Contents

02 - 03 42 - 45
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EXPERIENCES THAT MATTER

05 46 - 65
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY COMPENDIUM OF
DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES
06 - 11
BUSINESS CASE FOR DEVELOPING 66 - 69
GLOBAL ASIAN LEADERS ACTIONABLE ADVICE

12 - 21 70 - 73
CAUSES OF WEAK GLOBAL CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS
ASIAN LEADERSHIP PIPELINE
74 - 75
22 - 29 HOW CAN CCL HELP ME
CULTURAL OUTLOOK OF DEVELOP A STRONG GLOBAL
ASIAN LEADERS ASIAN LEADER PIPELINE?

30 - 41 77
GLOBAL ASIAN LEADERSHIP ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
SUCCESS MODEL AND AUTHORS
THE GLOBAL ASIAN LEADER:
From Local Star to Global CXO

The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) is delighted to present ‘The Global Asian Leader: From Local
Star to Global CXO’ research study. The study is a culmination of almost a year-long research effort
comprising 120 in-depth interviews with global CXOs – both Asian leaders in regional or global roles,
and non-Asian leaders with considerable exposure to Asia.
Asia is the new center of the world! The past two decades have witnessed an unprecedented shift of
global economic growth from West to East. This is driven by two critical factors. One, sluggish economic
outlook in Europe and North America shows no sign of abating, therefore global organizations are
‘looking East’ to sustain growth. Two, sustained economic growth in Asia, especially over the last
decade, has increased purchasing power of Asian countries. This in turn has spiralled consumption of
goods, products and services, making Asia a critical untapped market for global enterprises. According
to economic pundits, organizations that do not yet have a compelling Asia strategy are already late to
the party! Formation of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will hopefully further fuel the Asian ‘growth
engine,’ and not only drive up the already feverish talent movement within ASEAN, but also make
the region more attractive for western enterprises. Analysts predict that the region could become the
world’s largest economy (by GDP contribution) by 2030.1
While Asia assumes unprecedented prominence on the global map from a business standpoint, Asian
leaders comprise only a small fraction of the global leadership teams in most global organizations.
It is imperative that the Asian leadership talent pool grows exponentially for not only on-the-ground
execution of business, but also to help global headquarters understand Asia better.
Asian leaders aspiring for global careers need to develop a level of comfort with disruption. They need
to step out of their comfort zone to develop global relationships and credibility with key stakeholders
within and outside the organization.
Organizations also need to embrace diversity at the senior/highest leadership level, thereby creating
compelling global career paths for Asian ‘stars.’
Being one of the world’s most respected brands in leadership development, with deep expertise in
running successful open-enrolment, custom engagement, coaching, and online leadership development
interventions, all deep-rooted in research, CCL is committed to furthering the understanding, practice
and development of leadership in Asia.
Through this research, CCL takes a big leap in furthering the Asian leadership development agenda. The
study will help Asian leaders understand critical capabilities to develop as they seek global success,
and will enable global organizations get a handle on tactics that work in developing a global Asian
leadership pipeline. We will follow this research up with a programmatic intervention and development
journey crafted especially for Asian leaders to better prepare them for global roles.
We at CCL hope you find ‘The Global Asian Leader: From Local Star to Global CXO’ study useful as well as
timely, as you prepare your Asian leaders for global roles!

Dr. Thomas Goh

Chief Client Officer and Managing Director, APAC
Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)

1. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/10/us-usa-intelligence-idUSBRE8B90HY20121210
Page 2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Study in 8 Conclusions

The Opportunity The Gap

1 Asia will be the biggest market in the future, and it may be 4 There are three distinct reasons that hold back Asian leaders
the biggest exporter of workforce and talent to the entire from stepping into global roles –
world in a decade from now. For sustained success in the
I. Unfavourable country conditions - Lack of talent
region, global organizations will need Asian leaders to help
competitiveness at a country level or inadequate talent
enterprises craft their Asia strategy, and also execute and win
development infrastructure may inhibit growth of
local business.
leadership pipeline.
2 Asian leaders often have superior execution skills and
II. Organization culture constraints - Organization culture
work ethic, demonstrate empathy and humility, are VUCA-
and posture may be the key ‘culprit,’ and may retard
friendly and open to diversity much more than leaders from
organizations’ ability to develop critical skills due to budget
outside Asia.
constraints, structural and policy issues, absence of trust
3 Despite a compelling business case, and the inherent strengths in non-native talent, lack of global mind-set in senior-most
Asian leaders demonstrate, Asian representation in executive leaders, or non-optimal global talent management and
leadership teams of top 200 companies is in single digits in development practices.
percentage terms.
III. Individual ‘skill and will’ issues - Individual capability and
aspiration issues may also inhibit growth of local talent.
Asian leaders may find it hard to adjust to an ‘MNC culture’
as there maybe some cultural nuances that may put an
Asian leader at a comparative disadvantage.
5 Six cultural nuances deeply influence Asian leadership traits and
affect their aspirations for global roles.

PERVASIVE
SENSE OF COLLECTIVIST
HIERARCHY APPROACH

DEPENDENCE ON
NETWORKS AND FOCUS ON
RELATIONSHIPS HARMONY

VUCA-READY DIFFERENT
ATTITUDE FLAVORS
 Page 3
The Action Steps
6 Three critical experiences stand out in preparing Asian leaders for global roles –
cross-border rotations, non-obvious career moves, and stretch or crucible roles.
7 Global Asian leaders come in four different flavours, often shaped by ethnicity,
nationality, early experiences, exposure, and education.

ASIAN RETURNEE REGIONAL CHAMPION GLOBAL NOMAD LOCAL EXPAT

Leader of Asian origin, Leader of Asian origin Leader of Asian origin Leader of non-Asian
educated and largely with multi-country with diverse multi-country origin, has spent most
worked outside Asia and multi-company experiences within of working career
until mid-career experience within Asia. and outside of Asia within Asia.

8 Building a sustainable Global Asian Leader pipeline needs four pieces of the
puzzle to come together:
I. Asian leaders aspiring for global roles need to develop right set of
individual capabilities by developing clarity of purpose on why to pursue
a global career, and getting ‘comfortable with discomfort’ of challenging
assignments.
II. Aspiring leaders need to sign up for suitable experiences to build critical
capabilities by stepping into general management shoes early on, and
building networks and relationships to navigate the ‘system.’
III. Incumbent global leaders need to provide developmental support by taking
risks on Asian talent, creating stretch opportunities, and helping direct
reports develop a credible and trusting relationship with their
skip managers.
IV. Organizations embarking on the global Asian leadership development
journey, must get buy-in from the top leadership team at the headquarters,
find an executive sponsor, curate and play to a 3-5 year global Asian
leadership development plan, and tweak talent development interventions
to suit Asian context.
 Page 4
STUDY OBJECTIVE AND
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Study Objectives The research team used the following definition of ‘global leadership:’
Global leadership is the process of influencing individuals, groups, and
The key objective of ‘The Global Asian Leader’ research was to organizations representing diverse cultural/political/institutional systems to
understand: contribute towards the achievement of the global organization’s goals.2
(a) key reasons that stall growth of Asian leaders; A ‘global leader’ is defined as a leader whose responsibilities cut across
multiple countries. A ‘global Asian leader’ is a leader of Asian origin
(b) strengths that Asian leaders bring to the table; with global responsibilities.
(c) development areas or critical gaps;
Sample Set
(d) competencies required to succeed in global roles;
• In total, the CCL research team interviewed 120 regional or global
(e) critical must-have experiences to prepare for global roles; leaders (between June 2017 and November 2017) from across 68
companies. These were a mix of in-person and phone interviews.
(f) practices employed in exemplar organizations to develop a
robust pipeline of Asian leaders. • The interviewees belonged to a mix of industries such as financial
services, banks, commodity trading, fast-moving consumer
goods, technology, retail, infrastructure, and professional services
Research Approach companies.
Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) research team interviewed senior • 83% of leaders held business roles, while 17% were senior HR
regional/global leaders across large Asian/global organizations to executives.
identify key hindrances Asian leaders may face in their global career
path, and must-have competencies. These were leaders of Asian origin • Interviewees held titles such as regional president, MD, regional
in regional/global roles, and non-Asian leaders with considerable head, CHRO, director, senior manager, VP, COO, etc.
exposure to Asia. • 61% of interviewees were of Asian origin. The balance 39% were
The research team identified best practices across organizations mainly Europeans, Americans, or Australians.
towards global leadership pipeline development, and noted tips/advice • 31% of organizations were headquartered in Asia, mainly China,
from senior executives for Asian leaders, their incumbent managers, India, Singapore and other ASEAN countries. The balance 59%
and HR departments. were multinationals based out of the US, Europe or Australia.

2. Mendenhall, M. E., Reiche, B. S., Bird, A., & Osland, J. S. (2012). Defining the “global” in global leadership. Journal of World Business, 47(4), 493-503.
Page 5

I BUSINESS CASE FOR

DEVELOPING GLOBAL
ASIAN LEADERS
 Page 6
ASIA WILL BE THE CENTER OF THE WORLD
Enormous Business Opportunity and Availability of Talent in Asia will be the Key Driver

Why Asia Features in Global Strategy of Most MNCs?

sia is rapidly emerging as the new center of
Technology Maturity Sizeable Potential Workforce the world. Any organization that does not
have a compelling Asia strategy in place is probably
Internet Users, Q1 - 2017 already ‘late to the party.’ When there is reference to
global companies, while people often think ‘western
OTHERS of the world youth (aged 15 to 24) organizations,’ one-in-three top 200 companies are
5% 60% live in Asia and Pacific region. Asian (mainly Chinese).
AFRICA
9%
Emerging and developing Asia is growing at north of
6% per annum. This includes ASEAN countries (outside
Lat. AM
/Carrib. of the young people of ASEAN-Five), South Asia and China. ‘ASEAN-Five’
10%
25% today live in South Asia. is growing at over 5%. With the ASEAN Economic
ASIA
50% Community coming into play, these rates may go up
Nrth. further a few notches in years to come.
AMERICA
9% of the population is aged Asia will be the biggest market in the future.
EUROPE 20% Almost nine out of ten next one billion entrants to
17% 15 to 19 in Southeast Asia.  
the middle class will be Asians, and the continent
will account for two-thirds of the global middle class
Source: Internet World Stats 2017. Source: Asian Development Bank. https://www.adb.org/great-expectations/ population by 2030.
Asia may be the biggest exporter of workforce and
talent to the entire world in a decade from now. While
most western countries are thinking of ways to deal
Steep Economic Growth Biggest Market!
with an imminent aging workforce issue, Asia and
Real GDP Growth (Annual % Change) Pacific houses three-in-five world youth, with south Asia
Asia’s Share in the Next Billion accounting for one-in-four young people in the world.
Entrants into the Middle Class
Proliferation of technology and internet in Asia has
6 %
88 % been the biggest accelerator of growth. One in two
internet users across the globe are Asians. The region
5 %
will continue to benefit immensely from digital-led
Asia’s Share in the Global
economic development.
Middle Class Population in 2030 “Asia will constitute 50 percent of the population and
2% 2% therefore the growth of the business opportunity in

Advanced European ASEAN-5 Emerging and 67% Asia is tremendous. Even though it is a complex region,
the upside is huge if organizations can figure out Asia,”
Economies Union Developing Asia
explained a global leader.
www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDP_RPCH@WEO/OEMDC/WEOWORLD/AS5/DA/CIS/EU/ADVEC/MAE https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-unprecedented-expansion-of-the-global-middle-class-2
Page 7

INCREASING NEED FOR

ASIAN LEADERS
To Expand Locally, and to Feed the Global Pipeline

lobal enterprises will need Asians to KEY DRIVERS FOR FOCUSING ON ASIAN TALENT
leverage the Asia-advantage. Interviewees
highlighted three drivers of the need to create
a stronger global Asian leadership pipeline. “We
know our context, our customers, and the terms
of competing much better than western leaders
who come to Asia for a limited period,” claimed
a leader of Asian origin.
‘There are multiple Asias rolled into one.’ While
it often gets clubbed as one region, each country
within Asia has a very different and often a
unique way of doing business. For sustained
success in the region, global organizations will
need Asian leaders to help enterprises strategize
and craft their Asia strategy.
Not only strategize, Asians will need to
contextualize and roll out global plans in Asia
since they have a better understanding of local
cultures, constraints, and potential partnerships.
Since Asia will be the ‘catchment’ area of young
talent in the future, organizations will need to
create a robust talent pipeline from the region.
In the past decade, Asian leaders have also
proved their mettle in the global arena. Current
CEOs at several large global companies, PepsiCo,
MasterCard, Microsoft, Google, to name a few,
are Asians (mainly leaders of Indian descent).
1 To help headquarters understand Asia,
and strategize how to ‘win’ in Asia

2 To help global MNCs expand

operations within Asia Global companies need to take advantage of the Asian
talent, young workforce, VUCA-friendliness, and local market

3
understanding to grow their businesses.
To feed the global talent pipeline; ASEAN CHRO,
availability of young talent in Asia European Automobile Company
 Page 8
INHERENT STRENGTHS ASIAN
LEADERS BRING TO THE TABLE
Execution Skills, Humility, Team Thinking….

Superior Execution Strong Work Ethics

“Asian leaders have strong work ethics, nterviewees pointed several skills Asian leaders bring
“I felt that the drive and the purpose in
Asia was much stronger than in Europe, and can generally work longer hours . It is to the table, or tend to demonstrate more often.
even better than US. Once you explain societal; that's how people are brought up Asians tend to demonstrate superior execution and work
what needs to be done, the executives will – to work hard for the company.” ethic. Interviewees appreciated the willingness to stretch
just go without sleep for days to make it to achieve goals, even though it may often play havoc
Regional MD,
happen with perfection.” American FMCG Company with the work-life balance in teams with Asian leaders.
VP Global Business, “Asians are fully immersed from their hearts, so work
Global Conglomerate is a part of life rather than something that opposes it,”
pointed a leader.

