,

Organisational spirituality: away with the fairies?Finally, in Fearless listening, Erik de Haan

builds on the work in his critically acclaimed book, Fearless Consulting, by examining thatcrucial aspect of successful consulting the quality of listening.

Being a part of Ashridge means belonging to a broad and rich network of contacts, friendships,

collaborations, ideas and experiences which every one of us can cultivate and draw upon in our

business lives. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this edition of 360and that it is not only

useful, but enriches and adds to your experience of Ashridge.

Paul HamptonChief Operating Officer, Aramark Limited


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360 The Ashridge Journal Virtual leadership Autumn 2006

Ghislaine Caulat is an Ashridge Consultant. Her interests

lie in helping executives to make strategies happen,

cultivating change and learning throughout their

organisations. Ghislaine has worked and lived in several

European countries.

Email: [email protected]

Virtual leadershipIn todays global economy, virtual teams are a fact of life.Drawing on three years research, Ghislaine Caulat examines

the skills, competencies and techniques needed by managers

to lead teams successfully in a virtual environment.

Virtual teams are increasingly becoming the

life-blood of most companies: they tend to

undertake the most global, strategic and

complex projects. They have the strong

advantage of gathering the best people fora specific task independent of their

geographical location in a sort of Just in

time talent approach.

There are practical reasons for this

development. Given the ongoing, relentless

globalisation of organisational life with a

growing emphasis on India, China and

Latin America, an increasing number of

employees tend to spend an increasing

amount of time working virtually. Furthermore,

multinationals are becoming wary of the

costs of having their employees travelling

around the world for a meeting lasting just a

few hours. We also observe that anincreasing number of professionals are

developing a strong sense for sustainability,

both in terms of protection of the

environment and carbon footprint

reduction, as well as maintaining a healthy

work-life balance.

Knowing how to develop and maintain high

performing virtual teams has therefore

become a critical competitive advantage.



Autumn 2006 Virtual leadership The Ashridge Journal 360

Current realityThe last decade has seen an impressive

amount of literature about virtual teams.

The focus has been changing over theyears. After a strong preoccupation with

technology and processes (the thinking

was mainly that if you got the right

technology and the right processes in

place, the team would automatically

perform)1

, there followed the realisation

that there was something else to learn in

order to develop high performing virtual

teams: the aspects of team work and

management in virtual teams got more and

more into the focus2

. However, developing

and leading effective virtual teams still

remains a big challenge. Less than 30% of

virtual teams are seen to be effective and

successful3

. Furthermore, there is often

frustration around virtual working: people

consider it to be only a necessary (but oftenpoor) substitute for face-to-face meetings.

Intrigued by the current situation

characterised by this paradox of increasing

virtual working on the one hand and

unresolved difficulties and growing

challenges on the other Ashridge has

been researching on this topic for the lastthree years to explore what is happening:

Why is virtual working still representing

such a challenge?

We found out that the crucial differentiator

between mediocre and high performing

virtual teams is the development of virtual

leaders who are able to develop and leadvirtual teams. Effective management of

virtual teams is necessary but not sufficient:

there is a real need for virtual leadership.

Geographical distance needs not be a

distractor but can become an enabler.

Virtual working can lead to very rich results

and high performing virtual teams can be

developed, provided that the right

leadership is in place, with the right skills

and competences in the team.

The researchWe did several types of qualitative research:

In this article we share the results of our

research in the areas of virtual working and

virtual leadership and explore the

implications for the development of virtual

leaders who can create high performingvirtual teams.

Challenges for leadersof virtual teams

Recognising the need for support

Often leaders and managers just end-up

leading and managing virtual teams withouthaving necessarily learnt to do so. They often

dont realise that developing high performing

virtual teams requires some different

leadership and management skills. Often

they actually dont dare admitting/expressing

that they need help:

I can manage leading a virtual team

is no different from managing an office-

based team face-to-face.

It is a different situation thats all I am

an experienced manager, I should be

able to do this all I have to do is adapt

my existing skills and have the right

communications technology.

Also only a minority of organisations have

realised that virtual working needs specific

support and endorsement. In our research

we found that some individuals felt that

their organisations did not actively support

them in virtual working as well as they

would have liked. They felt that althoughtheir organisations sanctioned virtual

working, they did not visibly and culturally

support the virtual working ethos. At this

stage it seems that only a few

organisations have explicitly assessed the

value of virtual working and developed a

strategy for it, or have a programme to

attend to the technological, social and

psychological needs of their employees.

Scope:

Conversations in teleconference settings with several test groups Audio Action Learning

People involved in the research:

Two test groups at Ashridge ConsultingThe aim of these test groups was to inquire into the experience of the groupmembers of virtual working and to identify the key themes.

A test group with four employees of a global telecommunications company A test group with four employees of a global FMCG company

The aim of the work with these two test groups was to experiment witha new format of virtual action learning and to inquire into the results with theparticipants afterwards in a collaborative action research mode.

Scope:

18 qualitative interviews with managers of different organisations in 11different industries

One inquiry workshop with seven managers from five different industries

Detailed analysis of existing literature and research Review of virtual working development provision by various training providers

We have worked with four groups of clients from three different global

organisations in an Audio Action Learning format on a regular basis since2004. The second person inquiry methodology is used to identify the emergingthemes around virtual leadership and virtual working, in a systematic way at theend of each session.

Virtual Action Learning

Research from 2004 2005

Virtual Working Study from

February April 2005

Secondary research in virtual

working (2004 2005)

Ongoing research while

working with virtual teamsin different organisations

since 2004


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Keeping the technology simple

We found out that virtual working works

well when there is:

clear communication (both at an informaland formal level)

good systems and processes

reliable simple-to-use, well supportedtechnology.

Technology used was relatively basic: oftenrespondents found that they and their

organisations chose the lowest common

denominator and stuck with it. The

awareness of options and opportunities to

change/develop technology support was

relatively low. In almost all cases the basic

tools appear to have been a

notebook/laptop and a mobile phone. Insome cases individual also used

Blackberries, Palms and webcams. There

was very little dedicated remote working

software apart from that used to access

files from the main system remotely.

Generally the most widely used

communication platform seems to be

teleconferencing in synchronous mode

(people from different locations

communicating at the same time) followed

by NetMeetings (audio and computer

based communication in synchronous

mode), and finally, much less frequent use

of videoconferencing.

In the last few months we are also

experiencing that some companies havestarted using Internet based phone

technology such as SKYPE, although the

level of security (in terms of protection

against unauthorised access) still needs to

be checked in detail. The occasional inferior

quality of connection is also a factor that

sometimes gets in the way of developing

good connectivity in virtual settings.

Establishing trust and intimacy

What seems to make the biggest difference

in virtual team work is the ability to develop

fast and nurture trust and intimacy in the

virtual environment. Here the team leader(or the line manager leading a team across

geographies) has an important role to play.

