1. Australian chief executives and
foundonly9percenthaddealings
withourclosestAsianneighbours.
In the year since the report,
McCarthysayslittlehaschanged.
“Australians have been inde-
pendent for too long and they’ve
becomecomplacent,”shesays.
The Melbourne-based con-
sultant says many business own-
ers are unaware of how
Australians are perceived and can
be too relaxed and informal when
dealing with international busi-
nesses where protocols, hierarch-
ies and relationship building are
essential. The “she’ll be right” atti-
tudecanalsobedamaging.
“People assume the Australian
reputation for being laid-back is
what everybody likes, but not
everybody does; when you’re
dealing with a hierarchical coun-
try, they don’t like being called by
their first names. Some cultures
don’t want to be treated as
friends.”
In many Asian countries Mc-
Carthy says chief executives are
often figureheads and prefer to be
addressed before referring inquir-
iestoajuniorcolleague.
In other countries manage-
ment can be more hands-on and
staff are rewarded for doing what
they are told, rather than using in-
itiative,asinAustralia.
In some countries senior man-
agement will ensure their Austra-
lian counterparts are entertained
in the evenings, but in Australia
McCarthy says managers will
often go home and leave their
counterparts to their own devices
—whichmaybeinsulting.
Courtesy and cultural under-
standing can be the difference be-
tweensigningadealorwatchingit
fallthroughbecauseofignorance.
“If there were two people sell-
ing the same widget and one of
them sold it to you in the way that
you like and one doesn’t, you’re
going to buy from the person who
understandsyou,”shesays.
“If you want to sell your widg-
ets you have to think about how
they want to buy them, not just
howyouwanttosellthem.”
MichelvanMaanen,whoisthe
performance director at the inter-
national transport services com-
pany Transdev, moved to
Australia from Europe 18 months
ago and struggled to adapt to cul-
turaldifferences.
Van Maanen, 46, was born in
Holland and has worked in Portu-
gal, Belgium and Germany. He
has found the Australian way of
doing business and the cultural
differences significant, noting an
alignment to Britain rather than
Europe. “If you go around Europe
there’s more of a standard work
ethic, there are standard ap-
proaches on how you run a busi-
ness,”vanMaanensays.
“Maybe there are differences
between countries in education
and the politics might be different,
but the approach to contracts and
IT and modernisation and im-
plementationaremostlyalike.
“Australia is quite different to
Europe and it’s isolated and
doesn’t have a lot of business
harmonyandsynchronisation.”
Van Maanen regrets not
undertaking cultural training in
his first six months in Australia
and found it quite difficult and
lonely at times because he did not
understand why people acted cer-
tainways.“It’sdifferent,thewayof
thinking, the way of talking, it’s
more superficial when you ask
how someone is, but you don’t re-
allycare,”hesays.
“We’re Dutch, we say what we
think, but you don’t do that in
Australia;youbenice.Youhaveto
adapttothewayofthepeople.”
He says the business culture is
also more hierarchical, and he is
trying to ensure his company
catches up to Europe and South-
east Asia by innovating and im-
provingITprocesses.
Van Maanen now ensures all
recruits from overseas have cul-
turaltrainingbeforearriving.
It can be as simple as failing to
offer a gift, not seating a visiting
international guest at the head of
the table, or handing over a busi-
ness card without bowing, with
cross-cultural faux pas detrimen-
tal when establishing relation-
shipsandsigningdeals.
Cultural Chemistry founder
Patti McCarthy says Australian
businesses and white-collar em-
ployees who move overseas for
work — or those who relocate to
Australia — most often fail to pre-
parestaffforwhatliesaheadandit
can have significant consequen-
ces. “When you have cross-cul-
tural training you’re three to four
times more likely to have a suc-
cessfuloutcome,”McCarthysays.
“When you’re getting a
$300,000 or $400,000 salary
package in Singapore including
private school fees and accommo-
dation, why are people putting up
with a 40 per cent chance of fail-
ure?Itdoesn’tmakesense.”