VUCA Friendly Two personality traits – empathy and humility – are

must-have to be successful in the region. They may
“Asians grow up in a disorga- manifest differently in different countries, but are
Humility nized economy - always dealing extremely critical. Cultural upbringing, leaders experience
“Generally higher level of humility with problems, minor to major. and the dominant religious beliefs (Islam, Confucianism,
allows us to keep ourselves open We tend to be cool and calm. So Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.) ensure premium on the
minded and be patient-listeners.” our ability to deal with ‘noise’ is two traits.
MD ANZ,
much better.”
There are also two characteristics that are a function
Global Eye Care Co. CEO-APJ,
Global Asset Management Firm of the context in which leaders in Asia grow up. VUCA
friendliness, which is a function of living in a region with
moving policies, volatile stock markets, disturbance due
to the role of non-state actors, etc.; and, openness to
diversity, which is again a function of living in a diverse
Empathy Embracing Diversity region. “We grow up in disorder, so we adjust quicker to
“I think for Asians, their emotional disruptions and tend to stay cool and calm,” explained a
“Asia is very diverse; there is no one Asia regional leader of Asian origin.
quotient is very dominant. When – one country is very different from the
there is a collective decision making other – Singapore, Philippines, Japan,
process, Asians will have a more Vietnam they are all different. Diversity
human point of view in their comes together beautifully at
decisions.” the workplace.”
VP-SCM,APJ,
Executive Director,
European Energy Company I firmly believe Asian leaders can outperform
European Professional Body
non-Asian leaders. Asians are very humble and
considerate by nature in general. They listen, and there
is more of team-thinking. If we equip ourselves more on
learning and be a little more confident, I think we will
make much better leaders.
ASEAN Business Lead,
Source: CCL Research, 2018. Asian Regional Bank
Page 9

WEAK ASIAN LEADER REPRESENTATION

IN ‘WESTERN’ COMPANIES
US-Based Companies Fare Better
than European Firms

espite a compelling business case to One of the interviewees had an interesting ASIANS IN ELTS OF TOP 200 GLOBAL COMPANIES
build global Asian leader pipeline, hypothesis around fewer Asians at the top
and several inherent strengths Asians tend in European organizations. “Owing to the
to demonstrate, data suggests that there colonization history, it will take a long time
are not too many Asian leaders at the top for the Europeans to get rid of the ‘lords
in global enterprises. Asian representation and masters’ type thinking; Americans are 94%
in executive leadership teams of top 200 inherently all immigrants, therefore there is
companies is in single digits in percentage a higher level of acceptance and respect for
terms (considering only 132 companies not diversity in their psyche,” said the leader.
headquartered in Asia). Leaders of Indian
Several Asian leaders called this
origin dominate the small community of
phenomenon a ‘bamboo ceiling’ for
global Asian leaders at the top.
Asian leaders.
US headquartered companies account
This plays out no differently in Asian
for 8 percent Asians in their executive
companies. Non-Asians comprise about 2
leadership teams, almost half of the
percent of the leadership team in 68 Asian
community comprising executives of
headquartered companies in the top 200
Indian descent. Data suggests that
European companies tend to be much
pool. They have majority Asian leaders, 8%
with again, very little diversity at the top.
more conservative in this regard, with
only 2 out of hundred leaders being Asian;
Indians again account for almost the entire
community of global Asian leaders in
European companies. 2%
1%

USA EUROPE ASIA OTHER

(62) (61) (68) (09)

Executives of Indian Origin Comprising the Asian Community

N=2,722 leaders; numbers in Brackets indicate number of companies in top 200 list;
Asians, particularly ASEAN leaders almost always hit a ‘bamboo ceiling’ in large global
MNCs, often due to a mix of lack of aspirations in Asian leaders, and ‘lenses’ that global data was compiled from Annual Reports/Company Websites; ELTS - Executive Leadership Teams
organizations may wear to evaluate local talent. I hit a ceiling in my career in the MNC I
used to work for, primarily because I was not mobile, therefore I decided to join a local
Singaporean company.
COO,
Asian Hi-Tech Company Source: CCL Research, 2018.
Page 10

II CAUSES OF WEAK
GLOBAL ASIAN
LEADERSHIP PIPELINE
 Page 11
ROOT-CAUSING THE GLOBAL ASIAN LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE
Country, Organizational, and Individual Issues

Why is there a Deficit of Asian Leaders in Senior

Leadership Roles in Large Global Enterprises?

here are three distinct reasons that are

Country Conditions May Inhibit Global MNCs are Unable to Create a Robust Asian Asian Leaders Lack Critical Global holding back Asian leaders from stepping
Asian Leadership Development Leadership Pipeline Leadership Skills and Attributes into global roles - unfavourable country
conditions, constraints due to organization
culture, and individual skill and will issues.
Lack of Talent Availability Critical Organization Low Risk/ Talent Asian Talent Reluctance to
Competitiveness Lagging Growth/ Must-have Skills Not Aligned to Conservative Management/ May Find it Make Cross- Lack of talent competitiveness or inadequate
in Several Expensive MNC May be Hard to Develop Local Approach on Development Hard to Adjust country/Region talent development infrastructure may inhibit
Countries in Asia Ready Talent Develop in Asia Talent Asian Talent Challenges to ‘MNC Culture’ Career Moves growth of talent at a country level. Besides,
talent that is available may be too scarce and
too expensive.
Fixed ‘Lenses’ or Lack of ‘Trust’ in
Unconscious Asian Talent to Organization culture and posture may also be
Bias of Senior Take On Senior a key ‘culprit.’ Reasons include organizations’
Large Business Absence of ELT Buy-in/ Inability to Cultural Hard-wiring Lack Fluent
Leaders Roles
Experience is Clear Strategy to Pitch “Global” Vs. Critical Success Language inability to develop critical skills in Asia due
Hard to Replicate Develop Asian Talent Careers Factors Skills to lack of necessary experience or budget
constraints, structural and policy issues,
Stringent Long Short Expatriations Lack of Hiring Manager- Inadequate Lack of Patience Family absence of trust in non-native talent, lack of
Term Work with Aggressive Diversity in ELT Asian Successor Entry Level in Asian Talent / Related
Permit Rules Commercial Goals at the HQ Disconnect Programs ’Hunger’ Issues global mind-set in senior-most leaders, or
non-optimal global talent management and
Inadequate Dispersed Lack of Global Lack of Efforts Inability to Home development practices.
Budget for Accountability for Talent Exposure in to Expose Attract Senior Country
Rotations Development in Asia ELT Asians to ELT Talent Opportunities Individual capability and aspiration issues
may also inhibit growth of local talent. Asian
Businesses Not Willing Narrow focus Corporate ‘Leaky’ Risk leaders may find it hard to adjust to an ‘MNC
to Let Go of their of D&I Values May Get Leadership Averse culture’ as there may be some cultural nuances
Best Talent initiatives Diluted in Asia Pipeline Posture that may put an Asian leader at a comparative
disadvantage. Lack of mobility may further
Centralized Decision Soft ELT Comparatively Lack of
Making, Mainly Led Stand on Shorter History Mentoring and
Repatriation constrain Asian leaders’ ability to take on
Concerns global roles.
from the HQ Diversity in Asia Sponsorship
Non-actionable
Lack of Local Successor
As the graphic suggests, there are a lot of stalls
Lack of Lack of
Development Successful Track Asia-Specific LD that Asian leaders may face in their journey
Actionable Accountability of Record in Asia Progs. to the top. Organizations that are ahead
Incoming Expats of the curve pick their bets carefully, often
Note:
ELT – Executive Leadership Team
Inability of starting with low hanging fruit – e.g., dealing
Expats to Bridge with simpler structural and policy issues,
LD – Leadership Development
the Gap with HQ
HQ – Headquarters allocating budgets for developmental rotations,
and ramping up talent management and
development practices.
Source: CCL Research, 2017. Source: CCL Research, 2018.
Page 12

ASIA MOSTLY IN BOTTOM 50TH SOUTH

KOREA
JAPAN

PERCENTILE ON TALENT
22
29
CHINA
54

Most Asian Countries Lack Talent Competitiveness PAKISTAN

98
BHUTAN
111
BANGLADESH
INDIA 113
92
GAL Pipeline
Issues
VIETNAM
73 THAILAND 86
COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL CAMBODIA
PHILIPPINES
lobal Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) measures Issues Issues Issues 108 52
SRI LANKA
country competitiveness to develop talent on a set 82
28
of four input and two output variables. ‘Attracting’ talent
MALAYSIA
is viewed in terms of attracting valuable resources from
SINGAPORE
abroad, both productive businesses and people with 2
needed competences, while internal attraction is focused Country GTCI Rank Enable Attract Grow Retain VT GK
on removing barriers to entering the talent pool for
Input Variables Output Variables
groups such as those from underprivileged backgrounds, INDONESIA
90
women, and older people. ‘Growing’ talent includes Singapore 2      
initiatives around apprenticeships, trainings, and
Japan 22      
continuous education, as well as relevant experience.
‘Retaining’ talent is necessary to ensure sustainability, Malaysia 28      
and one of the main components of retention is quality South Korea 29      
of life in the country. ‘Enabling’ pillar comprises the
Philippines 52      
regulatory, market, and business landscapes within
a country. China 54       Global Talent
On the output side, the GTCI model differentiates Thailand 73       Competitiveness Index (GTCI)
Input Variables
between two levels of skills - mid-level and high-level. Sri Lanka 82      
∙ Enabling environment
Vocational and Technical skills (or VT skills) describe Vietnam 86       ∙ Talent attraction
technical or professional worker base developed through ∙ Talent growth
vocational or professional training and experience. Indonesia 90      
∙ Talent retention
High-level skills, labelled Global Knowledge skills (or India 92      
GK skills), deal with knowledge workers in professional, Bhutan 98       Output Variables
managerial, or leadership roles that require creativity ∙ Vocational & Technical skills
and problem solving. Cambodia 108       (VT) available
Pakistan 111       ∙ Global knowledge (GK)
Only Singapore ranks in the top-10 countries. skills available
And only four countries in Asia – Singapore, Japan, Bangladesh 113      
Malaysia, and South Korea – are in the top quartile in
the stack ranking.  Top Quartile Ranking (1-30)  Ranking (31-89)  Bottom Quartile Ranking (90-118)

Bulk of Asia lacks necessary conditions to nurture a

robust talent pipeline. Coupled with low ‘attractiveness’ Source: Global Talent Competitiveness Index, INSEAD, 2017.
of most countries, there is double-negative impact –
most Asian countries are not only unable to attract talent Language capability is the number one challenge in international
from outside, but also lose top native talent to the business; few people in Asia, especially Thailand, speak fluent English.
developed markets. The constant request I hear from my clients is - can I find an executive
fluent in English? My advice to people in this part of the world, particularly
Thailand, is that you need to learn the language of global business.
Senior Partner
American Professional Services Firm, Thailand
 Page 13
GAL Pipeline
Issues
TALENT SEEMS TO BE A CHALLENGE IN ASIA
COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL
Issues Issues Issues
Despite Abundant Labor, Asia Has Insufficient Skilled Talent

he [Asian] market is hot so we have a

strong external pull for available talent,
which makes it even more critical to have a
strong pipeline of talent in Asia,” highlighted a
leader, talking about the need to have a strong
Asian leader pipeline. Despite the need, and
Talent is More Expensive! Talent is Less Engaged! despite the fact that Asia is the biggest pool of
young labor, there is severe paucity of talent
in the region.
3x Expense to recruit employees in Asia
as compared to Europe.
22% Employees in Asia that show strong ‘intent to
stay’ as compared to 33% in North America. Talent that is ready to take on senior roles is
expensive, and thanks to the hectic economic
activity in the region, talent also has unrealistic
expectations on the compensation front.
Incremental speed at which employees in
30% Asia expect to get promoted as compared Incremental job opportunities created by a
to global peers. comparatively heated economy also mean that
the talent has comparatively less patience, and
Talent is Less Ready! are ready to ‘jump ship’ if pushed into crucible/

1.9x Incremental premium (while changing jobs)

demanded by leaders in Asia as compared
to leaders in the rest of the world. 25% More low performers in Asia as compared to
hardship roles which may even benefit them
in the longer term. “Patience is critical but in
other regions. short supply in Asia,” said a leader. He advised,
“learning comes with experience, a leader
needs to build the right relations, get the right
experiences, etc., and if you jump too much,
Leaders in Asia that think they have
14% “ready-now” successors.
you may not be seen very favourably.”
Ironically, Asian leaders are also ‘less ready’ to
take on large roles and responsibilities. Less
than two out of 10 incumbent leaders claim
they have ‘ready-now’ successors, and data
also suggests that there are more ‘low
Source: CEB Global Labor Market Survey; CEB, Enabling World-Class Leadership Team Productivity in Asia. performers’ in the region as compared to the
global average.
So, in most situations, a multi-national
company with aspirations to expand in Asia,
not only needs to deal with less ready and
possibly more expensive talent, but also must
manage the engagement aspect closely since
If you recruit Asians in a senior role who aspire to
the talent is not shy of jumping ship.
work in an international company, they are usually sought
after by a lot of MNCs. And those who fit the bill are
horrendously expensive.
Business Unit Head
Global Trading Company
Page 14

KEY SKILL DEVELOPMENT ROADBLOCKS GAL Pipeline

Issues

COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL

Critical Must-Have Skills May be Hard to Develop Issues Issues Issues

ritical must-have skills may be harder to develop

due to limited scale experience Asia can offer,
budget constraints, and incremental difficulties faced by Budgets for Rotations are Harder to Come By
enterprises in acquiring long term work permits. “There is a general reluctance from the receiving company to take on
someone for developmental purpose. The feedback we hear is - we
For training to take on larger roles, Asian talent must don’t have the budget to train Asians, cause we have our own people
have experience in managing large scale businesses. to worry about.”
For instance, if leaders are transitioning from running a VP, HR Operations
Global Energy Company, Singapore
half-a-billion dollar business in ASEAN to managing a 15
billion dollar business in North America, the jump is very
hard to make, and in Asia there are few opportunities to
train for large scale. Leaders must leave Asian shores to
spend a few years running large businesses in Europe
Inability to Offer Large Scale Experiences
or North America to train for larger scale. There are also “The guy who heads the global business needs to have an experience of
handling large scale businesses, and Asia is not yet at that scale, hence
issues around training executives in Asia for specialist local leaders are seldom considered for ‘big’ global roles.”
roles because on-the-job training may not be possible for President - Asia,
some niche roles without undertaking a short- to mid- Global Luggage Manufacturer/Retailer
term relocation.
Recent emergence of ‘pseudo-nationalism’ has resulted
in stringent laws around long-term work permits.
Interviewees candidly shared that a two-year rotation
Specialist Roles are Hard to Train for in Asia
is not worth it, so unless leaders can rotate for four to “How do I train geologists without sending them to the Gulf of Mexico,
or strategists, without sending them to the headquarter for between
five years, there is only limited business benefit. With 2 and 4 years?”
visa-embargoes in a lot of countries, long term visas are MD, Singapore
incrementally harder to procure. European Engineering Company

Thanks to the VUCA world and uncertainties around

business outcomes, organizations are vary of investing in
developmental experiences, even for senior executives.
Business cases for mid- to long-term developmental
Increasing Immigration Embargoes
rotations are therefore much harder to get approvals on. “There are immigration embargoes in a lot of countries, thanks to the
increasing pseudo-nationalism of the world we live in; long term work
Incumbent managers therefore must partner with passes are harder to get, and I see no point in sending a leader to
another country for 3 to 6 months.” HR Lead, APAC
regional HR and global hiring managers to identify short-
Global Tech Company, Singapore
term, long-term, project-based opportunities for Asian
leaders to overcome some of these challenges.

Source: CCL Research, 2018.