While most of the literature seems to

suggest that for a virtual team to become

high performing it is important to have met

face-to-face beforehand, we found out

that prior face-to-face meeting is

actually not necessary. In one of our testgroups we explored how a certain degree

of anonymity from the outset might actually

help people getting closer to each other

faster because of the lack of baggage or

accumulated perceptions of the person in

the past and/or in a visual mode. Much

more critical for the team is the need to

dedicate a sufficient amount of time toproperly contract how they will work

together. Every team needs to create its

own unique ways of working a code of

conduct where a minimum of rules are

developed and agreed upon.

Another important parameter related to the

development of trust and intimacy is the

degree of spontaneity and informality that a

team can develop when working together.

Often in the audio and web based

environment, deadlines and goal driven

meetings offer little room for the messy,

loose, animated conversations that help

develop human connection and the all-

important personal touch that is important in

developing intimacy. Introducing someelement of informality to formal meetings

can help people relax and connect at a

deeper level. There is a real need in any kind

of virtual team work to find a way to

introduce the coffee machine conversations

to the group. Planning proper chat time

before work begins or organising a virtual

coffee break half way through a meeting aretwo simple ways of letting people across the

world build a mental picture of the person

they are working with. What did you do over

the weekend? What is going on in your

area? for example, help to develop some

emotional connection.

Establishing a new etiquette

Teleconferences have been a popular way of

communication for a decade and generally

the rules of communication in such settings

have mimicked the rules of face-to-face

meetings. In our test groups we found that

the traditional teleconferencing etiquettebecomes counterproductive when trying

to develop trust and intimacy. In a

teleconference we have usually been taught

that only one person should speak at a time;

there should be a clear agenda where the

conversation would move systematically

from one point to the other; there should also

be a clear Chair of the meeting, etc. Weexperienced that while there was a minimum

of structure and order needed for productive

conversations to emerge, there was also a

fair amount of openness needed to let the

real themes emerge in the virtual

environment. Encouraging spontaneity in the

virtual environment starts, for example, with

something as simple as letting or

encouraging people to interrupt each other

during a phone meeting.

We didnt wait for each of us to end a

sentence. We even kept on talking on top

of each other said Minna. It was more

comfortable and it made an impact.

Pierre, another participant, explained that

he didnt expect such closeness in thework: It felt so close and the discussion

was so open. Even if the (physical)

distance is there, the distance didnt

mean anything in terms of the

relationship between us. Jenny, from

another group where we also encouraged

spontaneity, also reflected at the end: I

was amazed how well it has worked. It isalmost like being in the same room.




Furthermore we found out that the traditional

rules of teleconference encourage a culture

of advocacy rather than free flowing

conversation. If a team leader becomes a

debate monitor, asking questions by rote, theconversation can quickly disintegrate, with

each member taking up a defensible position

on a topic. The patterns make it difficult for

the members to relax and really listen

without feeling the necessity to have to

defend a point of view when they are asked.

Not only is it very hard work for the team

members, but it does little to foster anenvironment of collaboration, curiosity and

discovery; particularly as we began by

acknowledging that virtual teams in global

organisations work on high profile, strategic

themes where curiosity and innovation are

critical success parameters.

Recognising that each individualis unique

It is a common view that working in virtual

teams around the globe requires a good

degree of cultural awareness. While we

acknowledge the importance of this, our

research shows that this topic should not be

overemphasised. In each culture each

individual is different and this is precisely the

individual uniqueness that is most critical to

understand in each group: nothing less than

that. Each member is unique and hence the

crucial importance of contracting properly

with each specific group or team in a way

that respects everybodys needs. Virtual

leaders need to dedicate specific time for a

contracting session during which individual

assumptions and expectations with regard topeople and the tasks at hand can be voiced

upfront, so that a common ground to develop

ways of working specific to the group can be

created. Having worked with teams involving

cultures as varied as Japanese, Indian,

Swedish and Russian, we realise that

cross-cultural awareness may help in

understanding each other, but is certainly notsufficient to establish a sound basis for trust

to develop in the team.

The need for

and dependence

on innovative

technology

The need for

reliance on tried,

trusted and proven

technology

The existenceof established

ways of working,

relationships

and expectations

The personal

need to be

trusted, empowered

and self-directed

The business need

to manage, oversee

and control

Independence

needed to manage

own schedule and

boundaries

Interdependence

needed to

synchronise work

with colleagues

working remotely

from me

The emergence

of new ways

of working,

relationships

and expectations

AND

Recognising and managing tensions

and dilemmas

Besides the importance of contracting ways

of working and developing trust, one of the

most critical parameters of virtual workingseems to be a set of specific tensions and

dilemmas often present in a virtual setting.

We have represented those in the diagram

below. As with many tensions/dilemmas

there is no way to really solve them. It

seems that the most effective approach is to

acknowledge them and work actively with

them. Here the team leader in particular hasan important modelling role to play.

Implications for virtual teamleadersThe research has shown us that to develop

high performing virtual teams, a specific

type of leadership and management isrequired. In some cases we found out

that successful ways of managing and

leading in face-to-face situations may

actually be counterproductive in virtual

settings. There is a real need for virtual

leadership in its own right. Our research

has identified some of the specific

competences and skills that managers andleaders need to develop.


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Nurture diversity Establish norms

Demonstrating empathy Showing authority

Coaching Prescribing

Focusing on tasks Focusing on relationships

Role versatility

More than ever before leaders must learn

to become more versatile in the roles that

they take on when leading teams virtually.There is a wide range of roles that are

critical to assume and it is key to know

when to act and from which perspective. In

the diagram below we attempt to capture

the key roles in their variation.

To be successful the virtual

leader should be a relationship builder be a facilitator of social and work

processes

be a care taker be a communication designer align group structure, technology

and task environment.

Self-awareness

It goes without saying that virtual leaders

(as well as all other team members) need to

have an acute awareness of themselvesand their impact on others in a virtual

environment. This might include, for

example, revisiting how ones MBTI profile

may serve one well or get in the way of

effective virtual work. For example, people

who are very process oriented and

structure driven might be effective at

managing the virtual process of

communication between the members

during a project, but might find it

challenging to facilitate and participate in

virtual meetings (audio meetings) where

spontaneity is required. Leaders of this

type can easily become task driven in a

teleconference and allow no space for

interruptions, silences or real inquiry

to emerge.

Furthermore we categorise what we

perceive to be the key competencies and

skills for successful virtual leadership under

two main labels: Leading in the moment

and Managing the virtual process.

Leading in the momentIn synchronous virtual meetings (audio and

web based) where team members work

from different time zones but at the same

time, virtual leaders must:

Have sharpened listening skills andlearn to listen not only to what is

said/written but also to what is notsaid/written. They need to learn to listen

to the words as well as to the voice, the

intonation, the speed of the delivery, etc.

In each conversation there is a huge

richness of data about the speaker and

we only understand a little part in face-

to-face. Virtual leaders need to learn

how to understand the rest.