McCarthy has been worked in
cultural training for more than a
decade and knows what it can be
like to move to a different country
afterhavingrelocatedtoAustralia
withherhusband20yearsago.
She is certified to deliver the
Cultural Intelligence Assessment
program, which was developed in
Avoiding
cultural
pitfalls
Trainer Patti
McCarthy has tips
to make you tick
VERITY EDWARDS
the US and is used to assess the
cultural intelligence of individuals
and teams and identify gaps. The
tool is widely used at Google, Uni-
leverandCoca-ColaAmatil.
It may seem like moving be-
tween English-speaking countries
would be easy, but McCarthy says
there are few support networks
compared to those established for
French or German speakers, or
even asylum-seekers, leading to a
senseofisolation.
She estimates the expat failure
rateatbetween39and42percent,
andthedivorcerateamongexpats
to be 50 per cent higher than nor-
mal, particularly for couples
whereonepersonisnotworking.
When one partner stays home
it can lead to low self-esteem,
loneliness and loss of confidence.
It can place unprecedented strain
on a relationship, and McCarthy
says it can be pronounced if one
partnercannotfindajob.
“People have no idea. They
think once they get to their new
houseit’sallgoingtobelovely,but
unlessyou’vegotconnectionsand
friendstocometoyourhouse,you
might not want to stay,” she says.
“People are not prepared emo-
tionally and professionally and
thatnaivetyisveryexpensive.”
McCarthy says people need to
be prepared for the existence they
will lead, and not just excited
about moving. Training also in-
cludes work expectations, how of-
fices operate in different
countries, and how to work with
colleagues, particularly in South-
eastAsia.
In 2014 PwC interviewed 1000
Action plan to ensure you’re meeting needs of 21st century business
Is there one feature of your com-
pany’s meetings that frustrates
youthemost?
Perhaps you’ll find it among
this top five list compiled at an off-
site conference by one of Austra-
lia’s largest infrastructure
companies. The top five frustrat-
ions included people being poorly
organised, meetings held back-to-
back, going for too long, people
sending emails and texts, and no
outcomes.
When presented with this list
the facilitator of the offsite asked a
provocative question — Do you
control these meetings or do they
controlyou?
Fortunatelythechiefexecutive
was attending and encouraged a
robust conversation that led to
commitmentbyalltheleaderstoa
90-day action learning project
that has transformed the meeting
culture.
If any of those top five frustrat-
ions are alive and well in your
meetings, then the lessons from
those 90 days, particularly the
three root causes, might be rel-
evant. The leaders identified the
first cause of poorly organised and
ineffective meetings was lack of
ownershipandaccountability.
For some reason the usual cul-
ture of individual accountability
— which worked well on financial
and operational issues — just
didn’t extend to the way that
meetings were planned and exe-
cuted.
The first action in the 90-day
projectwasthereforetogiveevery
meeting an owner with account-
ability to spend the investment of
timeandresourceswisely.
Theimpactwasimmediateand
profoundbecausetheaccountable
leader created the sense of pur-
pose and structure that had been
missing.
The second cause was the lack
of a disciplined and consistent
approach to meetings that meant
that agendas, decision-making
processes and action planning
wereoftendoneontherun.
A small cross-functional team
volunteered to create a meeting
toolkit with a set of simple rules
andprotocols.
Examples of the simple rules
included circulating the purpose
and agenda in advance; no email-
ing or texting; starting on time;
and finishing with a three-minute
debriefofmeetings.
The three-minute debriefing
usingasimpleonlinetoolrevealed
a 35 per cent improvement in
meeting process and outcomes
across the company, which equat-
ed to an amazing $3 million-plus
liftinproductivitybasedonhourly
ratesofattendees.
The third root cause was silo
thinking, which emerged as two
separate issues. The first was the
lack of breakthrough ideas from
meetings.