 Page 15
GAL Pipeline
Issues LACK OF STRUCTURAL ALIGNMENT
COUNTRY
Issues
COMPANY
Issues
INDIVIDUAL
Issues Organizations Not Aligned to Develop Local Talent

hile multinational organizations are striving to

develop global Asian leadership pipeline, their
Is HR function structured “Since our businesses are so different, HR is aligned by businesses lack of internal alignment to develop Asian leaders
with often no clear leader driving regional HR. Hence any cross or the way things are ‘wired’ in the system may be a
to develop a central pool organization initiative does not have a clear owner. If we are to
big obstacle.
of global-ready talent fund development of local talent, we need all businesses to nod,
and that takes time and energy.” Asia-Pacific operations in majority of the multinationals
from Asia? HR Business Partner, APAC, are structured such that individual regional businesses
Global Conglomerate
(and leaders) report into the line, with only a dotted
reporting relationship to the regional President, if there
is one. In most cases ‘no one’ owns Asia as all senior
“I believe that often average tenure of expat leaders is 4 years or leaders are mainly accountable to their businesses. Even
below, and the KPIs, more often than not, are mainly around HR functions are aligned by businesses, with no cross-
Are expatriate financial performance, so how do you expect the incoming expat cutting responsibilities to develop talent in the region.
engagements structured leader in Asia to spend her energy and time on developing the Amidst this dispersion of responsibilities, pan-enterprise
successor? It should be a longer tenure, cause then the expat can regional initiatives are hard to drive.
to develop local talent? look at developing local talent seriously.”
Regional CEO, Two to four year expatriations often come with very
Global Pharmaceutical Company aggressive commercial targets, not giving enough time
and incentive to incoming expats to develop local talent.
“If all I am being measured on is meeting financial goals,
why should I spend time in developing local talent?”
Do I have structured spon- “If it is the CEO who is driving this [developing of local talent in
pointed an expat leader. He also added that hiring his
regions we operate in] we can get it solved fairly quickly – it just
sorship of a senior leader to needs money to buy the best talent and assemble a top class team successor was his manager’s responsibility, not his.
pursue the local leader in Asia. If it is the corporate HR driving this, then, yes, it will get So, at best, there is dispersed accountability for local
attention. Otherwise we will be having these conversations [of
development agenda? developing local talent] for a very long time.”
talent development. There is rarely a sponsor in the
region and at the headquarters who pushes local leader
Business Head,
Global Conglomerate development agenda. The key question to ask in order to
test level of accountability is – if Asia lacks a local leader
pipeline, is there someone who may get hit adversely in
terms of career advancement or compensation?
Is there clear accountability “There are folks who carry external titles which may imply
Finally, there are also constraints around the level of
regional or organization-wide responsibility, but their perfor-
of who owns the region? mance is judged only on the basis of how well they run their decision making that can happen at the regional level.
respective businesses.” Business Head, This not only makes it harder for local incumbent leaders
Global Conglomerate to take quick decisions, but also stunts the growth of
local talent since they are often not trained to make
strategic critical decisions.

Source: CCL Research, 2018.

Page 16

UNCONCIOUS BIASES AT PLAY GAL Pipeline

Issues

COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL

Conservative Approach in Selecting Asians for Global Roles Issues Issues Issues

n most enterprises, the headquarter country culture

tends to dominate, and most leaders tend to
inherently prefer more of ‘their own.’ This bias is often Who is Stopping Asians? Why is there a Trust Deficit?
not limited to Western MNCs, it is as valid for Asian
enterprises. “Unless we can normalize all biases and
Operations/Business Reasons
trust issues, one has to accept that senior leaders will
“For you to progress as a global leader, you need to have
be a reflection of the footprint of the headquarters,” “What’s stopping Asians from
exposure in the biggest markets - in US and Europe. Now
pointed a leader. Such biases are often unconscious taking on senior board positions,
before you can get a global job, you need to get to these
in nature. “It is human to lean favourably towards is non-Asians. Because, the reality
countries. But hiring managers in these countries will always
people who speak the same language, have similar is if you look at some of the large
prefer someone with experience in these countries, and hence
interests, have grown up in a similar environment, Asia-based MNCs, more often
folks from developing countries will be at a disadvantage.”
share the same jokes, etc.” than not, people at the top of the
house are Asians. But why is it Cultural Affinity
Expanse of business may also limit the exposure and
when it comes to global MNCs, we “Every firm is headquartered in a certain country and has
readiness of Asian leaders. To progress as a global leader,
start to fall out. This is linked to a certain culture, and most leaders prefer more of their
Asians often need to have exposure in the biggest
the fact that we cannot deny that own. It is also true for Asian companies.”
markets in US and Europe. Before Asian leaders can get
people at the top of the house will
global jobs, they need experience in key regions outside
always be reflective of headquar- Tradition/History
of Asia, so sometimes the ‘chicken-and-egg’ story plays
ter footprint. So, that has a big “Asia was always built as an emerging market, and was a
out. “While selecting for global roles, the hiring manager
play and then there is a whole learning ground for expats. That creates a bit of a barrier if
will say, it is an important job and I want someone with
ecosystem that comes in the you want to think differently.”
experience in these regions [US and Europe], which
interplay – trust, people you grow
inherently puts folks from developing countries at a
up with, mainly human aspects.” Distance
disadvantage cause they are non-proven in big markets,”
explained a leader. “Degrees of separation, local priorities, and long distances
VP, HR Operations,
may result in corporate values not being embraced as
‘Trust’ in Asian talent may also get eroded due to Global Energy Company
tightly by local staff.”
distances! Since Asian executives may be far away from
the headquarters, which may be based in Europe or the
Hard-wired Processes
US, there is a limited opportunity and time to build trust,
“There is a level of ‘selection blindness’ as organizational
which in turn may impact global opportunities for
succession planning processes are often done on a
Asian leaders.
regional basis.”

Over and over and over and over, we replace expats To pursue the agenda of developing Asian leaders, the
by expats, and we call it development. You send people to senior leadership team at headquarters need to pass on the
Asia for development, but unintended consequence is that decision making to the region. I’d say, that is step-one in
you are stopping the development of local leaders. ‘giving regions back’ to the locals.
Business Unit Head Regional Leader
Global Tech Company European Engineering Company Source: CCL Research, 2018.
 Page 17
GAL Pipeline
Issues
TALENT MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT ISSUES
COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL
Issues Issues Issues
Regional HR has a Key Role in Global Asian Leader Pipeline Development

alent management and development challenges

Questions to Ponder… may also stunt the growth of global Asian leaders.
Regional HR’s inability to manage the polarity between
global HR’s need to standardize talent processes across
different offices, and contextualizing HR per the Asian
Are we able to engage Asian talent by environment, may create unfavorable global Asian leader
creating compelling regional/global development environment.
career paths?
Inability of the regional HR departments in MNCs to
Talent pitch a compelling global career may result in Asian
Have we created a catchment area
Acquisition incoming talent pushing back on critical mobility
Onboarding &
for incoming entry level talent by requirements later in their careers.
Engagement
developing relationships with Cultural nuances may also need the HR function to
local universities? closely monitor the hiring process for global roles,
Are we able to pitch the desired and step-in if local leaders are overlooked due to
employment value proposition to
Workforce their cultural upbringing, and sometimes their lack
incoming talent? Planning TALENT Are we able to identify
of language fluency. “I am the go-between because
there may be some cultural nuances that global hiring
Are we able to make a compelling MANAGEMENT and plug (through targeted managers may not get; I give examples to hiring
case to attract senior Asian Development interventions/learning managers on why they [Asian leaders] said what they
leadership talent? journeys) key development said to help hiring managers reconcile,” explained a
areas unique to Asia? regional HR leader.
Interviewees also pointed that leadership development
Succession
in Asia must not take a ‘cookie-cutter’ approach –
Planning
Performance rolling global leadership programs in Asia (without any
Management changes). They pointed that leadership development
Are we able to collaborate with global hiring Are we able to ‘regionalize’ global interventions must be contextualized to represent local
managers to create compelling global performance management competency gaps, development needs, and mega trends.
opportunities for Asian talent? requirements?
The most critical gap in several MNCs is the regional
entry level two- to three-year journey-based program
cutting across businesses. “A strong entry level program
in Asia is a must-have,” highlighted a leader.
Finally, in order to create a strong talent pipeline in
Asia in the longer term, HR departments may also need
to partner with local universities to create a mutually
beneficial corporate-academic eco-system.

Source: CCL Research, 2018.

Page 18

CULTURAL DISCOMFORT GAL Pipeline

Issues

COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL

Asian Talent May Find It Hard to Adjust to the MNC Culture Issues Issues Issues

stereotypical global leader needs to be A global leader needs to...

‘comfortable with discomfort,’ assertive, risk
taker, ace communicator, and an active networker.
Interviewees however pointed that Asian leaders seldom “adapt to new cultures and “Asians don’t want to leave their family, friends,
fit the image of a stereotypical global leader, primarily new environment” and known territory; are less mobile”
due to the cultural frame-of-reference that is very
different for Asian executives.
The key difference between the stereotypical image “be assertive, challenge and “Most Asian cultures focus on harmony;
of a global leader and the Asian executive centers push ideas” anything that destroys harmony is not good”
around social skills (or lack of it) in Asian leaders. Some
leaders pointed the schooling system that Asian leaders
experience at a young age as the key differentiator “Concept of ‘face’ means that failure is
“take chances, or risks” a bad word in most of Asia”
during foundation years. “There is a far too much
focus on scholastic activities or skills, or competencies,
and much less focus on social skills; STEM [science,
technology, engineering and mathematics] subjects “Thanks to the world we have lived in,
receive extra attention, while developing social skills “be open to complexity”
Asian leaders are used to VUCA environment”
may be neglected,” explained a leader. He added, “focus
in the west is on part-time work, problem solving skills,
emotional development by connecting with different “Asians are behaviorally more reserved, and therefore
individuals, and solving client problems “navigate through the organization” developing relationships may take longer”
during internships.”
All leaders the research team interviewed shared
that a typical MNC is meritocratic; “you earn your “have a longer term view “Traditionally, the focus is on execution;
promotion.” But most also conceded that Asian leaders on business” long term strategic thinking is a development area”
can be perceived differently. “Asians are quieter in
group meetings, so it is easy to draw a conclusion that
they don’t have a view on things,” explained a leader. “have the ability to concisely
He added, “you have to seek their view differently; if “The communication style is more indirect”
communicate ideas and opinions”
leaders don’t have the awareness and interest to explore
different leadership styles, Asian executives may never
get promoted.”

Culture is often the ‘elephant in the room,’ and while we

may shy away from talking about it and its impact on leadership
style of Asian executives, it is something that cannot be ignored.
Asian executives are brought up in a different environment [as
compared to Western leaders], may have different role models,
need to deal with different societal pressures.
CHRO - APJ
Global Tech. Products Company Source: CCL Research, 2018.
 Page 19
GAL Pipeline
Issues
MOBILITY REMAINS THE BIGGEST CONCERN
COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL
Issues Issues Issues
Reluctance to Make Cross-Country/Region Career Moves

ack of mobility can be a ‘career-killer’ in a

multinational organization. Leaders may
Key Reasons for Global Assignment Refusal not be mobile due to several reasons – family
concerns, spouse or partner career, risk averse
posture, repatriation issues, etc. Interviewees
pointed that often Asian leaders do not see
Key Hurdles in Accepting Global Assignments Family Constraints the benefits mobility brings to their careers,
“Asians typically have a linear education program for enriching their personal and professional
Family
38% Concerns
their kids, so it is difficult getting into a high school lives, developing cultural intelligence, building
or university of choice. Also, a lot of Asian cultures networks in global enterprises, and dealing
feel strongly that grandparents need to be looked with diversity. “Mobility aspect needs to be
Spouse/partner
18% career/income after; then there is the role of the extended family.” seen in relation to career opportunities it can
bring to you and enriching your family life,”
16% Candidate uncertain if Risk Averse Posture said a leader.
reward is worth the move
“There are in Asia many cultures that are risk
Interviewees also mentioned that there is
Perceived insufficient
averse, so people will not step out of their comfort
15 % often a lag between the overseas assignments
compensation zone - I sent someone to Dubai on a short term
and a windfall in the career, and that a lot
assignment; she did a fantastic job and the host
of people may not have the patience to see
business unit wanted to give her an offer to stay
4% Location related concerns
there at a senior level; but she insisted on coming
through the benefits.
back to Singapore; and now, it is back to Mobility however is rarely permanent, since
8% Others square-one.” it depends on the life stage of a leader. “You
must revisit it once in a while, because personal
Repatriation Issues situations change,” advised a leader.
“How many bigger, better jobs can we create
Source: 2016 Global Mobility Trends Survey, BGRS. for repatriating employees? We are limited by
the visibility into business, and the uncertain
business environment.”
Asian leaders are not as mobile as Westerners,
so if I tell my Asian leader that you have done a good
job for 3 years, now move to Kazakhstan, he will say
Source: CCL Research, 2018.
‘no.’ But if I ask my Australian team members, he
will say, ‘yes, sure, I am happy to move.’ That is a key
challenge. There is an unwritten rule in MNCs that
you will move up much slower if you are not mobile.
So, the question is - do you want to move up or not?
Many Asian leaders on my team don’t seem to get
that. They say ‘its OK if I have good salary, I can
live well, I can do this job for 10 years and not move
out.’ Now, if you have too many people like that, the
pipeline suffers because you only have a few people
who can take over from you…
Director,
Global Tobacco Company, Indonesia
Page 20

III CULTURAL
OUTLOOK OF
ASIAN LEADERS
 Page 21
SIX COMMON LEADERSHIP TRAITS
Visible Leadership Attributes Pan-Asia

ny conversation about leadership must

6 Traits that Tie Asian Leaders Together include a dialogue on culture. In a way,
culture is the ‘elephant in the room.’ Culture
profoundly changes our perceptions, therefore
its influences on leadership aspects need to be
evaluated closely to understand the context in
which the Asian leader operates.
Value attached to hierarchy, level of
PERVASIVE SENSE COLLECTIVIST APPROACH
OF HIERARCHY individualism, focus on harmony, and premium
Asia Scores Low on Individualism
on relationships and networks, influences
Caring-Autocrat Attitude
the leadership style of Asian executives. In
addition, two elements – the VUCA context
in which the leader operates, and diversity –
introduce another layer of complexity that may
shape the behaviour of leaders.
DEPENDENCE ON The need for cultural sensitivity was highlighted
NETWORKS AND FOCUS ON HARMONY by most interviewees as they talked about the
RELATIONSHIPS Non-Confrontational need for (Western) expat leaders integrating
Friendships, Family Attitude at Work into the Asian ‘fabric,’ or an Asian leader being
Ties, or Social Strata successful outside of Asia. “Individuals here
operate in a much more VUCA environment,
and they may attach a very different value
to various aspects of employment life cycle
- money, title, hierarchy, development,
relationships, etc.,” explained a leader.
VUCA-READY ATTITUDE DIFFERENT FLAVORS Interviewees also pointed that although we talk
Moving Pieces Make Leaders There are ‘Multiple’ Asias about a globalized economy, it is impossible to
Very Complexity-‘Friendly’ Rolled into One! generalize how culture influences leadership
perception and execution styles.

Source: CCL Research, 2018.

Page 22

PERVASIVE SENSE OF HIERARCHY

Caring Autocrat Attitude with Authentic Concern for Followers

ost countries in Asia have a higher

power distance. This may be because Power Distance in Different Countries
of the culture, which focuses on the family
as a ‘primary unit,’ and therefore the EXAMPLES FROM ACROSS ASIA…
role of elders. Or, religions (mainly Islam,
Malaysian political history highlights the

HIGH POWER
Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism), which autocratic style of ‘Sultans’ and former
teach patience and respect to the father, or British colonial masters.

DISTANCE
the ‘enlightened one.’ It may also have its Malaysia Vietnam’s past dynasties and incumbent
roots in the fact that the region has a deep Philippines governments shaped a top-down society.
colonial past. There are also social classes China Most local companies in China are either
and structures in the society that lend to family-owned or government-run and
a hierarchy driven social ‘fabric.’ And, at Indonesia tend towards a hierarchical structure; the
least in a few countries in the region, hierarchical approach has roots in the
Monarchy played a key role in forming Confucian teachings and the bureaucratic
hierarchy-based structure. India Party structure.