Learning how to move on the axis...


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Learn to work with silences: silencesmight appear in an audio environment

much longer than they actually are

(three seconds of silence in an audio

environment might feel like ten face-to-

face). It is important to resist the need

to jump into the silence too fast because

it feels unpleasant. Silences bear in

themselves exactly as much data as

words. For leaders it is key to learn to

explore them in an unthreatening manner

to develop intimacy in virtual teams.

Find a way to go with the flow of theconversation and facilitate at the

same time.

Combine structure and emergence.

Foster an atmosphere of inquiry rather

than advocacy.

Managing the virtual process

We are here particularly focusing on the

asynchronous mode (people working from

different locations at different points

of time). Virtual leaders must work on:

Building and nurturing relationshipswhere social aspects are essential

Maintaining presence in spiteof being remote

Generating information as an actof co-creation rather than a content

Co-creating shared realities

Allowing for planning and emergence

Monitoring what people achieve ratherthan what they do

Bringing the informal into the formal

Redefining the etiquette for theirown specific team

Project managing

Managing conflict

Working with diversity

Establishing the context

Managing workload in relation to time

available and time zones

Managing own and others stress.

Into the futureWe hope that what we have shared of our

research will contribute to mastering the

challenge of virtual working. Research

seems to have only just started to really getto the essence of successful virtual

working4

and calls for the development of

specific virtual leadership competences and

skills. And there is still so much more to

discover. At Ashridge our research is

ongoing and we continuously update it

based on the growing amount of consulting

and developing work that we do in a virtual

mode with more and more organisations.

Virtual leadership is above all Learner-ship

where much still remains to be discovered.

References

1. See, for example, Duarte, Deborah, L. and

Snyder, Nancy Tennant, (2001)Mastering Virtual

Teams, Jossey Bass.

2. See, for example, Willmore, Joe, (2003)

Managing Virtual Teams, ASTD Press.

3. Goodbody, Jenny, (2005) Critical Success

Factors for Global Virtual Teams, in Strategic

Communication Management, Feb/March. 9. (2).

4. Powell, Anne; Piccoli, Gabriele; Ives, Blake,

(2004) Virtual Teams: A Review of Current

Literature and Directions for Future Research,

in The Database for Advances in Information

Systems, Winter. 35 (1), p.20.


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360 The Ashridge Journal Customer satisfaction strategy Autumn 2006

Gary Luck is a Business Director at Ashridge Consulting.

He specialises in strategic change, with a particular interest

in the link between the intent and reality of strategic

outcomes. He consults with a wide range of private and

public sector organisations in the areas of strategy

development, implementation and organisational

development.


The accuracy of the resulting forecasts is

easily measured by a trip to the High

Street. Your sought after item is not

available in your size or colour. Whilst

making this discovery, you have had to

weave through hundreds of unsuitableitems of which the sales price is often less

than the cost price: so desperate are the

manufacturers to recoup some cash to

offset the financial calamity arising from

their ill-founded forecast.

If you are further up the supply chain and

do not have access to the end customerthen take a trip to any of your warehouses.

Forecasting the scienceof imprecisionHow big is the market for your product?

Every year, thousands of organisations run

endless spreadsheets and engage

multi-billion pound computer systems toproduce forecasts that will determine the

amount and specification of individual

items that the company will manufacture.

This forecast determines the raw materials

purchased, production schedules and

sales targets: all aimed at achieving the

highest level of customer satisfaction

providing customers with exactly whatthey want, whenever they want it.

In this article, Gary Luck challenges any producer

of goods to know the size of the market for their

product. He illustrates how this knowledge will remain

elusive unless customer satisfaction, in its original

sense, is allowed to drive organisational strategy.

Customersatisfactionstrategy


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Autumn 2006 Customer satisfaction strategy The Ashridge Journal 360

You can once again identify the level of

inaccuracy of your forecast by examining

the length of time the stock has been in the

warehouse and the number of stock-outs in

a given period. As the warehouse manageryou will be screamed at to produce some

stock units and yet you have enough of

others to supply the next generation!

Military supplies, fast moving consumer

goods, building supplies and household

furniture experience exactly the same

issues as the retail clothing trade.For example, a small NHS Trust recently

had to write off 4m of out-of-date drugs.

On the other hand, the pharmaceutical

companies are frequently unable to meet

the full demand across all required drug

lines. If only the future could be predicted!

Of course it cant be. It is acknowledged

that in any forecast there will be a margin ofinaccuracy, but only at the point of sale will

the extent of the inaccuracy be illustrated.

Customer satisfaction strategy...This article proposes a way for organisations

to be successful even when the demand for

their product range is full of uncertainty. The

key lies in the roots of the very word

satisfaction. It is derived from two Latin

words, satis meaning enough, and facio

to make. In other words, customer

satisfaction is not simply dependent on the

marketeers, sales or point of sales personnel

or the customer experience. Its more

fundamental, requiring an organisation to

make enough to meet customer needs.

Successful organisations are those that canbase their strategy on meeting not the

forecasted needs but the instant demands of

their customers, providing them with 100%

availability of the product they want whilst

keeping their costs under control through low

inventory. Customer satisfaction, rather than

forecasts, is allowed to drive organisational

strategy. In order for this to happen, a numberof principles must be followed:

1. Consumption should drive production

scheduling

2. Production scheduling should drive the

supply of raw material

3. Order lead time, production lead time and

distribution/transport lead times should

be reduced to an absolute minimum

wherever possible.

If such a strategy is adopted, there are

profound implications not just for the way abusiness is run, but also for the people

within the different departments of the

organisation. Senior executives need to

understand all of the strategic inputs from

operations, distribution, sales and planning

functions and the way they must change

not only their methods and measures, but

also their thinking.

It is important to stress that top

management needs to pay a great deal

more than lip service to the task of

ensuring that manufacturings input into

the strategic debate is comprehensive and

that the agreed corporate decisions fully

reflect the complex issues involved.1

...with new behavioursIn each of these areas, leadership and

human behaviour are critical to achieving a

paradigm shift from traditional ways of

thinking and working. We are all too familiar

with silo-driven mentality in organisations

where decisions are made based upon the

perspective of a single department and noton the need of the end customer. With the

continued use of cost/profit centres and

internal transfer pricing, managers

in organisations often make win/lose

decisions between internal departments

that impact badly on the bottom line

of the company. To implement customer

satisfaction driven strategy, the balance ofpower should be roughly equal, with

6


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Perhaps the biggest barrier to successful

implementation of customer satisfaction

strategy is the anxiety leaders experience

when facing such a radical paradigm shift

across operations, financial measures,sales and marketing. In a sophisticated

business environment our bodies react in

the same way as they did in our distant

past. Automatic reactions such as the

flow of blood to our hands ready for

defence or attack, and to our legs ready

for flight were indelibly etched onto

humans hundreds of thousands of yearsago when man was a hunter, as explained

in The Imperial Animal4

.

