The simple answer is: 'almost certainly yes!' So make sure your managers are well-prepared for the culture they are heading for.

Don't expect the locals to adapt to you

We all have a particular management style or way of working that we find easy and is successful for us. Our management style includes how we form work relationships, motivate staff, make decisions and solve problems. Our style may be formal or informal, people or task orientated, individualistic or collective, hierarchical or empowering. 

When our natural management style matches the company culture we tend to be happy and do well. When it is radically different, life can be a constant struggle and it is often better for everyone if the employee finds a new job. But what happens when a misfit is due to an expatriation assignment?

A US manager in the Netherlands

Let's start with a true story: John worked in New York for a US multinational company where he had a proven track record of taking personal charge of complex problems and implementing solutions. His decisive and speedy decision-making soon led to him being offered a senior position in the Netherlands. However, he soon ran into problems.  Working culture in the Netherlands is very different to that in the US.

The style is more collaborative and less individualistic and lengthy discussions with different organisational levels including the staff council is the norm. The locals felt that John was making decisions over their heads without consultation and forcing through, in their view, sub-optimal solutions. John's lack of Dutch language and local networks meant that the problem was not recognised early. After two frustrating and unhappy years John returned to the US.

The challenge of adapting your style

One of the biggest dangers confronting an expatriate is being uninformed, or worse, unaware of the different work practices of the new country. The initial settling-in period is busy and stressful as he copes with a new job, house, bank, car, children's schooling and all the other essential paraphernalia of modern life. It can be some time before he realises that his management style is not as effective as it was at home. Communication difficulties and the new role are often blamed. When it eventually dawns that the problem is one of management style it can be a huge shock. 

Many expats have been high achievers all their lives and find it difficult to acknowledge, even to themselves, that they are having problems. They are reluctant to change (perhaps dramatically) the way they like to operate. It’s not surprising that expatriation world- wide has a success rate as low as 40 percent.

So what happens next?

Expatriates typically use one or all of the following strategies when faced with a new working culture:

1. The ostrich strategy

This very popular strategy involves complete denial by the expat of any need to adapt his way of working to local conditions and he continues to manage as if he is still at home. The more senior the expat the easier this is to maintain.

Entire empires were run on this principle for centuries. A quick glance at the languages spoken in India, Africa, Ireland and South America  (to name but a few) illustrates how the locals adapted to the foreigners rather than the other way around. Modern expats, without armies at their disposal, are of course in a completely different position!    

2. Abandon all

Much more rarely some people embrace their new working environment so completely that  they abandon their normal style and lose those elements that work best for them. This over- reaction tends to be short lived and is usually met by extreme distrust by the local workforce.

3. Look, learn and adapt

The strategy usually works well and is more sustainable. It requires an openness and tolerance on both sides and some risk taking by the expat to leave the comfort zone of his familiar style and adapt to his new surroundings. At its most successful it combines the best of both home and local working cultures. 

It is, of course, easier said than done. Identifying the precise behaviours that are causing problems requires dedicating time to understanding the local working culture and how it differs from back home.

It is tempting for a boss, under pressure, to retreat to his office but this is the worst thing he could do.  Talking with and being approachable to the local staff is a good start. One successful expat called his approach "management by walking around" which entailed taking a regular stroll around the building to chat to the staff. 

Another expat swears by "leadership from the coffee machine" which meant frequent coffees and a quick chat with whoever was there (irrespective of their organisational status). Initially it felt awkward but soon people got used to the expat and gradually formed a more open and relaxed relationship. The expat also has the chance to practice the local language.

Getting the locals on your side

One of the most fulfilling and enriching parts of expatriation is forming good work and social relationships with people from a new culture. Both sides grow from the experience and the company gains a more international workforce. A good relationship with the local staff is essential to managing successfully in the new environment. It is worth remembering that local staff are on home territory and enjoy superiority of numbers and probably speak both local and corporate languages. They have long- established networks, which allow them to get things done quickly. Troublesome expats can easily be left out of the loop! Stories abound of one subsidiary that wrote their project status reports in Spanish (instead of English) so that Head office and their linguistically challenged UK boss couldn’t 'interfere'.

So getting the local management and staff on your side is critical. Most expats are given a settling-in period when mistakes are expected and even tolerated with amusement. But the honeymoon only lasts so long and it is critical that the expat uses his or her  time well to observe, understand and experiment. Adaptation is the key.

Watch your appearance

Peter was a highflying UK manager who was transferred to Italy to run the marketing operation. In his first week, he called a site meeting and outlined an exciting new business strategy. He thought that the presentation had gone well but completely failed to realise that many of the discussions after his presentation were not about his new strategy but about how scruffily dressed he had been.

What you wear might seem a trivial point but in Italy dressing well and being competent are synonymous. After all if the boss doesn't look the like a successful leader how can one believe his new strategy? Two months later Peter had upgraded his wardrobe. He had missed his chance to make a great first impression but he had learned and adapted, and was ready for the next time!  

June 2005

Helen Burgess is the founder and managing director of Insight Italy. She can be reached at helen.burgess@insight-italy.com or via www.insight-italy.com  

Reprinted with the permission of Abroad magazine.

Subject: Management styles, working across cultures, working abroad