Singapore Political dynasties in Philippines were an

Power distance however may manifest very offshoot of the country’s colonial
Vietnam
differently in different countries. Interviewees experience; even post-independence, the
pointed that while a Chinese leader for feudal system persisted, as influential
France Filipino families sought to protect their
instance may be very comfortable ruling Thailand
with an ‘iron fist,’ a leader in Thailand with interests by occupying public offices.
S.Korea
a similar power distance may be extremely India largely remains a
forgiving and caring of his teams. It is Japan ‘hierarchy-conscious’ society; family
USA upbringing, the caste system, or the
denoted in how leaders may be addressed
political environment, being key
respectfully – ‘Khun’ in Thailand, ‘Po’ in influencers.
Philippines, ‘Pak’ or ‘Ibu’ in Indonesia,
In Indonesia, superiors are often called
‘Shri’ in India. ‘bapak’ or ‘ibu’ which mean the
“You can get power distance out of the Canada equivalent of father or mother, sir
Australia
or madam.
equation to some extent by building
appropriate culture in the organization, Employees in Thailand may formally
LOW POWER

address their bosses by the title ‘Khun’

but it is something you need to deal with
DISTANCE

Germany UK which automatically marks a power

outside, in social interactions, at home, in distance between boss and the employee.
New Zealand
government offices, etc.,” explained a leader.
When Thai’s meet, a person who is junior
in age or social rank will ‘wai’ (Thai way
of greeting) first; also monks do not
return ‘wais’ from ‘commoners.’
North Europe Pacific Asia
America

Boss-is-always-right kind of culture rules in

Asia, a culture that borders on subservience and/or
respect for hierarchy or elders.
General Manager, Source: https://geert-hofstede.com/; www.worldbusinessculture.com; Leadership Mosaics, HCLI, 2016; Family dynasties bind politics in the Philippines, New York Times, 2007; Indonesian Culture Profile, Diversicare, 2012;
Global Energy Company Developing the Next Generation India Business Leader, CCL, 2016; Thailand Tourism, Arthur Asa Berger; .
 Page 23
COLLECTIVIST APPROACH
Asia Scores Low on Individualism

hile there is an undercurrent of hierarchy,

in a sharp contrast, decision-making is very
collectivist. In order to maintain the societal equilibrium,
decision-making in most cultures in Asia is more about
Individualism addressing the ‘we’ rather than ‘I.’ Decisions, since
they are consensus driven, may however take longer
Preference for a loosely-knit social framework in which individuals are expected to take care of
to arrive at.
only themselves and their immediate families.
So, owing to the collectivism, hierarchy in the region has
led to ‘caring autocracy,’ not dictatorship, or absolute
100 authority blended with concern for followers. This may
also have roots in a parallel focus on family, and the
feudal past in ASEAN countries such as the Philippines
90
and Indonesia, and several countries in South Asia. So
the posture a ‘caring autocrat’ may have is: “even though
80 I am the boss, I will provide for you, I will keep you
away from the line of any harm, and will take care of
70 your family.”
An extension of ‘collectivist-hierarchy,’ is the expectation
60 of loyalty. There is a deep premium on ‘trust,’ which
may be gained very differently in Asia. While in the
50 west, trust may be gained by fulfilling a commitment,
in several countries in Asia, it may be a function of the
level of familiarity and personal connect the leader and
40
his/her follower may have. (“Do I know you at a personal
level?” “Do I know your family?” “Do I know your
30 vulnerabilities?”)
Professionally, it may manifest in a work environment
20 that is less transactional, less business-like, not
necessarily driven by pure-play performance, with
10 more focus on relationships, wellness programs, and
family benefits.
0 Low focus on individualism may also manifest in
a e y lia d a n s ia a d e a ia
US
A
ad UK nc an an di pa ne ys in am an or re es
an environment where team goals are preferred
n
Fr
a m tra al In Ja pi al
a Ch et
n
ai
l
ga
p Ko n over individual targets, or an environment where
Ca r
Au
s Ze ili
p
Vi Th S. do
Ge M Si
n In any reference to ‘I’ (instead of a ‘We’) may not be
w Ph
Ne appreciated by peers or key stakeholders.

Source: https://geert-hofstede.com/
Page 24

FOCUS ON HARMONY
Non-Confrontational Attitude at Work

n most Asian countries, there is Achieving harmony is one of the most

tremendous premium on maintaining critical social value of Confucianism,
harmony, love, and togetherness. This may the teachings of Confucius during 500
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is a Sanskrit
often stretch to a level that a leader may BC, which have played an important
phrase found in Hindu texts such as
have to tolerate under-performance by his/ role in forming values in China, Japan,
the Maha Upanishad, which means
her teams. The underlying principle being Korea and Some regions of ASEAN.
"the world is one family".
that anything that destroys harmony is ‘Ren’ is the central ethical principle,
not good – therefore there may be fewer and is equivalent to the concepts of
instances of pointing finger at someone, love, mercy, and humanity. It is best
praising an individual in public (promotes explained by Confucius in the following
jealousy), pulling-up an individual, arguing statement: “Do not do to others what
in a meeting, etc. It may also manifest in you do not want done to yourself.” 
inability of an Asian leader to push back, Mai pen rai, commonly used phrase in
have an equal-eye dialogue, or deliver Thailand, loosely translates into ‘never
tough feedback. mind,’ or ‘it does not matter.’ The focus
is on maintaining harmony and
The driver for achieving harmony is a family-
showing tolerance.
like approach which is deeply embedded
in cultural values. For instance, Buddhism Singapore, which is a melting pot of
and Confucianism celebrate ‘patience’ and different cultures, has taken several
prescribe taking a ‘middle path.’ steps to maintain harmony. These
include passing of Religious Harmony
There are several examples in Asian Act, and maintaining racial quotas in
countries - maintaining ‘rukun’ in Indonesia, housing. It also has considerable
use of the phrase ‘mai pen rai’ in Thailand, Confucian influence since bulk of the
the concept of ‘pakikisama’ in Philippines, population is of Chinese ethnicity.
principle of ‘ren’ in Confucian cultures,
or promotion of ‘vasudhaiva kutumbakam’
in India.
An expatriate leader in Thailand commented Pakikisama, one of the key values in
that non-Thais must understand the concept Philippines, refers to an interpersonal Rukun, the Javanese value of respect
of harmony to be successful in the country. relationship where people are friendly and maintenance of social harmony, is
He shared his early experiences in the with each other. It comes from the the basic principles for social
country: “when I came in, people were nice word sama, which means ‘to go along’ interaction within both the family and
and smiling, and I would never hear any and yielding to the will of the leader or the community in Indonesia. The
feedback from managers about their teams’ majority so as to make the group’s strong emphasis on Rukun has marked
performance. Despite under-performance in decision unanimous. the typical Javanese as avoiding social
the unit, the managers were very reluctant and personal conflict.
to identify under-performers.” “Only later,
when I built a trust-based bond with the
core leadership team, did the local leaders
open up to have frank and transparent
conversations,” he added.
Source: PAKIKISAMA: A Filipino Trait, Isamu Saito, Faculty of Psychology, Rissho University, Japan; www.krishnauniverse.com; Asian Values: Encounter with Diversity, Josiane Cauquelin, Paul Lim, Birgit Mayer-Koenig;
The Religion of Java, Clifford Geert; https://geriatrics.stanford.edu/ethnomed/chinese/fund/beliefs.html;
 Page 25
DEPENDENCE ON NETWORKS AND RELATIONSHIPS
Networks are Often Based on Friendships, Family Ties, or Social Strata

here is a huge focus on developing and

Social Structure maintaining relationships. Owning to lack
of dependable governance and institutions,
“Asians in general are like pack hard-wired regulatory environment, and strict
animals; the mother looks after the
‘cubs’ while the father goes out and
Infrastructure (Lack of) compliance requirements and rules in most
countries in Asia, leaders build their own security
hunts. When the kids grow up, they “Role of relationships and networks net, which is often ‘their network.’ So, ‘know-who’
go out and hunt and take care of becomes critical due to a lack of clear supersedes ‘know-how’ in most Asian countries.
the parents till they die - very rules and dependable institutions that
family oriented.” can protect a party’s rights.” Leaders not only contribute to the networks,
MD, Thailand, Ex-Chairman, Indonesia but draw heavily from them. Most executives
European Engineering Company Global O&G Technology Company take great pride in ‘having the right connections.’
These networks may help leaders tide over the
hugely VUCA environment. These networks may
not necessarily have a professional genesis. The
‘network equity’ is often built over many years
and may be based on friendships, belonging to the
Economic Context Business Context same extended family and social strata,
same provincial origins, or simply high school or
“The role of networks is accentuated in Guanxi (China) is the system of social college ties.
countries that are below par economi- networks and influential relationships
cally – you need to depend on relation- which facilitate business and The concepts of Guanxi in China, Chaebols in
ships to get things ‘done,’ at individual other dealings. South Korea, and Keiretsu in Japan, all have
and organization levels. Networks their genesis in this need to build relationships,
build on friendships, family ties or Chaebols (South Korea) are large, associations and the power of networks.
social strata.” conglomerate family-controlled firms Heavy dependence on networks is one of the
Author and Thought Leader, characterized by strong ties with reasons Asian leaders are reluctant to move to
South East Asia government agencies. another country and start afresh. Some Asian
interviewees also pointed that local leaders are
Keiretsu ( Japan) is a form of corporate
Religious Beliefs structure in which a number of
good at nurturing networks only in a familiar
terrain, often their home country. This is not
“Confucianism, Buddhism, Islam, organizations link together, usually by
necessarily a strength leaders are able to build on
Shinto believers, and Hindus, all taking small stakes in each other and
when they cross borders.
religions in Asia talk about the role of often as a result of having a close
the family and community.” business relationship, such as suppliers
to each other. 
Regional Head,
Global Chemicals Company Source: www.economist.com; www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/chaebol.htm; www.koreatimes.co.kr.

Source: CCL Research, 2018.

Page 26

VUCA READY ATTITUDE

Moving Pieces Make Asian Leaders Very ‘Friendly’ to Complexity

hanks to the VUCA environment most

Asian leaders grow up in, they learn
to manage uncertainty and ambiguity.
Also, owing to shaky political, business RAPID TECHNOLOGY CHANGES
environment, lack of good governance, and
instances of compromising business ethics,
leaders know how to ‘get things done.’
Leaders therefore are adaptable, resilient,
VOLATILE MARKETS 83% Leaders at mid-to-large-sized companies
in APAC see digital start-ups as a threat
to their business longevity.

and innovative at the grass-roots level. China’s Slowdown: The first Stage of the Bullwhip Effect
This may be exhibited by leaders as they Bank of Japan worried about a stock
market crash
learn not only to survive but thrive in
countries where they need to deal with TOUGH BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Your money’s no good: rupee note cancellat ion plunges India into panic

5
dynasties of political leaders, stay on the
‘right side’ of the part-military regimes, or Asian Countries in the top Quartile of
manage the dichotomy between communist ‘Ease of Doing Business Index 2017.’
set-ups and capitalist markets.
Singapore however is a contrast; it is built
on the premise that ‘nothing can be left to TOUGH SURVIVAL
chance,’ therefore this skill may not be as
pronounced in Singaporean leaders.
Interestingly, leaders are often VUCA-
0 Asian country in the top Quartile
of ‘Quality of Life Index 2017.’
MEDIOCRE GOVERNANCE
friendly in their own countries, not
necessarily in foreign lands. This is because
heavy dependence on networks and
relationships may be lost as the leader
VUCA-READY LEADERS
1 Asian Country in the top Quartile of
‘Corruption Perception Index 2016.’

leaves familiar shores.

A regional CEO of Asian origin, having SECURITY CHALLENGES
worked previously in Europe and US before NEWER BUSINESS MODELS
the current Singapore stint, commented on
Asians’ ability to navigate VUCA: “Asians
2 Asian Countries in the top Quartile
of the ‘Global Peace Index 2017.’ In addition to three traditional business models— asset
builders, service providers, and technology creators, new
grow up in a disorganized economy - always
dealing with problems, minor to major. We How Non-State Actors Could Cause War in South Asia age enterprises are choosing to operate as network
orchestrators. Examples include Airbnb, Uber, Alibaba.
tend to be cool and calm. So our ability to
deal with ‘noise’ is much better.”

Source: Global Peace Index 2017; Quality of Life Index 2017; Ease of Doing Business Index 2017; Corruption Perception Index 2016; www.cnbc.com “Here’s what’s keeping Asian company bosses up at night”; “What
Airbnb, Uber, and Alibaba Have in Common”, Harvard Business Review, 2014.
 Page 27
DIVERSITY IN ASIA
There are ‘Multiple’ Asias Rolled into One!

“ e often talk of Asia as one big block,

but there are several blocks since
the region is very diverse,” highlighted a
Leaders working in state-owned-enterprises People in North China are thought to be leader. “Asia seems to be an identity but does
in China may engage in collective more aggressive and independent, while not subscribe to one culture; Japan, China,
decision-making and can be complacent people to the South are considered more Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam are all very
and risk averse. Founder-entrepreneurs cooperative and interdependent. different, though they may be a part of one
working with privately-owned-enterprises region. I am very cautious of using the word
are innovative, confident and daring. Those
Asian,” explained another leader.
working with MNCs are structured and
process-oriented and may or may not have Asia is very diverse. Basis types of experience
an appetite for risk taking basis the leaders have, regions they grow-up in,
corporate culture. Senior leaders from North Vietnam
ethnicities, etc., they may look and behave
tend to be formal, abiding by
very differently.
protocol; they are indirect and
diplomatic in their speech. In So while a Singaporean leader may be an
comparison, South Vietnamese expert executor, an Indian leader may be
leaders appear less formal, friendly more comfortable with uncertainties. While a
and jovial; they tend to be more Chinese leader may be comfortable taking
Companies and leaders in the South of direct and open. unpopular decisions, a Javanese executive from
India are seen as generally conservative, Indonesia will refrain from doing so.
non-aggressive and reactive, while their
counterparts in the North are considered Also, there are some very interesting
aggressive risk takers. differences within country depending on the
history of the place. E.g., a leader in North
While Javanese leaders (from Jawa) in India may be more aggressive than her
Indonesia appear soft spoken and counterpart in the South of the country,
indirect, Bataks (from Sumatra) are
a Batak leader in Indonesia may be more
outspoken and straight forward. One
outspoken than his Javanese colleague, a north
possible explanation could be that
Vietnamese leader may be more formal than
Jawa was colonized, while Sumatra
her peers in south Vietnam.
was not, so the latter are more free to
express their opinions. Diversity in leadership attributes may also be
driven by the type of enterprise executives
work for. A state-owned-enterprise leader
may be more hierarchical than a privately-
owned-enterprise leader, who may be more
proactive as compared to a family-owned
enterprise leader.