A successful furniture manufacturer

that increased bottom line profit by

meeting customer demand has been

able to share a significant proportionof the extra profit with all staff

members. Daily, weekly and monthly

reviews of performance to the end-

user are what staff are now focused

on, rather than measures of local

efficiency, productivity or sales. This is

fostering a pan-departmental culture

of supportive relationships, replacingthe previous them and us adversarial

relationships.

When manufacturer Remploy needed

to meet a sharp increase in demand

for military uniforms at the start ofthe Gulf War, in addition to

implementing Theory of Constraints

approaches in new processes, new

methods of performance assessment

were introduced. These focused on

the finished product rather than on

individual parts of the process,

enhancing team spirit and sense of

collaborative working.3

everyone subordinating to the very precise

individual needs of the end customer.

There is no place for political and

power games, which have long been

acknowledged as restrictive to total systemeffectiveness. As Rosabeth Kanter wrote:

a monopoly on power means that only

very few have this capacity, and they

prevent the majority of others being able

to act effectively. Thus the total amount of

power and total system effectiveness

is restricted.

2

It is critical that people across supply chains

understand that they are in business to

deliver a service to the end user, not

to meet measures relating to the parts of

the supply chain. With modern technology

enabling unprecedented levels of

information and communication from pointof sale throughout the entire supply chain, it

is easier than ever to take a whole system

view rather than become preoccupied with

local, departmental measures. However,

individual needs for recognition, reward and

security may lead to reluctance to adopt

customer satisfaction strategy. It is vital for

everyone to understand and be rewarded

for what really matters to the business

as a whole. It is usually necessary

to change the existing measure and reward

system away from departmental based

measures to accurate customer fulfilment

based measures to achieve a sustainable

breakthrough in performance.

6


14/42



During the implementation of this customer

satisfaction strategy your conventional

wisdom and current paradigm will be

challenged. It is therefore important to be

aware of your own automatic reactions.William Isaacs describes this well:

I get defensive or competitive, at times

aggressive and I see others as the

source of this behaviour!They may have

gotten under my skin, but it was my skin

that had something under it.5

A self awareness of physical bodily

reactions can be very helpful in dealing with

stressful situations, coupled with an ability

to create environments for true dialogue.

Unless we create an inquiring environment6

,

thinking together with colleagues across

different functions where each participant

holds their hypothesis lightly enough

to really hear each other, customer

satisfaction strategy will only ever be

a dream.

Let us look at the three key areas where

the combination of customer satisfaction

driven strategy with new behaviour can

deliver remarkable results:

1. Consumption driven schedulingLets take a simplified example of a multiple

outlet High Street fashion store. Many retail

chains might proudly claim that if they sell

100 garments a day, they will restock with

100 garments for the next. However, only if

the replenished stock is identical to the

unpredictable size, shape, style and colourpreference of each of the next days

customers, will the retailer be able to

provide 100% availability. With customer

satisfaction driven strategy, when a

particular item is sold, it should be

replenished from back room stock within

the store. If information about the exact

colour, size and item of each sale is relayedto the manufacturer on a daily (or even

hourly!) basis, the back room stock should

be replenished from the manufacturer.

Sometimes this will be from the

manufacturers small finished goods stock,

and sometimes it will be made to order

depending on delivery times.

This requires a considerable shift from

departmental based decision making to

customer demand based decision making.

Subordinating to a masterschedule based

only on daily sales overrides the common

power struggles between, for example,

sales and production (We can sell morebut they cant make it or We could

produce much more but they cant sell it.)

If your part of the supply chain is not

involved in manufacturing the product, you

may have to address the need to improve

relationships, communications and enabling

technology with other parts of the supply

chain. Have you ever considered that no

part of the supply chain has sold until the

end user buys?Of course suppliers of raw

material can offer bulk discounts within

a particular month and force product onto

the next part of the supply chain but have

they really sold? It is likely the next month

will be a lean one for the supplier.

This approach can be effectively extrapolated

throughout the organisational entities in the

entire supply chain.

2. Production driven supplyImmediate replenishment at point of sale

has obvious implications not just for the

manufacturing operations but for

the purchase of raw material. Traditionalraw material purchase is often determined

by a combination of forecast, usage and

availability of bulk discounts. Production

driven supply is dependent on accurate

data being sent to the supplier, according

to customer demand. This enables

continuous production that never has to be

interrupted due to lack of materials.Particularly where delivery can take several

weeks or even months, this may seem

impractical. However, with use of a system

to replenish finished goods stock,

combined with good supplier relationships

and creative transport solutions, remarkable

results can be achieved. Innovative thinkingwill be and has been developed for

suppliers who insist on supplying large

batches of, for example, dyed material.

Large batch delivery would impede this

type of, solution as it prevents the

necessary flexibility. Paying attention to

buffer management and accurate

composition of each customer deliveryreduces the need to hold high stock

levels to compensate for uncertainty.

Consequently, inventory levels can be much

reduced, as can warehouse and floor

space. This has immediate impact on

cashflow and ROI.

US textiles and apparel companyWarren Featherbone improved margins

by nearly 20%, while improving turns

from 2.5 to 4.5.

Mercantile's retail store experienced

gross margin increase of 135% and

store space decreased by 50%.

Oregon Freeze Dry implemented this

approach and reduced inventory by

60% and increased sales by 20% within

six months.

Walmart, the worlds largest retailer with

sales approaching $300bn, focuses on

low inventory and high availability of

product on the shelf.

360


15/42



3. Short lead times

Order lead time

We often consider lead times as production

and transport lead times. Of course theseelements are important but there is another

amount of time that is often ignored: order

lead time.

In Figure 1 you will see that order lead time

is by far the longest time relative to

production and transport lead time. If this

time can be eliminated then stock levelscan be reduced allowing cash to be

released for the company.

In Figure 1, a common stock measurement

system is depicted illustrating minimum and

maximum inventory. Organisations pay

attention to stock levels as real money is

tied up with too much stock. This moneycould be spent on other activities to

generate more return on investment. The

key is to provide 100% availability with low

inventory levels. In the graph, orders for an

individual stock unit are placed, the

individual stock unit is delivered, the

individual stock unit is consumed, another

order is placed, the individual stock unit isdelivered, and the individual stock unit is

consumed. The average individual stock

unit level is between the minimum and

maximum levels.

Max Stock Level

Stock consumption

Order placed Order deliveredX Y Z

StockLevelsperSKU

Min Stock Level

Stock consumption

X Order Lead Time

Y Production Lead Time

Z Transport Lead Time

Figure 1.Devastating effects of order lead time

A t 2006 C i f i Th A h id J l 360


16/42



It is clear that when order lead time is

eliminated (Figure 2), the average individual

stock unit level is reduced. If order lead time

is eliminated across all stock units, the result

will be reduced inventory. The benefits ofreduced inventory are:

To the product: improved quality andengineering as defects will be identified

and rectified earlier; new products

introduced faster

To the price: higher margins and lowerinvestment per unit increasing ROI

To meet customer satisfaction by 100%availability of product and shorter

quoted lead times.