The culture didn’t encourage
people to challenge the thinking
of experts and that needed ad-
dressing, along with the habit of
only inviting people with similar
perspectives.
Senior leaders committed to
inviting people into meetings to
bring fresh perspectives and this,
together with human resources
introducing constructive conver-
sation techniques, created better
qualitydiscussionsanddecisions.
The second issue involved
waiting for a meeting before mak-
ingdecisions.
In a business going through
transformation this was too slow,
so an online collaboration space
was configured to enable issues to
be explored and resolved without
face-to-facemeetings.
People no longer waited for a
meeting to discuss ideas and get
approval. Issues were actioned
weeks faster than had happened
previously.
The world is going too fast and
the opportunities too abundant to
rely on 20th century meeting
methodsandpractices.
Thiscaseshowsanicecombin-
ation of common sense, disci-
plines-without-bureaucracy and
leveraging the link between peo-
pleandtechnology.
Perhaps it’s time to purge a few
million dollars of wasted money
fromyourmeetings.
GrahamWinteristheauthorof
ThinkOneTeam.
Are you in control of
your meetings, or do
they control you?
GRAHAM WINTER
MORE THAN
22,752 JOBS
ACROSS
AUSTRALIA
JANUARY 23-24, 2016 P32
WORKOUT
Curious facts
A survey by cloud-based
information technology outfit
Rackspace has found not enough
companies are placing suitable
emphasis on curiosity in the
workplace.
Rackspace questioned 1368
Australian and New Zealand
white-collar workers and found
44 per cent of respondents
agreed their organisation was
curious and 84 per cent agreed
curiosity played an important
role in driving revenue.
In organisations that valued
curiosity and inquisitiveness,
84 per cent of workers agreed
they were more satisfied with
their job, compared with 45 per
cent in non-curious
organisations, the survey found.
Rackspace director Angus
Dorney says Australian
businesses need to focus on what
people and companies might do
to disrupt the business, rather
than what they have done
previously, and that
inquisitiveness is central to that.
“We need to focus on the
potential to adapt, to change and
to be curious,” Dorney says.
“Our study sets a benchmark
for Australian businesses to
understand their corporate
possibility and the role curiosity
can play in helping to increase
revenue and job satisfaction.”
The company ranked 11
human values, including a
personal sense of curiosity in
daily life, professional contexts
and how workers feel their
organisation would prioritise
values.
An MBA first
The University of South
Australia’s Business School will
this year collaborate with the
Australian Institute of Company
Directors to see the AICD
Company Directors Course
embedded in the curriculum of
the university’s Masters of
Business Administration.
In an Australian first, UniSA
MBA graduates who complete
the AICD course as part of their
MBA will be recognised by the
AICD.
Pro vice-chancellor Marie
Wilson says the partnership will
enable MBA students to gain an
insight into the role of boards
and the elements of finance,
strategy and decision-making
that ensures a board is operating
according to high standards.
Leading question
A Hudson study of more than
100 human resource leaders has
uncovered a gap between
intention and action in
leadership development among
Australia and New Zealand
companies.
The recruitment company
found 92 per cent of HR leaders
found leadership to be
important, although only 54 per
cent of companies had a clearly
articulated leadership strategy in
place.
Head of talent management
Simon Moylan says the lack of
leadership planning is inhibiting
companies’ ability to develop
efficient business strategies.
“Every organisation needs a
process for assessing the
leadership team’s strengths,
weaknesses and skills gaps,
which then maps to the business
strategy,” Moylan says.
“It’s impossible to do this
successfully without a plan — it’s
like heading off on a road trip
without a map.”
The survey also discovered a
lack of established talent
identification processes in
Australian and New Zealand
companies, with 46 per cent not
having one in place and one-
third without a process to recruit
or promote potential leaders.