Organizations need to understand that Asia is very different; culture, people,

thinking, and even execution is different in different countries. People don’t
understand ASEAN; they say you are all neighbours, so how different can you be.
There is clearly not enough understanding by the senior management.
MD, Thailand,
European Engineering Company Source: North South, Fortune India, 2011; Leadership Mosaics Across Asia, HCLI, 2016.
Page 28

IV GLOBAL ASIAN
LEADERSHIP
SUCCESS MODEL
 Page 29
MUST HAVE ATTRIBUTES AND TRAITS FOR GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
Asian Leaders Must Refine Five Critical Capabilities to Become Successful Global Leaders
Big 5 Global Leadership Traits

“Self belief” “Not giving up” “Being assertive”

“Step out of comfort zone” “Risk taking”
“Reading people” “Quick learning” here are five critical attributes that an Asian leader must
“Managing conflict” “Challenge leaders” “Grit” demonstrate to be successful in global roles.
“Being mobile”
“Appetite for challenge” “Persistence”
Courage to have tough dialogues, push back, lead difficult
“Asking questions” “Seek new experiences”
“Adaptability” “Taking initiative” “Have thick skin” conversations, to speak up, to create and defend business cases,
“Cultural curiosity”
“Giving feedback” “Dealing with uncertainty” to have unpleasant conversations.
“Hunger to learn” “Keen to explore” “Take chances” “Be bold” “Confidence” Curiosity to learn new things, new cultures, new ways of doing things,
“Adventure spirit” being open-minded.
“Being vocal” “Saying NO”
“Global awareness” “Expand knowledge” Trust (trusting people and being trustworthy) to be able to build
“Speak up” “Resilience” “Being direct”
relationships, get work done, develop networks in a complex
“Learning agility” “Pushing back” “Emotional strength” environment, being non-judgemental.
“Open minded” CO “Confronting” “Express opinion”
ITY U
Ability to influence decisions via compelling communication, managing
OS RA the ‘political’ landscape in the enterprise, negotiating skills.
RI GE
CU And finally, strategic thinking, or having long term view on business,
“Political savvy” “Non judgmental” understanding micro and macro shifts, displaying commercial acumen,
resolving resource conflicts.
CE

“Collaborating to get stuff done” ASPIRATION “Relationship building” “Networking ability”

TRU
UEN

“Win trust” In addition to the five critical traits, there is also a must-have hygiene
“Self advocacy”
element – aspiration to step into global roles. What leaders told us
ST
INFL

“Open with people” “Transparency”

“Leading remotely” was that being a global leader is a tough job – lots of travel, mid-night
STRATEGIC “Global mindset” phone calls, rotations, uncertainty, etc. “While you do get rewarded
“Lead communication”
THINKING handsomely, it takes a toll on you and your family life, so you need to
“Being resourceful” “Humility”
“Remote influencing skills” be willing to undergo the pain,” explained a leader.
“Understanding different POVs”
“Articulating ideas in a compelling manner” “Market knowledge”
Interviewees mentioned that if the Asian leader is not aspiring to a
“Long term thinking” “Ability to listen” “Involving key stakeholders”
“Navigating the matrix” global role, pushing her to take on a global career path will be too
“Strategic intent” “Commercial acumen” “Manage cross-cultural alliances” much pain for her, her family, and the company.
“Negotiation skills”
“Economic motivation” “Authenticity”

“Understand complexities”
“Understanding macro-shifts” “Managing resource conflicts”
“Reading the environment” “Understanding the organization” Aspiration is actually fundamental, it is almost a ‘hygiene’ factor. It is not
driven by organization, and has a lot to do with upbringing, family, culture, safety,
etc. Putting an executive on a global career path if she does not have an aspiration
to do so, will cause too much pain to the family, to the individual, and to the
organization. It is not worth the pain.
SVP and GM, Singapore,
Source: CCL Research, 2018.
Global Media Company
Page 30

COURAGE IOS
IT
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UR
AG
C UR E

To Overcome Fears…

CE
ASPIRATION

TRU
UEN

ST
INFL
STRATEGIC
THINKING

uccessful global leaders have the

courage to push back, negotiate,
challenge, speak up, say ‘no’, and to develop
and defend business cases with senior
stakeholders. Since global leaders have to Courage
navigate through complex organization Overcoming the fear of facing unknown or unfamiliar situations, and having the ability to express one’s opinions freely.
structures, they also need to have the
courage to take chances and express their
opinions without fear or hesitation.
In sharp contrast, a stereotypical Asian leader
does not push back, does not say ‘no,’ and “Sometimes you need to have “I am not scared of any challenges. I have experienced “You cannot be afraid, you
shies away from tough conversations. “Asians the courage to do what you have living in Africa as a single parent with no support. That need passion, grit and
tend to be very hierarchical and do not never done before, but also have experience prepared me well for any kind of situation.” resilience, and the ability to
challenge status-quo, and that may hold confidence that you will be able take chances and risks.”
back a number of leaders in Asia,” explained to do it.”
an interviewee.
To step into global roles, Asian leaders will
have to break the shackles built around
them due to years of cultural influences “Never, never giving up, “I decided I wanted to experience work outside of
around respect for hierarchy. They will have and fighting for budgets, India. I got an opportunity to move to Dubai with a
“Success is about being able to
to overcome the hesitation to challenge getting approvals, getting bank, and I left my 3 month old baby and my hubby
function in different teams and
managers, senior stakeholders, to speak resources, etc.” behind and took on that role.”
understanding that negative
up, have uncomfortable conversations, and feedback is not about me as a
engage in debates and arguments. person. It is also about having
the emotional maturity to let
Dialling up the ‘courage’ trait will make Asian
people’s ideas shine; it is no
leaders more proactive, assertive, adaptable
longer about the ‘I’ but about “I have thick skin, and generally I am not afraid to “Ability to keep going, and leaning
and resilient.
the ‘we.’” ruffle some feathers. I always try to be direct and forward to do things that other people
One of the leaders, a senior banker in an to the point.” wont take.”
Asian headquartered bank, advised: “You
[next generation leaders] really must have
courage to fail, cause even if you fall on your
face, you go and do it again. A lot of young
executives aspire to be leaders, but one of
the things that holds them back is that they
are afraid, so they don’t commit; if they don’t
believe in themselves, nobody will believe in
them. I learnt this lesson early in my career.”

Source: CCL Research, 2018

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IOS
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To Overcome Fears…
CE

ASPIRATION

TRU
UEN

ST
INFL

STRATEGIC
THINKING

sian expatriate leaders within Asia (e.g., an

Indonesian leader working in Thailand) lag
other expat categories (Asians outside Asia,
non-Asians in Asia, non-Asians outside of Asia)
How Do Global Leaders Compare on “Courage”? Tips for Asian Leaders
on the ‘courage’ dimension.
We heard four tips from senior business leaders
on how Asian executives can be more courageous.
N=2,672
Believe in Yourself One, Asian leaders need to have conviction and
“We need to be convinced we are good enough to reach the top. self-belief. “They must believe they are as good if
3.80 3.79 Self-belief goes a long way in a global enterprise.”
3.77 not better than non-Asians,” said a leader. “Asians
take a backseat when there are Caucasians in
the room, even if they have something critical to
Push Back contribute to the dialogue; this tendency must
“We must understand that pushing back, negotiating, debating,
3.63 is just a natural process of arriving at the best decision; it is not stop,” commented another leader.
about being disrespectful.”
Two, local leaders need to learn how to push
Asians Asians outside Non Asians Non Asians back, and be persistent in their asks, be it for
in Asia of Asia in Asia Outside of Asia seeking more budgets, for getting approvals, or
Take Risk to say ‘no’ to unreasonable requests.
“Don’t maintain status quo, take risks, and don’t be afraid of
speaking the truth.” Three, Asians may need to overcome their
need to ‘save face’ and take some risks, on their
careers, in their projects, on the choices
Be “Hungry” they make.
“Plan ahead; it is alright to be aggressive. When you achieve
something, ask: what’s next?” And four, be realistic but hungry for more
and better projects, better roles, more
lucrative postings.

Inherently, Asians lack the confidence to

put up their hand and say ‘I want this.’ They are
waiting to be told to do so. They will be 110%
ready before raising their hand, rather than saying
that I am 80% ready but I want the job.
Chief People Officer,
Source: CCL Research, 2018. Global Financial Services Firm
Page 32

CURIOSITY IOS
IT
Y CO
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AG
C UR E

To Learn New Things, and to Undergo Different Experiences…

CE
ASPIRATION

TRU
UEN

ST
INFL
STRATEGIC
THINKING

lobal leaders need to be curious

about experiencing new cultures,
diverse cuisines, different languages,
interesting places, new thoughts, etc.
Curiosity enables global leaders to be
Curiosity
‘comfortable with discomfort.’ Hunger to learn something new, seek different experiences, ask questions, and genuinely wanting to know more about
different people and cultures.
Except for Indian, Filipino, and to some
extent Chinese leaders, most other Asians
are inherently less open to mobility. This may
be due to premium on local networks that
Asian leaders may have within the country,
“I am always curious to “Ask questions, and be “Learning agility is to keep an open mind, and to listen
the need to be close to the extended family,
know more.” open minded. Soak it to not only the explicit, but the implicit message.”
and issues around children’s education or
up as much as you can.
spouse’s job. “Asian executives need to
Talk and connect with
understand that lack of mobility will stunt
people within and
their careers in a global organization,”
outside of the company
explained a leader. “Being open to learning from different “Reading people and situations and being able to
to genuinely try and
Even when Asian executives leave home cultures, taking a leap of faith, understand who make adjustments is a skill that is a must have. I
shores, they tend to create a cocoon of curiosity, asking questions, open they are and what often check with my local colleagues if I showed up
familiar food, nationalities, environment, mindedness, lifelong learning, are some drives them.” well in the meeting.”
around themselves in a foreign land. of the critical skills.”

Incumbent global leaders suggest that Asian

executives need to make more diverse
networks, have more diverse experiences, “I think I got the wanderlust bug from my grandmother, who “Passion to keep
be culturally agile, and more comfortable in “The head and heart needs to adjust was always wanting to experience or learn something new. going, and leaning
unfamiliar terrain. to the new environment; appreciate When she was 90 she came to me and wanted a computer forward to do
cultures, connect with people, and wanted to ‘hang out’ on the internet. I taught her to use things that
One of the leaders, and Asian banker, and appreciate people at the MS word, internet, and she thrived on it. Getting exposed to other people
advised next generation talent to be curious fundamental level.” different cultures was a passion.” won’t take.”
and agile leaders: “Be a quick learner;
the higher you go, the more diverse yet
critical learning agility will be. Assimilate and
digest information, turn it into knowledge
and apply it.”

Source: CCL Research, 2018

 Page 33
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To Learn New Things, and to Undergo Different Experiences…

CE

ASPIRATION

TRU
UEN

ST
INFL

STRATEGIC
THINKING

sian expatriate leaders within Asia lag other

expat categories (Asians outside Asia, non-
Asians in Asia, non-Asians outside of Asia) on the
How Do Global Leaders Compare on “Curiosity”? Tips for Asian Leaders ‘curiosity’ dimension. We heard four tips from
senior business leaders on how Asian executives
can act and be more curious.

Understand the Environment One, put in the effort to understand mega trends
N=2,672
“You need to be a thought leader. Work hard to understand that impact your industry and your function,
mega-trends in your industry. Have a point of view for micro- and macro-economic trends, etc., and have
the future.” a view on the future of business.
4.03
3.98 3.99 Two, do not shy away from asking questions,
even if you feel they are not the smartest.
Ask Questions
“Be confident and ask questions; the more you ask the more you Questions highlight a sense of curiosity, and a
know, and more people know you know! Don’t be too humble.” willingness to learn.
3.89 Three, genuinely try and connect with people,
and explore the ‘unknown.’ Do not fake it. Making
Be Honestly Curious honest attempts to connect with people within and
Asians Asians outside Non Asians Non Asians “Genuinely try to know people. Keep on exploring different outside of the enterprise is a must-have as Asian
in Asia of Asia in Asia Outside of Asia cultures, and be open to new experiences.”
leaders polish their ability to be comfortable
with discomfort.

Be an Agile Learner Four, be agile learners. Rather than learning

“What I typically see is that once you get your masters degree new functional and technical skills, be like a
that’s the end of learning. The educational degree is a beginning sponge, and learn how to learn more efficiently
to your next life.” and creatively.

Curiosity in what you are doing, what is

happening with the organization, in your team, in
your host country. In the world when everything is
moving very fast, it is critical to have curiosity and
continuous learning.
ASEAN CHRO,
Source: CCL Research, 2018. European Automobile Co.
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INFLUENCE IOS
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To Get Things Done in a Global Organization…

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UEN

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THINKING

sians may be very good in familiar

terrains – their own function, business
unit, their country. A successful global
leader however needs to spread her span
of influence across complex organization
Influence
structures, geography, teams, and often Power and the ability to personally affect key stakeholders’ actions, decisions, opinions in a matrixed, multi-geography
business units and functions. environment.
“My general manager in Thailand knows
everything about Thailand, but is he good
enough to interact with my global controller
to understand what he can bring from there
to Thailand, or best practices he can teach “In a global organization you “Leading a team remotely is a critical skill. In a “Asians need to be very
globally from Thailand, that is the gap my need to navigate the system, complex multi geography organization with organization savvy, understand
Thai leader needs to plug,” commented an meaning common frame of matrix structure, it is important to make an power-centers within the
expat leader based in Thailand. He added, reference that comes naturally impact without physically being there.” enterprise, network across the
“management of relationship outside own if you are from the same globe, use coffee-catch-ups more
area of confidence is a development area for country, have gone to the creatively, and use media options
Asian leaders.” same schools, can talk about to influence.”
the same things, and have
Influencing skills include the ability to generally grown up in a similar
communicate effectively, being able to environment.” “Managing upwards is a skill
network across geographies, being able to that will help an Asian leader
negotiate, having the political savvy “Network with external stakeholders to get more
get things done.”
to navigate through a complex information and Increase your influence outside
organizational maze, and astuteness to the company.”
collaborate effectively.
“Influencing is also about making yourself “To be influenced by you, first
visible in different projects that get you people need to notice you,
hence the role of self “Being able to communicate to any audience, and being confident about how you communicate
noticed,” pointed a leader. He added that is critical. Ability to phrase your thoughts in a manner that is compelling, succinct, and can
peers who work with the leader, collaborate advocacy.”
send the right message across can take your career further in a global organization.”
with him, review his work, must also
know his capability; that builds trust
and credibility, and helps the leader be
more influential.
“We need to be better at communication
across stakeholders. Otherwise people don’t
know what you are talking about. You need
to use different approaches for people with
different background. This skill is often more
complicated than the technical ability,”
added an Asian leader.

Source: CCL Research, 2018

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To Get Things Done in a Global Organizations…

CE

ASPIRATION

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UEN

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STRATEGIC
THINKING

sian expatriate leaders within Asia lag other

expat categories (Asians outside Asia, non-
Asians in Asia, non-Asians outside of Asia) on the
How Do Global Leaders Compare on “Influence”? Tips for Asian Leaders ‘influence’ dimension. We heard three tips from
senior business leaders on how Asian executives
can act and be more influential.
One, while communication may not be a
N=2,672
Focus on ‘Lead Communication’ development area in itself for Asian leaders,
“Conducting a meeting effectively, especially a remote meeting, they need to get better at ‘lead communication.’
3.77 designing and presenting a business case, are skills that go a far Interviewees defined lead communication as
way in exerting influence.” the skill to lead, direct, and navigate a meeting,
3.71 especially when it is being done remotely,
3.67 or there are stakeholders dialled in on video
3.61 Practice Self-Advocacy conferencing/phone.
“A little bit of ‘blowing your own trumpet’ is a good practice,
which does not come naturally to us Asian leaders. We must Two, practice self-advocacy! Interviewees assured
however train ourselves to do that.” Asian leaders that it is an acceptable practice
Asians Asians outside Non Asians Non Asians to ‘project’ your work. One leader, who called it
in Asia of Asia in Asia Outside of Asia blowing-your-own-trumpet, urged Asian leaders
Collaborate Effectively to learn the ‘critical’ skill.
“To collaborate effectively and influence your way in a
multi-geography company, you need to know which strings Three, Asians must learn to partner and
to pull and when.” collaborate across geographies, businesses,
teams, and functions. One leader advised that
collaboration must be looked at as a ‘win-win’ to
make it successful. “Collaboration is not me-
versus-you, it is me-and-you,” he pointed.