Order delivered

Stocklev

elsperSKU

Max stock level

Min stock level

Y Production lead time

Z Transport lead time

Stock consumption

Information of end customer demand

Y Z

Figure 2.Elimination of order lead time

If accurate and frequent information of

customer demand is provided as in Figure

2, then stock will be reduced by at least one

third whilst nearly 100% customer needs

are met.



17/42



Competitive advantage through thestrategic saleIf a manufacturing company adopts the

strategy described above, what are the

implications for the company, its customersand its market?

It gives the supplying company the

confidence to make a remarkable offer to

the customer. Knowing that it can deliver

the right product to the right place at the

right time, every time, with lower overall

cost, the company can offer:

a. To take full responsibility and

accountability (including financial) for the

stock held at the customers premises

b. To pay penalties if a product is not

available to the customer on demand.

Potentially this gives the company a

competitive edge in the market place as it

increases the customers return on

investment by increasing their inventory

turns and ensuring that every sale is met.

This becomes an extremely enticing offer to

the customer, who could well accept higher

prices for the improved service7

.

Dr Goldratt based his best selling book

Its Not Luck8

on a real packaging company

that dramatically reduced lead time, reduced

stock levels, and increased due date

performance to near 100%. They made an

unrefusable offer to the market and

increased sales and margin dramatically.

Production lead time

Lead times are often crucial in calculating

how much stock is required to ensure

demand is met. For example: if you have a

three week lead time for product delivery,then, as a retail outlet, you would probably

try to hold four weeks worth of stock to

reduce your risk of stock-outs. If the lead-

time was two days then one weeks worth

of stock would be sufficient. Whilst this

example is simplistic (it depends upon the

product and demand), it illustrates the

point that longer lead times result inhigher stock and higher stock levels result

in more cash being tied up.

There is also an important theoretical reason

for reducing lead time. There is a one to one

relationship between the amount of inventory

in a system and the time that it takes to go

through the system. Simply, this means that if

one unit takes one hour to go through a

system with 100 units of work in progress

then if that work in progress was reduced to

50, the unit would take 30 minutes to go

through the system. Reduced production lead

times are particularly valuable where

products become obsolete very quickly. They

are vital, for example, for toy producers who

produce film associated merchandise or haveto meet the pre-Christmas sales boom. They

are also vital for high technology industries.

Motorolas Advanced Product Research

and Development Laboratory increased

throughput by 150% and reduced

cycle times by 20%. Benefits to the

Fab plant came in terms of addedcapacity allowing the addition of more

technologies to the line. Due to

reduction in cycle time, new technology

introduction occurred faster.



18/42



Returning to the original question posed at

the beginning of the article: how big is themarket for your product? Unless your

company is providing 100% availability of

your products it is impossible to know. It is

almost impossible to measure sales that

are lost or worse, diverted to your

competitors. Your lost sales are probably

higher than you have ever imagined: based

on studies of many industries, your figurecan be as high as 150% dependent on

your degree of seasonality.

However, with customer satisfaction

strategy meeting 100% of customer

demand, you will be able to answer for

today How big is the market for your

product?

Note: Personal conversations with Dr E Goldratt and

Mickey Granot (Director of Goldratt Group) have

informed my thoughts.

References

1. Hill, Terry, (1993)Manufacturing Strategy,

The MacMillan Press.

2. Kanter, Rosabeth, (1977)Men and Women

of the Corporation, Basic Books, New York.

3. Luck, Gary, (2004)New Market Innovation

through Supply Chain Management, CriticalEYE

REVIEW: Journal of Europe's Centre for Business

Leaders, March-May.

4. Tiger, Lionel and Fox, Robin, (1997) The Imperial

Animal, Transaction Publishers.

5. Isaacs, William, (1999) Dialogue and the

Art of Thinking Together, Doubleday.

6. Block, Peter, (1993) Stewardship, Berrett Koehler.

7. Cram, Tony, (2006) Smarter Pricing,360

The Ashridge Journal, Spring.

8. Goldratt, Eli, (1994) Its Not Luck, Gower.

9. Shragenheim, Eli and Dettmer, H. William, (2001)Manufacturing at Warp Speed: Optimizing Supply

Chain Financial Performance, St Lucie Press, 2001.

1. Obtaining fast sales information:making decisions based on todays

sales to the customer

2. Implementing 'world class' production

and distribution processes and

creating the environment for

behavioural changes9

3. Only when confidence to deliver to

the customer demand is at almost

100% with reduced inventory can

the strategic sale be made that will

provide a win/win solution, increasing

margin for you and your customer

4. Sales focus on improving ROI forcustomers rather than offering

discounts

5. Ensuring motivated and proactive

staff: using incentives based on whole

organisation measures, reflecting the

extent to which customer demand

is met

6. Addressing individual anxieties of

senior managers and staff and meeting

their development needs around the

paradigm shifts described above.

Successful implementationKey steps to successful implementation

of customer satisfaction strategy are:

360 The Ashridge Journal Fearless listening: the hidden factor behind the power of fearless consulting Autumn 2006


19/42


360 s g ou ss st g: t cto b t po o ss co su t g Autumn 2006

Through reflection and enquiry into his personal consulting practice

and that of some 100 executive coaches, Erik de Haan, the author

of recently published Fearless Consulting, looks at the vital

skill for consultants of listening without fear.

Fearless listening:

the hidden factor behind thepower of fearless consulting

Erik de Haan is Director of the Ashridge Centre for

Coaching. His focus is on executive coaching, action

learning and peer consultation and organisational

development consulting. He writes widely on these

subjects. His most recent book, Fearless Consulting,

was published earlier in 2006.


Fearless Consulting2,000 years ago Plutarch pointed out that

although most professionals spend a lot of

time and effort in learning to speak better,

it is the faculty of listening that really

deserves this investment. In my opinion, the

same is still true for many professional

executives and consultants today.

Autumn 2006 Fearless listening: the hidden factor behind the power of fearless consulting The Ashridge Journal 360


20/42


3

Fearless Consulting

The aim in Fearless Consulting was to reflect on the temptations, risks and limits of the

profession and to get consultants thinking about their profession, with questions such as:

What does consulting really mean? What does it mean to be a consultant? What sort of dilemmas can consulting entail? How can consulting degenerate into something that is no longer consulting?

The book considers a number of puzzling questions such as:

How can one distinguish a consultant from a flatterer? As a consultant, how does one handle ambiguous and ambivalent clients?

Can one in fact consult with ambiguity?

Is consulting free from power? How can one be irresponsible without behaving irresponsibly? How can one let go without letting the other person go?

Almost a year after publishing Fearless

Consulting1

, I realise that I never made

explicit the aspect of consulting that

underpins my whole approach to the

profession. This aspect is quality oflistening, or the fearlessness of really

listening well. This article seeks to explore

further and underline the relevance of

fearless listening in consulting practice.