Progress needed
A Morgan McKinley survey of
more than 1000 professionals
has found the main reason
people leave their jobs is out of
frustration for not progressing
up the ladder.
The survey found more than
49 per cent cited lack of career
progression as their main
motivation for leaving a job.
When it came to what was
most important about career
progression, 55 per cent were
concerned about the overall
package they would receive as
the most important aspect, and
only 23 per cent cited their need
for a broader work remit.
The research shows 53 per
cent would consider a job
opportunity overseas to gain
more interesting experiences
and progress their careers, and
30 per cent cited the US or
Canada as their top destinations
ahead of Singapore and Hong
Kong.
Joint managing director
Louise Langridge says the survey
shows professional Australians
are highly sophisticated in their
ambitions and at the same time,
the Australian workforce is
characterised by its talent
shortages.
Weekend Professional editor: Verity Edwards
edwardsv@theaustralian.com.au; phone: 08 8206 2682
Rackspace’s Angus Dorney
AARON FRANCIS
Professional culture trainer Patti McCarthy with Transdev executive Michel van Maanen
AUSE01Z60MA - V1
Executive Adviser to the Secretary for Health, National Department of Health (Port Moresby)
The PNG National Department of Health is seeking an Executive Adviser to support the Secretary of Health to lead
the government’s extended reform agenda. The adviser will provide both strategic advice and administrative support,
including briefngs, attending to correspondence, provision of advice, following up priority matters, and other tasks as
directed.
• At least 10 years’ experience/education in health policy, legal frameworks, strategy development and management,
preferably with PNG health sector experience.
• Demonstrated experience producing accurate, timely and concise written products for senior government and
non-government customers.
• Degree in law, business/public/health administration, or similar (masters preferred).
Closing date: Monday 1 February, 2016
Director of Corporate Services for Hela Provincial Hospital, Tari (Hela Province)
The Hela Provincial Hospital requires an experienced Director of Corporate Services to provide strategic, fduciary and
risk management leadership for the day-to-day operations of the hospital.
• A minimum 7-10 years’ experience in a senior managerial position in a large organisation, preferably a hospital.
• Preferably Masters in Business Administration, CPA or equivalent.
• Ability to live in remote and challenging environment.
Closing date: Friday 5 February, 2016
Long-term health leadership roles in Port Moresby and Tari, Papua New Guinea
How to Apply
Information for Applicants pack is available at: www.abtjta.com.au/
careers. For further information, please contact us on +61 7 3114 4631 or
at stephen.kennedy@abtjta.com.au.
OPPORTUNITY FOR LEADERS TO SHAPE THE FUTURE
OF HEALTH SERVICES IN PNGGreat Southern Grammar (GSG) is an independent,
co-educational day and boarding school, K-12. Our
mission is to provide the young people of the Great
Southern Region and beyond, a world class school
incorporating a liberal education, the Christian faith
and a maritime heritage.
GSG seeks a Principal to replace Mr Stuart Marquardt
who has led the School with distinction for eight years.
Mr Marquardt joins Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School
in NSW as Principal in 2016.
The incoming GSG Principal will be a person of initiative and integrity with a demonstrated enthusiasm for 21st
Century learning and a commitment to supporting the Great Southern community. Leading from the front,
the Principal’s educational and personal philosophies will align with the mission and values of GSG. The Principal
will be a role model in promoting the Christian life of the school.
Download the information booklet for applicants from our website: www.gsg.wa.edu.au
Enquiries to Mr Andrew Orr via (08) 9844 0304
or andrew.orr@gsg.wa.edu.au
Applications close at 5.00pm, Friday 26 February 2016.
Applications are to be emailed to the Chair of School Council,
Mrs Audrey Jackson AM via principalsappointment@gsg.wa.edu.au
T: (08) 9844 0300 E: admin@gsg.wa.edu.au
PO Box 1151 ALBANY WA 6331
www.gsg.wa.edu.au
CRICOS Provider Code 03178E
PRINCIPAL