I think we are good at communication

in general, what we need to learn however is
what I call ‘lead communication,’ leading
a meeting, directing a large team, making
presentations, making a compelling business
case to the board, etc.
Author and Thought Leader,
Source: CCL Research, 2018. South East Asia and China
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TRUST IOS
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Y CO
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AG
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Developing Deep Credibility…

CE
ASPIRATION

TRU
UEN

ST
INFL
STRATEGIC
THINKING

lobal leaders need to have a strong

‘trust’ account within the organization
– being trustworthy as well as trusting of
others. This enables global leaders to develop
honest and authentic relationships within Trust
the organization. To establish and develop deep credibility of one’s authenticity and capability within and outside of the global enterprise.
Trust came up frequently in our dialogue with
incumbent leaders. They pointed that strong
trust defines the strength of the relationship
that leaders can build within the organization.
Lack of trust was also pointed by several “People want to feel that if “Trusting and deep networks give you the next “To develop deep relationships
interviewees as one of the key reasons Asian they invest their time and deal, the client that may make your career, the reflect on your capabilities,
leaders find it hard to make it to the top. The future in your hands, then best employees. Authentic networking is not your strengths, who you are,
gap in most cases is due to distance from the you are in that position to about frivolous conversations, we need to tie it what you can or cannot do. Be
headquarters, which may be in Europe or make a positive impact on to a purpose and relevance.” honest with yourself, before
the US. the organization.” being honest with the world.”
The need to develop lasting relationships and
nurture internal and external networks was
highlighted by several incumbent leaders.
“Next generation leaders need to make
relationships with senior leaders to build
credibility, and understanding,” said one “I think what worked well for me from a trust
leader. “Collaborative nature and ability to “We in Asia tend to judge standpoint is a deep connection with people
build partnerships not only within but outside people too much. And, have a high up in the organization. That helped me “Humility is a must-
the organization will take you a long way,” measure of being good, bad, align to the values and ambitions in the have capability to
pointed another leader. successful, not successful, etc. organization. You must understand that trust connect meaningfully
Being judgemental kills trust.” is created based on how people know you.” with people.”
Asian leader will therefore have to go the
extra mile to build relationships in order to
develop familiarity with stakeholders in the
headquarters and peers in other locations, in
order to be seen as trustworthy.
Humility, which clearly came up in research
as a key strength of Asian executives,
can help local leaders develop better and
trusting relationships with their global peers
and teams.

Source: CCL Research, 2018

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e heard several pieces of advice on

how Asian leaders could build their
‘trust balance.’
How Do Global Leaders Compare on “Trust”? Tips for Asian Leaders One, while Asian leaders need to get out of their
home country, they must hold on to their beliefs
and values, and not color themselves in the color
Hold on to Your Values and Beliefs of the host country. Authentic leaders are seen
N=2,672 as honest and often develop better networks
“Do not color yourself in the color of the new culture and
country, hold on to your values and beliefs cause that is seen within and outside of enterprises.
3.96 as authentic.”
3.94 3.94 Two, try and rid yourself of lenses and
unconscious biases in order to develop
deeper relationships.
Don’t Judge
“Be conscious of the lenses or unconscious biases we may have Three, in order to build trust, use the gift of
3.81 as we meet people from different countries and cultures.” humility that Asian leaders already have.
And four, the most important advice – network
Maintain Asian Strength of Humility to build honest relationships.
Asians Asians outside Non Asians Non Asians “Humility in leaders is something that is very critical; it is not all
in Asia of Asia in Asia Outside of Asia “You should be curious about what other folks
about you, yourself.”
are doing, understand business drivers, hold
conversations with senior leaders, and have a
view on the enterprise,” advised a leader. He
Invest in Building Relationships added, “your network may give you the client
“You should be curious about what the other folks are doing,
understand business drivers, and hold conversations with that may make your career, it may give you
senior leaders.” the best employees; networking is not about
frivolous conversations, we need to tie it to a
purpose and relevance.” Underlining the need
to develop strong relationships, another leader
pointed, “relationships are critical for being
successful in large, matrixed organizations; you
could have one direct boss but every day work
with 3 other bosses.”

Executives need to be authentic in their

journey, especially while connecting with people
across cultures. If they [stakeholders] get a whiff
that you are not authentic or not credible, you
won’t get a second chance.
GM, HQ,
Source: CCL Research, 2018. Global Energy Company
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STRATEGIC THINKING I OS
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Developing a Long Term View on Business…

CE
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ST
INFL
STRATEGIC
THINKING

lobal leaders, especially leaders of the

future, need to be comfortable wearing
the ‘CEO hat.’ While execution strength
shows up as one of the key strength of
Asian leaders, strategic thinking is a critical Strategic Thinking
development area. Ability to understand organization’s long term strategy, and come up with effective plans in line with the organization’s
business objectives within local/regional/global economic context.
Asian leaders therefore need to step away
from ‘how’ of doing things and think more
about ‘why’ (why we need to undertake) and
‘what’ (what is the wider business impact) of
key initiatives to get a better understanding
of enterprise strategy. “One thing that needs to “We need to see beyond our work desks, and “Intellectual agility is probably to
change in Asian leaders is the have a long term view on where the me the most important aspect.
Incumbent leaders explain strategic thinking lack of breadth of perspective.” organization is going, and what is the connect Having a strategic mind and the
as a combination of being able to analyze between what I do and the enterprise ability to understand a
the market, thinking about risk profile of strategy.” completely different business
the company, sensing disruptors, market context, regulation, context,
knowledge, and being able to ‘read’ the product, and to question
market, playing visionaries. “We [Asian established practices, business
leaders] are like – give us directions and “We need to train ourselves in models, that is very important.”
we will follow it to the ‘T’ and do it very “The difference is in the approach – our
becoming top-class visionaries.” approach is ‘what can I do’ versus ‘what is the
well, but when we are to bring in our own
perspectives, we tend to struggle,” explained impact we can have.’ I see that as a difference
an Asian leader. in vision between Asian leaders and global
counterparts.”
One of the interviewees pointed, “global
ready leaders must understand the long “We have noticed in our
term view of the company, and so they leaders that they don’t read
should be able to not only vision ahead, but the market very well, and do
rather position themselves in the future and not spend time on developing “Economic motivation – this is a fundamental skill CEOs need in this part of the world. If a
solve the present day problems from there.” their own perspectives.” leader doesn’t understand it, he/she is not a leader.”
“You need to wear the CEO hat while taking
decisions; you need to have a long-term
view, not transactional and here-and-now
approach,” added another interviewee.

Source: CCL Research, 2018

 Page 39
I OS
IT
Y CO
URA
GE
STRATEGIC THINKING
CUR

Developing a Long Term View on Business…

CE

ASPIRATION

TRU
UEN

ST
INFL

STRATEGIC
THINKING

sian expatriate leaders within Asia lag

other expat categories (Asians outside Asia,
non-Asians in Asia, non-Asians outside of Asia)
on the ‘strategic thinking’ dimension.
How Do Global Leaders Compare on Tips for Asian Leaders
“Strategic Thinking”? We heard two tips from senior business leaders
on how Asian executives can develop a more
strategic point of view.
N=2,672
Think Long Term One, think long term by de-focussing on the
3.88 3.88 “Defocus on the execution role that you are used to playing, and execution aspect and having a longer term vision
3.86
once-in-a-while wear the global CEO hat, assume there is no for the enterprise. Interviewees suggested a
regional office, and vision.” few ways to build that capability – interact with
the global leadership team, develop mentoring
3.74 relationships with global leaders, consume
Think Global latest thought leadership about relevant
“Definition of market knowledge is much wider than just our industries, regions or businesses, and interact
region and our clients.” with leading academics.
Asians Asians outside Non Asians Non Asians
in Asia of Asia in Asia Outside of Asia
Two, think beyond immediate region. Leaders
suggested that next generation global leaders
must think global, and not limit their vision,
planning, strategizing to their country or their
region, but rather understand the interplay
between different regions.
Asian leaders need to therefore take off their
execution hat, step back, and think more long
term and global.

Asians are not very good visionaries. They are

like – give us directions and we will follow it to the
‘T’ and do it very well. But when we are to bring in
our own perspectives, we struggle. We don’t have a
point of view on things.
APAC HR Lead,
Source: CCL Research, 2018. Global Tech Company
Page 40

V EXPERIENCES
THAT MATTER
 Page 41
EXPERIENCES THAT MATTER
Some Experiences Matter More Than Others in the Journey to the Global CXO Role

“Spending time in the HQ is very critical. “I try to focus 20% of my time on

areer mapping of global leaders highlighted
It is very different in terms of the mentoring and developing leaders, several common themes. There were clearly some
perspectives you get. And also in terms not only within my business, but experiences that mattered more than the others.
of the confidence you get and the across the enterprise.”
relationships you make.” Several global leaders were educated outside of their
Talent Lead, HQ, VP, Global BU, home country, and had early leadership opportunities
Global Pharmaceutical Company Global Conglomerate - leading a football team, an extended school project,
“Harvard prepared me for “I started working when “When I was
cultural interactions, since I was 16, when the seconded to Vietnam or some community initiatives. They also had early
we were a multicultural internship concept was [from India] it was internships and work experiences - serving tables,
HQ Stint Becoming a Mentor/
class; we were given 90 not as popular; I worked another ball game. It
seconds to distil and part-time 20 to 30% in a was like working for
Sponsor/Role Model flipping burgers, doing paid duty in libraries, etc.
communicate thoughts, and week as a waiter, at a a different company During early career, the leaders opted for secondments
we needed to do it for social restaurant, etc. At a in a very-very GLOBAL CXO ROLE
currency; it taught me a lot young age, I learned the different market; outside of their home country – these were rotations
about problem solving and value of work, and how that was one of the as a part of graduate programs or early offshore
business communication in a an organization crucible learning General projects. They also talked about early mentoring by their
multicultural environment.” operates.” experiences for me.” Management “When I took up a position as a regional managers, or even people outside their organizations.
Role head, I had to move to Hong Kong. This
COO, Executive Director, President North Asia, exposed me further to regional and Three things stood out in mid-career experiences. One,
Global Consulting Firm European European global issues that someone who is at
MID CAREER leaders did a long-term rotation outside of their home
Professional Body FMCG Company the country level is insulated from. You
understand why certain decisions which country. Two, a lot of the global leaders stepped into
don’t seem to make sense at the country GM roles in their mid-thirties to late-thirties. And three,
Foreign Education Internships Secondments
level are made. I gained a broader they did a stint at the headquarters, which helped them
perspective of the challenges facing the network, build credibility in the system, and deliver
global organization.”
critical engagements.
Country Head, Singapore,
PRE CAREER EARLY CAREER Asian Bank Several senior global leaders also highlighted that they
currently keenly sponsor and mentor next generation
Early Leadership Being Mentored/ Long Term
Opportunities Sponsored Rotation/s
and upcoming talent.
Incumbent leaders advised next generation leaders to
“When I was very young, I “I had a mentor and a sponsor at “When I came back from develop broad experiences. “Get a broad experience,
joined soccer; I learnt how the very beginning of my career and another country after 10 years, don’t worry about money and tangible aspects such
to play as a team player, got opportunities to challenge and there was a huge difference in as promotion,” advised a leader. Yet another leader
and how and when to take speak my mind, and big roles when the thinking process and
accountability for leading I was young.” decision making ability.”
however cautioned against moving too many jobs in
the team.” this bid to get diverse experiences. He advised: “you
SVP, APAC, MD- Malaysia, VP-SCM,APJ, need to work in one institution for over 5 years to get
European Chemicals Company European Food Products Company European Energy Company
the market understanding and culture of the institution.”

Source: CCL Research, 2018.

Page 42

THREE MUST-HAVE EXPERIENCES FOR

NEXT-GEN LEADERS
Critical Experiences Next-generation Leaders in Asia Must Get Under their Belt

hree critical experiences stood out in preparing

Asian leaders for global roles – cross-border “I was asked by the MD to move to Singapore [from Australia]
since the business here was performing below market
rotations, non-obvious career moves, and stretch roles.
expectations; we were in a number nine position and it was a
Center for Creative Leadership research points that turnaround job. It was a truly crucible experience, but I believe
stretch or ‘crucible’ experiences are extremely valuable that in order to become an authentic and a capable global
in preparing for leadership roles in an uncertain leader, everyone needs to do a “crucible” role. It is a ‘tour of
environment. Crises, hardships and tough roles, even duty’ when you test your mettle as a leader. Where you are
‘mean’ bosses can be compelling ‘teachers.’ Crucible kind-of forced to go to your breaking point, and if you are able
experiences could include participating in a global M&A, to survive that, you are much more comfortable in your skin.”
cross-business transformation projects, developing a ASEAN MD,
E

‘C
new market, dealing with a tough customer, or even Global Professional Services Firm
NC

RU
reporting into a ‘demanding’ manager. E
RI

IBC
E

LE
Interviewees also mentioned that international XP

’E
E

XP
assignments early in their careers contributed to SE
ER

ER
their success as global leaders. Leaving the ‘safety’ of V “I went through quite a few roles and found my way around

IE
DI

NC
home shores requires leaders to tolerate uncertainty what I wanted to do, so in a way, I took a few chances in my

E
and discomfort. Considerations of security, safety and career, but I made all those moves for exposure, not for money.
I took up anything that looked interesting to me where I could

CR XPE
possibly disrupting predictable family life can hold back

OS RI
E
learn. That helped build my skills, my outlook. I was not
many who do not see incremental value in cross-border

S- EN
worried about taking risks cause I always knew from deep

BO CE
experiences. The value of making such moves early in

RD
within that if things did not work I could do something else.”
the career benefits leaders as well as their organizations.

ER
For leaders, it may mean an easy transition since there COO,
will be fewer family constraints, while for organizations, Asian Hi-Tech Company
it may mean rotating leaders at mid-management level,
thereby somewhat protecting or limiting the potential
risk due to non-performance.
“I was exposed to several different projects, strategic thinking,
Leaders with diverse professional experiences early in change management, and communication styles through the
their careers stood the best chance of breaking down early transition I did for 10 years in Hong Kong; I got a lot of
organizational barriers to cultivate a more collusive chances to meet different people, people coming from different
culture. Diverse experiences also help leaders build lines of business, and got an opportunity to develop my
credibility, network, and trust in the organization. internal contacts in the company.”
Interviewees pointed that in the VUCA world, leaders VP-SCM, APJ,
must have a holistic understanding of business European Energy Company
operations, rather than a narrow (and often deep) sliver
of specialization.

Source: CCL Research, 2018

 Page 43
FLAVORS OF GLOBAL ASIAN LEADERS
Asian Returnee, Regional Champion, Global Nomad, Local Expat

lobal Asian leaders come in four different

flavours! These are shaped by ethnicity,
nationality, early experiences, exposure, and
education of the leaders.

ASIAN RETURNEE REGIONAL CHAMPION GLOBAL NOMAD LOCAL EXPAT ‘Asian returnee’ is a leader of Asian origin who
has educated and mainly worked outside of
the region (often till mid-career). Having spent
REPRESENTATIVE Born in China Born in Indonesia Born in India Born in Germany
Educated in the US considerable time outside of Asia, she has rich
PROFILE Educated in Singapore Educated in US/India Educated in Europe exposure to different cultures.
Worked in the US Worked in 3-5 Asian Worked in several Moved to Thailand
Returned to China countries with countries in 2-3 early in the career and ‘Regional champion’ is a leader of Asian origin
during mid-career; multiple MNCs regions (and HQ) in stayed there; worked with multi-country and perhaps a multi-company
with same or the same MNC with different MNCs work experience, but mainly within Asia.
different MNC
In a sharp contrast, a ‘global nomad’ is an
Asian leader who has diverse multi-country
experiences within and outside of Asia, often
EXPOSURE TO with the same organization. Since the leader has
DIFFERENT moved around locations in the same enterprise,
CULTURES he has strong ties, networks, relationships,
credibility and trust with key stakeholders.
A ‘local expat’ is a leader who may not be
STRENGTH OF of Asian origin, but has spent most of his
working career within Asia. Much like a
RELATIONSHIPS
‘global nomad,’ he also has diverse exposure
IN HQ to different cultures.
Interviewees pointed that it is hard to paint
all Asian leaders with one broad brush.
EMBEDDED IN Organizations therefore will need different
ENTERPRISE tactics to develop different ‘communities’
STRATEGY (or flavors) of Asian leaders. “A cookie-cutter
approach to developing Asian leaders, as
companies prepare them to step into global
roles, will not work,” summed up a leader.
Note: Completeness of dark-colored circle indicates
representative level of experience in each area. Rich/High Moderate Low

Source: CCL Research, 2018.