The art of listening remained somewhat

implicit throughout Fearless Consulting

because it is so difficult to speak or writeabout listening. After all, where there is

speech, there is no (full and fearless)

listening. When you speak or write you are

in sending mode, while if you listen you are

in receiving mode and it is impossible to

be fully engaged in both modes at the

same time. Therefore readers listen more

than writers. Even for readers, listening may

acquire a consuming flavour: the kind of

listening that leaves us largely absorbed in

the main threads of the argument with little

room for listening between the lines,

listening for ambiguity or for unresolved,open issues.

Generally, how does one enter this state of

mind that is consulting, the state of mind of

high-quality listening? I believe the short

answer is: by noticing what is going on with

this client at this moment in this

relationship. I believe that consultingactually exists only in the here and now. If I

can be truly involved in what is going on at

present with my client, I have already done

most of my consulting work for this

moment. Consulting begins and ends with

a joint focus by client and consultant on

improving the situation of one of them:

the client.



21/42


In fact, listening is the only communicative

skill that we need in order to be skillful in

all other communication, and the only one

that even experienced practitioners feel

that they still have a lot to learn about. This

is partly because even accomplished

listeners have sub-optimal skills. There isalways a lot going on that any listener may

miss, as there are very few signals and it is

a struggle to read them well. Also, our

fears often decrease our faculty of

listening, even if we are not conscious of

them or dont attach sufficient weight

to them.

Why is listening fearful?Listening often seems the easiest thing in

consulting: the interest is there, the

empathy is there, listening skills have been

developed to a sufficient level, etcetera.

Consultants often think that consulting

has not really begun when they are onlylistening. We often overlook how crucial

and fearsome just listening is, and many

of us overestimate our own listening skills.

To quote Plutarch (1st Century A.D.)

again: Some people think the speaker

has a function, while the listener

does nothing2

.

An example of the need to listen well, consult less

If consultants are able to detect the irony in a presenting problem, they may often save

themselves a lot of work. We discovered this a little late, some ten years ago, when we

were asked to facilitate a programme on project management for Nike Europe in

Belgium. Over the previous years, the Nike managers concerned had made a

considerable effort towards becoming professional project leaders: reading books,

attending courses and seeking to implement learning, but for some reason this had

never brought them the hoped-for improvement in their work.

After some preliminary conversation and agreement on the programme design, we

started to facilitate the first module on project management. The managers responded

enthusiastically, inquiring about ways to complete projects more successfully. When itcame to the writing of a project plan and the need to map project goals, results and

milestones, someone gave an unexpected response: This wont work over here. We

always follow our company motto Just do it!which inspires us to believe that nothing

is impossible so long as we dedicate ourselves to it one hundred percent. So it wont

suit us to create a lot of paperwork first and only then to begin to actually do things.

This was such a compelling remark that we decided to use the remainder of the

module to listen to the participants and the circumstances under which they might be

prepared to commit to any planning ahead and thereby to complement their motto.

We decided to cancel the rest of the programme because we were convinced that there

was no lack of knowledge or training in the field of project management. The strong

company culture and motto of Nike had led to repeated ironical requests for training in

the field of project management. As far as I know, this might still be the case.

Permission for example kindly granted by Nike



22/42


Reviewing my own difficulties with listening,

I have come to conclude that there are four

basic fears that block my listening at

different times. These are only myfears; the

reader may have others not mentioned here.

1. The fear of not contributing enough or

not being useful enough. This is a central

theme for many consultants (see our

research on critical moments for coaches3

)

and has to do with the fact that the

consultant is not in charge, and not himself

responsible for results that ultimately belongto the client. Naturally the consultant can

become apprehensive of not doing enough

or contributing enough to the solution of his

clients problems. When the consultant is

only listening, this fear is heightened and

may develop into a distraction which itself

precludes only listening.

2. The fear of not understanding enough.

The struggle for understanding is always

part of the work of the listener. Once the

listener becomes aware of how much he is

missing, and of how much more there is he

could also be listening to, this fear of not

understanding well is heightened.

3. The fear of exposure of self. When we arelistening carefully, we are offering our full

attention and we are trying to let in as much

information as we can. This means we

suspend our judgements of what we see and

hear, and we develop empathy for our clients.

We also let go as much as possible of our

own interpretative processes and our own

agendas. This can leave us feelingawkwardly exposed, vulnerable, and open to

potential client critique or rejection. This fear

is heightened when something that the client

says or does appears critical towards us.

4. The fear of loss of self. Another fear when

listening carefully, offering our full attention

and being open as much as we can, is that

we almost dissolve into the clients frame of

mind. I have often experienced a trance-like

state when I was listening with all my heart

and mind, becoming myself almost an

extension of the thoughts and feelings of my

clients. This risk of almost losing oneself intrance is heightened when we are listening to

very emotional accounts, or to ambivalence

and ambiguity, so that neither we nor our

clients know what will come next.

Fearful dilemmas of listeningInterestingly, the four basic fears above

seem to complement each other in pairs:

The first two are about:

Underplaying the task that is involvedin just listening

Being overly daunted by the taskof the listener.

The second two are about:

Becoming self-conscious aboutthe vulnerability of being there for

someone else

Becoming self-effacing in the process

of listening.

These two pairs of complementing fears can

be pictured as dilemmas, showing the

ambivalence of a listener. This matches a

common experience with listening, i.e. when

one fear disappears there is a good chance

that another fear will pop up, such that the

middle ground of just excellent listeningseems an almost unattainable state and a

precarious balance. See Figure 1 overleaf

for a short summary of the two dilemmas.

The axes in this figure are about

appreciation of listening (high appreciation

at the bottom to low appreciation at the

top) and about the focus of listening

(merging with self on the left and merging

with the other on the right).



23/42


Not seeing the work

involved in listening

Identifying withthe otherBeing self-conscious

Overestimating the workthat is involved in listening

FEARLESSLISTENING

Figure 1.Dilemmas of listening

An example of how our fears may influence our listening

This is just a recent and typical example of something that I experience with some regularity. It was the second

coaching conversation with an HR consultant who is currently entering the coaching profession. As a supportto studying for her MSc in coaching, she requested five coaching conversations.

After she sat down for the second conversation, the client did not know quite how to start, referred back to the

first coaching session, fell silent, started again, faltered again, showed some embarrassment and started

apologising for rambling. When she got more into the conversation she related some incidents from her

previous career as a manager and some experiences from the MSc programme, and then shared an array of

doubts about whether she would be able to become a good coach. I listened attentively and pointed out some

common themes, such as her tendency to attribute successes to others, including her teachers, sponsors andme, while attributing failures to herself.

