Regional position challenges

How to bridge differences in business culture when managing regional teams? How to build trust across teams in countries outside the headquarters?

Managing teams with different cultures is always a challenge, primarily because the teams are located in different destinations / in different countries, so they are managed remotely. There is also the issue of different cultures and understanding them to achieve good and productive communication. However, in my opinion, the secret of successful team management lies in democratic management and transparent communication, which inevitably build a relationship of trust and contribute to attaining results.

The team should have its common goal, good and mutually fair relationships and trust, clear division of roles, good communication, diversity and maintain a balance between different personality structures.

The differences brought by business culture are overcome by learning the specifics of cultural differences. After that, you should listen carefully to the interlocutor, and work on mutual understanding and building relationship. Trust and good mutual relationships are based on openness, mutual respect and mutual acceptance without prejudice. Such relationships require effort on both sides, of both manager and associate.

An old Chinese saying reads "Tell Me and I Forget; Teach Me and I May Remember; Involve Me and I Learn." A good manager believes in his people and allows them to make mistakes. A good manager helps his people grow, find out and learn something new, so manager support and trust is the first step in establishing long-term productive and motivating cooperation.

Is frequent mobility of regional managers acceptable in the digital age?

Digitization has brought major changes in companies’ working environments. Quicker communication has led to faster processes and consequently faster decision-making. However, there is still a need to travel and hold meetings in the traditional way, as such opportunities build personal relationships, and, at least from my experience, give a more effective result, especially when making the first contact (meeting). Also, workshops and team/strategic meetings are almost as a rule held with all participants present.

However, we cannot ignore the impression and experience we went through due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the imposed restrictions significantly affecting the way of life and work. Millions of people are locked in their home offices, and face-to-face meetings are no longer a common practice, since the whole world works remotely using tools such as Skype, Teams and Zoom.

What has been discovered in these specific circumstances and the new work mode is that "working in the new normal" is successful: jobs are done, meetings are held remotely, processes and signatures are carried out electronically, team productivity is at an enviable level. This actually proves that digital ways of communication are the expected future way of exchanging information and work and that jobs are completed without the need for constant presence and travel, excluding specific projects and business purposes that will continue to require mobility and travel.