Page 44

VI COMPENDIUM
OF DEVELOPMENT
PRACTICES
 Page 45
BEST DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES
Creating a Steady Pipeline of Global Asian Leaders

Developing a Robust Global

Asian Leadership Pipeline

he Global Asian Leader research study

highlighted several practices around
Asian leader development. The research team
evaluated and documented eighteen key
Overcoming Constraints due to Overcoming Constraints Due practices; we have segregated these in three
Helping Asian Leaders Overcome high-level categories. Several practices
Lack of Talent Development to Organizational Context Skill and Will Issues
Infrastructure and Biases however cut across two or more themes.
First, a set of practices that help enterprises
overcome constraints due to the lack of
COMPANY A: Decoding Flavors of COMPANY D: Tweaking the Top Leader COMPANY O: Looking Within to Strengthen
infrastructure at a country level to develop
Asian Talent Potential Competency Set the Asian Leadership Pipeline local leaders. These are practices around
successful graduate programs or tweaking
COMPANY B: Graduate Program to Develop COMPANY E: Engineering the ‘Right’ COMPANY P: Pushing Asian Leaders to practices and structures within organizations
Local Talent Experiences Take Risks
to create a steady pipeline of leaders.
COMPANY C: Making it Someone’s Full Time COMPANY F: Non-obvious Career Paths COMPANY Q: Short Term 'Twin Axis
Job to Develop Global Asian Leaders Backpack' Development Rotations Second, practices to overcome enterprise
COMPANY G: World Café to Put Asian constraints that may stunt the development
Leaders on the Talent Radar COMPANY R: ‘Injecting’ Global Ready of global Asian leaders. These practices
Talent Into Asia
COMPANY H: Centralized Platform to are aimed at overcoming concerns around
Swap Talent biases, lenses, and trust issues that may exist
COMPANY I: Multi-level Coordinated at a leadership level; and, innovative talent
Secondments to Plan Ahead management interventions.
COMPANY J: ‘Name-and-Shame’ Third, practices to overcome skill issues
Approach to Expand the Diversity of Asian leaders to succeed in a global
Agenda in Asia enterprise, and levers to ignite aspirations
COMPANY K: Engineering ‘Critical of local executives to take on global
Experiences’ to Accelerate Development leadership roles.
in Asia
COMPANY L: Mapping the Network
COMPANY M: Helping Leaders ‘Vision’
Global Leadership Roles
COMPANY N: Making Expats
Accountable for Developing Asian
Successors

Source: CCL Research, 2018.

Page 46

COMPANY A GAL Pipeline

Issues

COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL

Decoding Flavors of Asian Talent Issues Issues Issues

ompany A, a global investment banking company, Key challenge: To ensure senior management teams in Asia are representative of their customer base
wanted to ensure that its senior management
teams in Asia were representative of population in Asia
2
and well positioned to represent the firm in meetings
with local clients and regulators.
1 “Cultural Spectrum”
Recognizing that ‘Asian’ is a broad term that goes
beyond ethnicity and citizenship, the firm started Asians-in-Asia Advisory Group LOCAL LOCAL BOOMERANG MIGRATORY 2ND GEN (Some affinity)
by trying to define what it means to be ‘Asian’. They Example: Example: Example: Example:
developed a model that takes into account cultural • Born, raised and educated • Born and raised • Born, raised and educated • Born in Australia to
experiences, work experiences, ethnicity and in China. in Korea. in Singapore. Cantonese parents.
• Has only ever worked in • Went to school in the • Speaks fluent Mandarin • Learned Cantonese from
language skills. China but may have US, worked in New York for and English. the family and went to
travelled outside the 5 years. visit Hong Kong frequently
In order to undertake this complex task, the company country for vacation.
• Moves to a job in
as a child.
• Has returned to Korea. Mainland China working
put together an ‘Asians in Asia’ advisory group, made • Speaks fluent Mandarin with Chinese clients. • Has some familiarity with
•Speaks fluent Korean
up of senior leaders in different locations throughout and maybe a local dialect. Hong Kong culture.
and English.
Advisory Group Reflects on the
the region. Over the course of a year, the firm gathered Following Questions
views of managing directors, vice presidents and
- How do you define “Asian”? 2ND GEN (No affinity) LOCALIZED EXPAT GLOBAL NOMAD NEW ARRIVAL
associates, asking questions such as “How would you
define Asian?”, “Where would you place yourself?”, - Where would you place yourself? Example: Example: Example: Example:

“What particular strengths does your group bring to • Born in the US. • Born in the UK. • Has worked in several • Born in Germany.
- What are inherent strengths of locations.
the organization?” and “What challenges does your • Ethnically Asian. • Moved to Japan, perhaps • Moved to Hong Kong
your group? studied there. • Has become culturally agile. last year.
• No Asian language
group faces?” experience or cultural • May speak fluent • No local language skills. • No Asian language skills.
- What are the key challenges faced?
affinity. Japanese.
The result was the development of a ‘Cultural Spectrum’
which categorized employees in Asia into eight
categories. The company uses the framework to inform
its people processes in Asia.
With this tool, the firm is not only able to better
understand its Asian populations but also get a sense
of how they are doing in terms of hiring, attrition 3 - Focus on specific groups
- Inform People Processes
and promotions. As such the firm is able to develop
targeted programs and initiatives that meet the needs - Track hiring/attrition/leadership/etc.

of its Asian talent. It also uses the Cultural Spectrum in

trainings to raise awareness on cultural diversity and to
facilitate discussions. This is especially critical outside of
Asia, where global managers may default to looking at
all Asians with one lens.

Source: “Adopting an Asian Lens to Talent Development” Report, Diversity and Inclusion in Asia Network.
 Page 47
GAL Pipeline
Issues
COMPANY B
COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL
Issues Issues Issues
Graduate Program To Develop Local Talent

Key challenge: Creating a strong pipeline of young Asian talent ompany B, an Australian multinational, set up
a graduate program in their Asia operations to
develop a pipeline of Asian talent.
“In 2 years prior to the launch of the program, we lost
100 percent of the interns who started their career in the
Graduation; Asia operations,” shared the regional head underlining
Induction in the the need for the program. He added, “I came out of the
3 first formal role graduate program at another organization, so I knew
“Hijack graduates mid way YEAR 3 the value such an initiative could add.” The leader also
to be a part of the team.” √ ‘Out and back’ opportunity to work shared that earlier, graduates were treated like ‘project
in another geography
“Sponsors not doing √ Expose graduates to leaders in labour,’ they moved from team to team during the initial
their job well.”
other geographies years, and there was a complete lack of accountability -
Name: Ahmad Budi Name: Ivy Nguyen
no sponsor, mentor, or boss.
Education: Electrical Education: Masters
Engineering, Atma Jaya in Economics, SMU,
University, Indonesia 2 Singapore
The program started on a small scale, by
Function: Manufacturing YEAR 2 Function: Finance
hiring 4 to 6 candidates from local graduate schools in
“Treating graduates
√ Give graduates two live 6 month projects like project labor; they the region, and putting them on a 3-year journey. Each
3 Year Graduate Prog. moved from team to 3 Year Graduate Program
√ Enable them to make their own networks and
team, no sponsor, no
graduate had a sponsor or an advocate, someone who
develop s trong relationships mentor, with no boss.” was a senior leader but not their direct boss. In year one,
they were given ‘real’ jobs; year two involved two six-
month projects to help them build their networks within
1 the organization; and, year three entailed two ‘out and
Graduate Program; YEAR 1
back’ opportunities for the graduates to experience two
4-6 graduates; √ Assign a sponsor /coach who stays with the graduate
3 year journey through a 3-year journey (not their direct boss) other geographies.
√ Give candidates real projects/jobs
√ Encourage them to challenge traditional ways of The program sponsors ensured they guarded the
doing things in the 100 year old company graduate pool against three critical risks – being treated
√ Regular line-of-sight to the regional president; like ‘project labour,’ lack of interest by mentors and
monthly meetings
sponsors, and people ‘stealing’ them mid-way during
the program.
Ever since the initiative was kicked off, there has been
no attrition in the pool of candidates that have gone
through or are going through the program.

Talent gets exposure not only with my leadership team but

also outside the region. From nobody wanting to work with them
till 2 years ago, today everybody wants to ‘steal’ them.
Regional Head of Supply Chain,
Source: CCL Research, 2018. Australian MNC
Page 48

COMPANY C GAL Pipeline

Issues

COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL

Making it Someone’s Full Time Job to Develop Global Asian Leaders Issues Issues Issues

ompany C, a global pharmaceutical company, Key challenge: Lack of focus in developing a global Asian leadership pipeline
realizing that Asian leader pipeline development
required dedicated focus, started several very focused
and critical initiatives.
The organization set up ‘Asian Talent Program’ headed
by a director-level executive based out of their APAC
headquarters. The position was sponsored by the global Top Level Dedicated Senior Making Asian
head of talent management in the global headquarters, Sponsorship Level Resource Talent ‘Visible’
and jointly funded by businesses. The program
office worked with various business units to initiate
interventions at the APAC level; it signed up for targets
to uplift percentage of global VPs, GMs, and regional
head-level leaders coming from Asia.
The Asian Talent Board (ATB) was set up to review the Asian Talent Board (ATB) Director, Asian Talent Program (ATP) Exposing Asian Talent to ELT
status of Asian talent periodically. The group, comprising
regional and global HR and business heads, meets thrice √ ATB meets 3 times a year at √ Full-time director level position √ ATB members interact in pairs
a year in different locations, always within Asia. Agenda different locations in Asia based out of regional HR operations with local high-potentials (45
typically includes updates from various countries, in Singapore minute structured meetings to
√ Mandate is to track talent in Asia
along with action planning on critical issues or gaps in understand career aspirations,
√ Director, ATP, reports into the global
succession pipelines. √ ATB comprises Regional successes, challenges, etc.)
head of talent management
Presidents, Regional HR heads,
√ Local talent exposed to ELT
On the back of ATB meetings, senior leaders also meet Global Heads of HR, and √ Position funded jointly by business units
(Executive Leadership Team)
up with next generation high potential talent in host Director - ATB
√ KPI: X percent of top leaders to come attending conferences in
countries. “The idea is to expose senior leaders to from emerging markets at the level the region
top class local talent, so that when regional or global of Global VPs, regional heads; Asians
positions open up they [Asian talent] occupy some √ Nominate Asian leaders for
at GM, regional head roles, in the
projects that have top team
mind-space of these potential senior hiring managers.” succession pipeline
sponsorship
√ Role supported by HR business
partners/managers

Two critical success factors for the Asia Talent Program

were sponsorship of the executive leadership team and creating
common standards of assessment at GM and above levels. The
program is a huge success, and we have over 200 Asian leaders in
GM and above levels.
Talent Lead - HQ,
Global Pharmaceutical Company Source: CCL Research, 2018.
 Page 49
COMPANY D
GAL Pipeline
Issues

COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL

Issues Issues Issues
Tweaking the Top Leader Potential Competency Set

Key challenge: Top team identification criteria not ompany D, a global technology firm, realizing that
there may be fundamental differences in Asian
representative of the context in which leaders operate leaders vis-à-vis ‘Western’ leaders and that evaluating
them with the same lens used in the west may not be
efficient, tweaked leadership capability identification
competencies for Asian executives.
The firm made a shift in recognizing what potential looks
like in Asia by looking at different (but closely related)
competencies for Asian executives. “Understanding that
AMERICAs
- Stable market potential leader we should develop in Asia doesn’t look
- Low growth rates ASIA the same as what it does in North America or Europe for
- High market share - Growing market example, we devised new competencies to gauge ability
- Low market share to lead,” said the leader.
- VUCA environment
- Culturally different Instead of ‘mental horse power,’ they identified
Different operating ‘curiosity’ as an equivalent critical competency for Asian
environment in Asia leaders. “Leaders here have to make sense of complex
situations quickly, and need the skill to deal with that,”
Merits Capabilities the C-3 Leader Must Demonstrate added the leader. So, instead of ‘drive’ they identified
to Get Bosses’ Job in Three Years ‘determination’ as a critical Asian competency. “We
A different approach wanted to see if leaders had a sharp sense of wonder
to understand top for learning.” They decided not to go with ‘drive’ cause
team potential ‘Curiosity’
they thought it often focussed on ‘getting the job done,’
‘Mental horsepower’ Ability to lean-in and understand
while ‘determination’ measured ability to continuously
Mental quickness and sharpness complex situations quickly
pursue the job despite setbacks, almost like ‘resilience.’
‘Drive’ ‘Determination’ It also correlated to the VUCA world in Asia. They also
Intense desire to accomplish a task Firmness of purpose and resilience used ‘fostering engagement’ as against ‘influence.’ The
to accomplish a task hypothesis was that the ability to influence someone was
‘Influence’ very different from the ability to engage them.
Exerting power on someone or ‘Fostering Engagement’
something to get work done Creating ‘right’ conditions for Asian leaders had a much better acceptance for tweaked
employees to give in their best parameters. The company also reported that it witnessed
lower turnover in the HIPO community as a result of
moving to the new competency model a few years ago.

The top team looked at the outside-in scenario – let’s see

how the operating environment is different in this part of the
world as compared to other regions, and what does that mean
for leadership….
ASEAN MD,
Source: CCL Research, 2018. Global Professional Services Firm
Page 50

COMPANY E GAL Pipeline

Issues

COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL

Engineering the ‘Right’ Experiences Issues Issues Issues

ompany E, a global energy company, has Key challenge: Create the ‘right’ experiences for developing Asian leaders
set up an ‘Asian Talent Council’ to track
and accelerate development of Asian leaders.
The council, comprising country heads in Asia,
business unit heads and HR heads, meets a
few times a year and looks at the succession
pipeline in ‘critical’ roles.
Escalate to the Asian Talent Council
If there is lack of a robust succession pipeline Do we
Are there ∙ HR Heads
in any particular function, role or business, the have necessary
ready-now Asian N N ∙ BU Heads
council subscribes specific interventions to environment to
successors for critical ∙ Country Leads
fix the situation and then tracks progress on accelerate the
roles? ∙ Chaired by Global
key issues. development?
Business EVP
Initiatives led by the council include sending
leaders for 2-3 year rotations to accelerate
their development and to build their exposure
to certain technical roles; ensuring visibility to Y Y
high-potentials with the executive leadership
team at the headquarters. Closely track the Create an aggressive
development development path
The council is also looking to develop a
recurring fund to facilitate developmental
rotations of Asian leaders. “The plan is that
each business unit that has representation in
Asia will contribute a fixed percentage
of their annual budget to a shared pool
that will be used to fund developmental
overseas experiences.”