After the conversation I made some notes about themes in the conversation and about areas to explore in the

next session. It was only when I read back these notes that it dawned on me how vulnerable and diffident this

client was. I had been very smart to point out patterns and analogies, to remember some relevant themes from

our first session, and to highlight themes for future sessions, but I had almost lost my client in my failure to

recognise where she was on an emotional level. Only with the help of my supervisor could I preserve the

beneficial nature of this coaching journey and become less analytical and more supportive before it was too

late. I had fallen prey to the fear of opening myself up, and by not doing so, failed to engage emotionally

with the client.



24/42


References

1. de Haan, E., (2006). Fearless Consulting

Temptations, Risks and Limits of the Professi on,Wiley, Chichester.

2. Plutarch (1st Century A.D.). On listening.

Translated by R. Waterfield, Essays, Penguin Books,

London, 1992.

3. de Haan, E., (2006a). Ik twijfel dus ik coach

spannende momenten van coaches uit hun eigen

praktijk coachingpraktijk [I doubt therefore I coach

critical moments in coaching practice],

Handboek Effectief Opleiden 40 (11.6), pp.

2.012.18. Followed by: de Haan, E. (2006b),

Ik worstel en kom boven spannende momenten

van ervaren coaches [I struggle and emerge critical

moments of experienced coaches], Handboek

Effectief Opleiden, 40 (in print).

4. Ibid

5. Rogers, C.R. (1961). On Becoming a Person

a Therapist's View of Psychotherapy,Constable,

London. (See chapters 8 and 9 for what it means

to become more mature).

Overcoming fears: ongoingresearch and practiceAny listeners wish would be to get over

these fears, and to just be listening, even in

difficult circumstances where the issuesare complex or we are ourselves somehow

implicated. So, how do we work on our best

quality of listening? Seriously getting

involved in these questions amounts to

acquiring a free ticket to a fascinating

journey of picking up ever more gold dust

in life, as well as securing a way to improve

many of our relationships and, on top of allthat, to become better at consulting.

Recently, I have been studying the question

of how to get over a listeners fears with

about 100 coaches, half of whom are in

their first year as a coach and the other half

with at least eight years of experience. They

have kindly communicated their own most

critical moments to me, to do with listening

to themselves and to their coachees, and I

have tried to listen to their accounts of

these moments4

. We have reached only

some early answers to the question, and

they seem to be related to the following:

The right intention, involving genuine

interest, curiosity and commitment.This is what the book Fearless

Consulting is all about

Self-awareness, particularly when itcomes to our own fears and to the

relatively poor quality of our listening,

however hard we try

Just generally becoming more mature,which, according to Carl Rogers

5

,

means becoming more open,

susceptible, flexible, trusting, accepting

and authentic

Involving a consultant (or coach, orsupervisor), as this person may help us

to look at the fears themselves and

resist the temptation of putting them

away or eliminating them.

It is an all too human and ultimately

biological reaction to want initially to

eliminate fears, tensions, doubts and

ambivalences by fighting or fleeing. Our

clients display such fight/flight impulses,often called defences, when confronted

with tensions. However, we cannot deny

them in ourselves either; not even when

we are in the role of consultant. Before we

know it, we are skirting around or ignoring

these fears, or pinning them down with a

firm interpretation. The more we consult,

the more we ourselves build up long-termdefences against our existential fears and

doubts without realising that we are

doing this.

I am grateful to Karen Welch who first spotted the

omission in Fearless Consulting when it comes to

fearless listening.

360 The Ashridge Journal Snakes and ladders: the organisations path to successful expatriation Autumn 2006


25/42


Arno Haslberger is an Ashridge Associate and

Co-director of the AshridgeStrategic Human Resource

Management programme. He has lived and worked in

both Europe and the US, teaching on a range of MBA

and executive education programmes.


Sharman Esarey is the Editor of the 2005 Annual

Report for the Organization for Security and Co-operation

in Europe. Previously she spent 16 years at Reuters

as a journalist in Germany, the US and UK. She is also

the president of the American Womens Association

in Austria.


Snakes and ladders: the organisations path

to successful expatriationIn this second article on factors that enable successful expatriation,

Arno Haslberger and Sharman Esarey discuss ways in which the

organisation can tip the scales in favour of its expatriate employees.In the first of this pair of articles

(360Spring 2006), we focused on the

effect of the environment on the

expatriates adjustment and on the most

important determinant of the adjustment

process: the expatriate himself.

Individual reactions to external inputs

set in motion virtuous cycles that drive

adjustment, or vicious cycles that

restrain adjustment and sometimes

derail assignments. In both articles we

used the old Indian game of Snakes and

Ladders as a metaphor to explain this

process. Snakes send the expatriate

player skidding back on the road toadjustment; ladders help him jump

squares and sprint ahead.

Organisations sending executives abroad

have a critical role to play in influencing

their expatriates adjustment to a new

culture (Bhaskar-Shrinivas et al, 2005).

They can enhance performance abroad or

undermine it. Their interventions, at critical

points, can tip the scales either way. In this

article, we focus on how companies must

build ladders to adjustment and improve

performance from good to great. They also

need to eliminate snakes (the slippery

downward paths that can cripple or ruin

assignments abroad), thereby defending

against negative influences.

Autumn 2006 Snakes and ladders: the organisations path to successful expatriation The Ashridge Journal 360


26/42


Typically, because of the need to avoid

problems, companies focus defensively on

eliminating snakes. They may ignore the big

wins that pro-active construction of ladders

can bring, often with a relatively smallinvestment in resources and manpower.

As we roll the dice at the start of one mans

game, we can also highlight another twist to

the game of expatriate adjustment the

timeline of critical corporate interventions. We

break this down into three important stages:

a. preparing for expatriation

b. the early days in the host country

c. from three to six months into the

assignment.

This time-line is illustrated in the story of

our expatriate's route on the Snakes and

Ladders board with its inevitable ups and

downs. We particularly focus on the

potential role of organisational influence in

the three spheres of adjustment: individual,

micro- and macro-environmental factors.

Lets play

Coltrane Corp. rolls the dice, announcing ithas selected David Browne, a 40-year-old

engineer, for the prestigious position of

starting up its new line of business in Japan.

His boss, convinced of his technical brilliance

and impressed by his management skills with

his local ten-person team, nominated him for

the new role. After 15 successful years with

the company, this will still be a major break forDavid. Should things go well, it could vault him

into the companys upper ranks.

When Coltrane rolls, where does David

land? On a snake or a ladder?

While every expatriate experience is

different, much will depend on how

Coltrane has prepared the ground to

influence the critical individual and the

micro- and macro-environmental factors at

this stage of the game.

Preparing for expatriationColtrane based its decision to send David

both on his technical and his managerial

skills. These individual factors are crucial;

David must have the requisite technicalskills to survive the first weeks on the job

and avoid a slide down a snake.

But two matters in the individual sphere

are unclear at this juncture. First, has

Coltrane avoided the snake of faulty

expectations? Training must provide solid

insight into the new macro- and micro-environment, equipping the expatriate and

his family with the knowledge needed to

navigate a new environment, including

a thorough job preview and host

organisation briefing for the expatriate.

Unmet expectations disappoint employees

and can undermine adjustment and

performance (Black, 1992), while

experiences that exceed expectations tend

to fuel peoples well-being.

Expatriates will need information about

the new country as well as about the

process of adjustment that awaits them.

The company should tailor the length and

tools of the training to reflect whether the

expatriate has had a similar experienceabroad and take into account the cultural

distance of the host and the home country.

Second, has the organisation built the

ladder that could ensure peak performance

from David? Has it assessed his personal

characteristics (Caligiuri, 2000a, 2000b)

and included this assessment in itsselection process? Organisations often fail

to take into account personality factors that

influence an expatriates adaptability, his

propensity to return early or how he

performs on the job. Although most people

can adapt to new surroundings, outgoing,

curious and relaxed individuals will have an

easier time and experience less stress.

Even if Coltrane does not use such

personality assessments as a tool to help

determine whom to select for assignments,



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such information can be used as a basis for

development, to help hone the individuals

skills before or during expatriation.

In the selection process, Coltrane must alsoarm to battle perhaps the biggest snake of

all. Family maladjustment is a prime reason

for expatriate problems. Spouse adjustment

is regarded by many as the single most

influential variable in the adjustment of

expatriate employees (Bhaskar-Shrinivas

et al, 2005). At a minimum, organisations

need to involve families in a conversation

about motivation and expectations before

concluding the expatriate selection

process. Combined with proper training, the

inclusion of the family in the expatriation

process will go a long way toward

eliminating problems.

Provided Coltrane has done its homework,

David will be advancing on the board.

At this point, Coltrane faces further

reverberations from the choices it has

made in Davids micro-environment. Has it

used savvy career planning to build

a ladder? Career planning needs to be part

of the expatriation process long before

the expatriate gets on the plane.

The organisation must thoroughly reviewthe objective of the assignment (Black and

Gregersen, 1999). What outcomes are

expected both short- and long-term? Is the

assignment designed only to complete

a specific task or tasks, or also to provide

an executive with certain skills and

groom a future leader? Coltrane must make

certain its career planning matches itsoverarching strategic goals.

Finally, Coltrane must thoroughly road test

the new job and its characteristics. It is not a

given that well-adjusted expatriates perform

well (Thomas and Lazarova, 2006). Job

design is a crucial point and companiesoften overlook the pitfalls. The company

must pay attention to three key factors:

a. that job objectives are clear and

internally consistent

b. that the expatriate's level of discretion

is such that he has room to breathe,

but also that he is not out there on

his own

c. that reporting and appraisal lines

are not ambivalent, especially since

the challenges of reporting in matrix

organisations are magnified

in expatriate settings.

The early daysGiven Coltrane's good planning, David should

be approaching the middle of the game board

as he steps off the plane into the host

country. Without this help, other expatriates

might be stranded lower down the board

while David prepares to get down to business.

To prepare David for this period, it is essential

that Coltranes training focus is not just on

the new environment, but also on the process

that David will go through as an individualas

he adjusts. Coping with differences

generates stress and requires strategies to

relieve it. Such a move is a wrenching

transition. Training is often most successful insitu, when the expatriate is experiencing the

issues under discussion. Coltrane can

proactively provide new arrivals with coping

strategies. Substitution is one such technique.

David, for example, is an ardent rugby fan, a

sport that is only developing in his new home.

With the help of his new co-workers David

could get introduced to a new, but similarly

exciting sport. Perceived support by the host

organisation is an important facilitating factor

in adjustment (Kraimer et al, 2001).

Autumn 2006 Snakes and ladders: the organisations path to successful expatriation The Ashridge Journal 360


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Micro-environmental factors loom largest

at this stage, the first few weeks of an

assignment abroad. Coltrane should build

important ladders by helping families cope

with support for matters that go beyondschools and housing and by helping

provide, or guide new arrivals to, a

social network.

In the early days of a move abroad, Davids

wife Louise will typically be under

considerable strain. She is bearing the

burden of finding new schools, a new

house and moving in, even if the company

supplies a relocation agent to help with the

details. With little extra planning, the

company can free up some of Davids time

in the transitional weeks to get the new

home life off to a good start.

Similarly, the company can provide access

to a support network at little cost and for

great benefit. Many companies join up with

others in the same foreign location in a job

exchange for expatriate spouses. The firstfew weeks are necessarily a time of stress,

when expatriates and their families have a

number of tasks to do and few friends or

acquaintances with whom to share the new

experiences. The company can direct the

newcomers to organisations or groups that

might prove helpful. It can hook them up

with experienced expatriates. It can itself

provide cultural mentors, helping the

arrivals to build a corporate social network.

School days differ widely. Even within

Europe, one expatriate couple found

their sons school began in different

countries at 0730, 0815, 0830, 0900

and 0930. Depending on the country, it

ended at between 1300 and 1900.

Such changes affect the entire familys

schedule, the search for childcare and

employment opportunities for the

expatriates partner. They can even

affect childrens health.

This couples five-year-old son suffered

from repeated bouts of tonsillitis. Finally,

the doctor recommended the glands be

removed. Several months before they

were to return home for the operation,the family moved to Spain. The childs

new school started at 0930, rather than

0730. It was also nearby and he walked

to school, whereas before he had been

driven. He never had tonsillitis again.

As president of the American Womens Association in Vienna, I come across English-

speaking women from across the globe who struggle with the transition to a new

environment. New arrivals complain that, while coping with new homes and schools and

other important matters, some task that they do on autopilot at home suddenlytransforms into a feat of cross-cultural acrobatics. What took 15 minutes at home now

requires an hour, even two.

One new arrival told me she and her partner arrived in Vienna during the Christmas

holidays; they couldnt find a single grocery store to stock the refrigerator and

ended up eating out for days. Another said she had decided on ham sandwiches for

lunch what could be easier? Then she spent more than an hour in the grocery store

unable to locate the mustard.

These frustrations are trivial, but they pile up like the proverbial straws on the camels

back even though they are easy for the company to foresee and address.

Citing similar examples, these women spoke about how difficult their changed

circumstances were and how tough to come to grips with. They all needed to make new

friends who could sympathise with their experiences.

Sharman Esarey



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Finally, also at the micro-environmental

level, Coltrane can ensure that both its

human resources support and its host staff

are prepared to receive expatriates and

to deal with related issues (Toh andDeNisi, 2005). Often HR personnel lack

international experience themselves.

They do not understand the issues and

are therefore unable to detect developing

problems early on, when necessary.

Companies need to train their HR support

staff and ideally have HR professionals who

have been on expatriate assignments

themselves. So too, employees in the

host organisation can do a lot to make

expatriates lives easier, or harder.

Months three to sixAs yet, although David should be reaching

the final rows of our game board, we have

not included any macro-environmental

factors in our analysis of corporat

360 Autumn 2006 Virtual Leadership

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