GET THE LEADER THE ‘RIGHT’ EXPERIENCES GIVE LEADER VISIBILITY AT CREATE RECURRING FUND TO
THE TOP DEVELOP ASIAN TALENT
Send the leader on a 2-3 year global rotation
Get the leader a global sponsor; Businesses to dedicate x% of their
Pursue receiving or host business to facilitate
harness a ‘passive’ sponsorship annual budgets to developing
the required critical experiences for the leader
relationship (Asian) successors
to accelerate her development
Asian Talent Council to
Asian business to fund ‘incremental
manage the fund
expat cost’ of rotation

Source: CCL Research, 2018

 Page 51
GAL Pipeline
Issues
COMPANY F
COUNTRY
Issues
COMPANY
Issues
INDIVIDUAL
Issues Non-Obvious Career Paths

Key challenge: Expose Asian leaders to ‘crucible’ developmental experiences ompany F, a global O&G technology company,
deploys crucible roles and non-obvious career paths
as a leadership development tool.
Global “I was given a life-changing opportunity when I was
Talent Pool
hired in Indonesia; within 4-5 years of joining as an
engineer, the company appointed me to run operations
in the UK and North Sea area. You cannot imagine the
I was given a life-changing opportunity when I was hired in Indonesia; within 4.5 years of trust and the confidence it gave me,” shared a a retired
joining as an engineer, the company appointed me to run operations in the UK and North sea. senior leader.
You cannot imagine the trust and the confidence it gave me. The company believes that non-obvious career paths
Ex-Chairman, Indonesia help leaders deal with disruption and prepare for change
Global O&G Technology Company
in a controlled environment. So how do people get
supported when they move across roles? The leader
HIPOs mentioned that it is a difficult process, the organization
has crafted support ecosystem since it is committed
S to growing managers from within. “You are not only
ATH
RE ER P focussing on people, but also on environment, systems,
IOUS CA processes, and the ecosystem; and that includes policies,
-OBV Regional HQ Regional HQ Regional HQ
NON Singapore London New York value statement, support, budget allocations, and what-
have-you,” he added.
“Later on in my career, I was sent to southeast Asia
Country BU to run HR,” pointed the leader, sharing the example
Indonesia from his own career journey. “The support that the
organization gave me was unquestionable trust,” he
added. He shared that it was not the conventional
support in terms of courses, classroom sessions, etc., it
was about mentoring to take risks, developing learning
Sales Engineer, Operations Lead, HR Business agility, fuelling aspirations to do well, in order to set him
Upstream Business North Sea Partner, Exploration
4 Years 7 years 3 Years
up for success.
The company philosophy is that if a leader is stuck in one
function, she is ‘not’ successful. “So change is what you
NON-OBVIOUS CAREER PATHS are seeking, not avoiding, and that is what we want in
our leaders.”
√ Mainly targeted at HIPOs in the general management global talent pool
√ Cross business, cross function, cross geography; ‘crucible’ or stretch opportunities
√ Safety net around executives during the non-obvious career move
√ Key benefits include exposure to different parts of the business, opportunity to expand internal network, and understanding global opportunities in business

Source: CCL Research, 2018.

Page 52

COMPANY G GAL Pipeline

Issues

COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL

World Café To Put Asian Leaders On The Talent Radar Issues Issues Issues

ompany G, a defence and security technology Key challenge: Exposing Asian talent to global leaders at the headquarters
company, realized that in order to open more global
opportunities for Asian leaders, the company needed to
expose global executive leaders (who are
also hiring managers for global roles) to Asian

14
high-potential talents. √ Talent sharing World café is scheduled on an annual Executive Leadership Team
1 2 3 4 5 6
12 13
7
14
basis as a part of annual top talent review meeting in Moves from one table to another to know about
The HR team decided to ride on the opportunity created 8
15
9
16
10 11
17 18
24 25
19 20
26 27
21
28 the headquarters. ‘rising stars’ in each emerging economy!
22 23

by annual top talent review process when the entire 29 30 31

9 - 11 am: √ Regional teams spend 2 hours talking about 25 people in

executive leadership team comes together in one Emerging Asia to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) of the company.
TOP Markets
location for two full days. “Since that is the only time, UAL EW Talent
ANN T REVI World Café
√ The regional CHRO talks about young emerging talent.
the entire executive leadership team is in one place, it N v
TALE - 14 No √ ELT moves from table to table.
is a good opportunity to subtly push business case for 12
Asian talent,” explained the regional HR leader.
They employ a ‘world café format’ wherein they create
‘booths’ (tables) for discussing top leaders from a region.
While the concerned business and HR leaders present
key accomplishments of their respective talents, the
Ivan Ng
executive leadership team moves from one table (booth) SCM Director,
to another getting familiar with key high-potentials in ASEAN
each region. “In our recent session, we spent two hours
talking about 25 people in Asia; it is an interesting
format where people move from table to table, talking
about people,” pointed the leader.
MD, South Asia MD, ASEAN

LATAM TABLE EMEA TABLE

Head of
Talent, APAC

MD, North Asia CHRO, APAC

ASIA TABLE

The regional HR talks about a few people to surface them,

and put them on the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) radar.
We highlight talent we believe will be future leaders. Helps ELT
appreciate talent in Asia.
VP HR APAC,
Defence and Security Technology Co. Source: CCL Research, 2018.
 Page 53
COMPANY H
GAL Pipeline
Issues

COUNTRY
Issues
COMPANY
Issues
INDIVIDUAL
Issues Centralized Platform To Swap Talent

Key challenge: Exposing Asian talent to global work environment ompany H, a defence and security technology
company, in a bid to create a scalable approach
to expose young talent in Asia to global work
environment, started a program called ‘Job Swaps.’
The company believed that international exposure
JOB SWAP APP. was a must for developing a global mind-set. To
enable young leaders to take up jobs elsewhere
across the globe, regional HR held discussions with
business managers across regions and got their
buy-in to create a job-swap program. The guidance
from the managers was to reduce their [manager’s]
involvement in order to make the program smooth
and scalable.
The HR department subsequently set up an online
platform for leaders across the globe to register
their interest in moving to another country for a
Name: Debbie Zhang Name: Javier Iglesias fixed period.
Role: Finance Head Role: Accounts Lead Once there is a match between two candidates in
Country: Singapore Country: Spain similar roles across two different locations, HR seeks
Region: APAC Region: EU
support from business managers, and itself gets
Target Country: Spain Target Country: Singapore
only selectively involved in the process, mainly to
Rotation Period: 2-3 Years Rotation Period: 2-5 Years
√ Talent post their profiles on the centralized platform; overcome any administration and visa constraints.
Move Date: July 2018 automated matching
Move Date: April 2018
Family (co-locate): None Family (co-locate): Partner “The fact that we are looking at younger talent, not
√ Targeted talent pool – millennials business leaders, we expect business to be supportive
Sal. Expectations: Local Salary √ ‘Light’ administrative and visa support from HR Sal. Expectations: Local Salary of such moves,” explained a leader.
Benefits: Local Benefits: Local
√ Managers ‘expected’ to be supportive
Manager: Ivan Paul √ Swapping candidates to sign a one year bond post Manager: Ronny Trost
HR Partner: Shally Singh return to the home country HR Partner: Belina Drewer

The individuals’ wish is a driver for the swap arrangement;

HR’s and manager’s role is very light by design; we have just
given them a platform to find their swaps globally.
VP HR APAC,
Source: CCL Research, 2018. Defence and Security Technology Co.
Page 54

COMPANY I GAL Pipeline

Issues

COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL

Multi-level Coordinated Secondments to Plan Ahead Issues Issues Issues

ompany I, a global hi-tech engineering Key challenge: Accelerating the ramp up of local leaders across multiple levels
firm, wanted to ramp up large volumes of
people in a very short time, so they pioneered
a ‘vertical secondments’ approach to develop
multiple layers of the group at President, APAC
one go. Regional HQ
Singapore
The regional HR and leadership team realized
that once they send a leader for secondment,
and subsequently promote him, there is a YES YES
Is she among the Is she a ready-now No Action
void (the level vacated by the leader.) So they top 2 successors? successor
initiated a ‘group secondment’ approach MD, R&D, APAC
wherein the leader, his successor, up to three
levels, would undergo secondments together,
if they were not ready to step into the
next level. NO NO
“We decided not to go layer by layer, but No Action
vertically to build the capability quickly,”
pointed a senior leader. These were a
KEY BENEFITS
minimum of 18 to 24 month rotations. “3 Is she among the YES Is she a ready-now YES √ Secondments expose
top 2 successors? successor No Action Asian leaders to
months is just a school holiday,” said the corporate culture at

2- 3 Year ‘Secondments’ to the HQ in Europe

leader. “We are doing multiple secondments; Design Lead, APAC
the headquarters,
we ask - who is the one going to that and help them build
positions, and who will be stepping into that relationships.
position, and send the group vertically to
√ ‘Vertical’ secondments
secondments,” added the leader explaining NO NO help simultaneous
the concept. These secondments are targeted ramp up of leaders
No Action
at upgrading the understanding of country across different levels.
corporate culture, build relationships, value
add, and to help the leader ramp up and lead. √ Minimum 18 months,
mostly 2-3 years.

Is he among the YES Is he a ready-now YES

top 2 successors? successor No Action
Design Lead, SG Plant

We are seeing how to grow the first line

of leadership in Asia. So we are doing multiple
secondments - who is the one going to that positions, NO NO
and who will be stepping into this position - and we
No Action
send the group vertically to secondments.
MD APAC,
Global Hi Tech Engineering Firm Source: CCL Research, 2018
 Page 55
GAL Pipeline
Issues
COMPANY J
COUNTRY
Issues
COMPANY
Issues
INDIVIDUAL
Issues ‘Name-and-Shame’ Approach to Expand the Diversity Agenda in Asia

Key challenge: Subtly coerce business leaders to build diversity in their teams ompany J, a global financial
services firm, uses the power
of ‘name and shame’ to further
the diversity agenda
TOOL in Asia.
In order to coerce various
business functions to create
QUARTERLY DASHBOARD
a more diverse succession
2nd Quarter 2017
pipeline, the regional HR team
partnered with the diversity &
inclusion team in Asia-Pacific,
to publish a quarterly update
on what the talent pool in each
Opportunity Impact business looked like. The data
reported included Asian pipeline,
nationality by business unit,
Nationality Mix By Levels % Asians - last 6 Quarters
gender split in high-potential
pool, etc.
The initiative was supported
and sponsored by the executive
committee of the organization.
The HR leader shared that she
has seen a huge impact of the
HIPOs by Nationality Gender Mix (% women)
quarterly sharing, and that
businesses are not only sensitive
to the diversity in various groups,
We started collating and I see that in the last one year but also have started strategizing
presenting data when the local we have more and more leaders how to change some critical
government asked us to, but I coming to me to talk about diversity metrics in the mid-term.
soon realized the power of the diversity of their leadership
dashboard as a name-and-shame √ The initiative is supported by the global D&I team, and pipeline; a lot of those leaders
sponsored by a senior executive in the Executive Leadership
tool to coerce leaders to build are expats.
Team (ELT)
more diversity in their leadership Chief People Officer,
pipelines. √ The dashboard is published every quarter Global Financial Services Firm

Chief People Officer, √ It is a one page summary of nationality, gender mix in the
Global Financial Services Firm leadership pipeline, and the high-potentials community
√ The dashboard also reaches the global ELT

Source: CCL Research, 2018.

Page 56

COMPANY K GAL Pipeline

Issues

COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL

Engineering ‘Critical Experiences’ to Accelerate Development in Asia Issues Issues Issues

ompany K, an Asian Key challenge: Accelerate talent development

commodities trading
company, included an element for senior leadership roles
of critical experiences to prepare
Include leaders with
their leaders for regional roles.
critical experiences
The company realized that (10-15% of the pool) in
their work often took leaders to the top leadership
inhospitable and ‘tough’ regions, succession pipeline.
and that all successful leaders
in the organization had almost
always had an opportunity to
Review the performance in CXO Role
prove their capability in a tough
and demanding context. “You the past 6 months and try to
have to go through roles that find critical roles.
are outside your comfort zone
and stretch a bit, to prove your
mettle,” highlighted a leader. √ Consistent performance
The company’s concept of √ Embracing company values
“critical experiences” can be a √ Rotations in different
turnaround experience, extensive Engineer
departments ‘Critical Experiences’
span of roles, experiences across
multiple business streams, etc. √ Multi-country experiences
√ Turnaround
During the performance review √ Participation in Future
process, exceptional talent and Talent Review √ Extensive span
Leadership Program (FLP)
‘critical roles’ are identified.
√ Mixed business stream
Deliberations are held to match
suitable candidates to open √ Mixed function
opportunities.
Once the leaders have had such Top Talent Selection Critical Experiences
experiences, often only then
they are considered for top
regional jobs. “In most cases,
senior leaders have those critical
experiences, but these roles are
not a checkmark on the list,”
clarified a leader.

Source: CCL Research, 2018.

 Page 57
COMPANY L
GAL Pipeline
Issues

COUNTRY
Issues
COMPANY
Issues
INDIVIDUAL
Issues Mapping the Network

Key challenge: Asian leaders need to navigate through the ‘system’ at global HQ anaging director of Malaysian operations at
Company L, a European food products company,
realized that Asian executives often get overlooked
for global roles since they lack the ability to develop
compelling business relationships. She attributed this
to the fact that Asian leaders may not be adept at
‘understanding the system.’ “The education system is
1 2 3 very rote-oriented and there is a crazy amount of focus
on scholastic skills, not general business acumen or
social skills,” she pointed.
The leader explained ‘system’ as the common frame of
reference that comes naturally if you are from the same
country, have gone to the same school, can talk about
THREE-PRONG APPROACH

similar things, and have generally grown up in a similar

environment. She explained that if the leader does not
understand the ‘system,’ she may get ‘judged’ through a
‘set of lenses,’ therefore making it much harder to pass
the test of trust.
“For instance, if I need to know my CFO, I must find
conversations that he will be interested in; I therefore
need to know 10 people who know him well to tell me
Professional Mapping Social Mapping Cultural Mapping what he often likes to talk about,” she explained.
“When you have 30 seconds with the CFO, you must
√ Who reports to whom? √ What is the ‘political dynamics?’ √ What do people like to talk about make the connect.”
outside of work?
√ Who are the key stakeholders for √ Who are the ‘power centers’? The leader explained that she uses a set of criteria (or
my role? √ Where/how do people ‘hang out’ questions) to map the social, cultural and professional
√ Who ‘gets along’ with whom?
post work hours? aspects of the ‘system.’ She also encourages her direct
√ How does the decision-making
√ Who are the stakeholders with reports to map the system a few months ahead of the
happen? √ What are the updates on politics,
most ‘social capital?’ move to another region.
sports, arts, etc., in the home
√ Who controls ‘key resources’?
country?

For some reason, nobody talks about ‘understanding

the system,’ which I feel is very critical; by ‘system’ I mean the
common frame of reference that comes naturally if you are
from the same country, have gone to the same schools, can talk
about similar things, and have generally grown up in a similar
environment. If you are not from the ‘same system’ you tend to
get judged through the lenses, and it is therefore hard to pass the
test of trust.
MD - Malaysia,
Source: CCL Research, 2018. European Food Products Company
Page 58

COMPANY M GAL Pipeline

Issues

COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL

Helping Leaders ‘Vision’ Global Leadership Roles Issues Issues Issues

ompany M, a global technology giant, Key challenge: Lack of Asian executives' ability to ‘vision’ global roles
realized that proactivity and long-term
thinking were two areas their Asian leaders
needed development on. In addition, Asian
leaders often found the journey to global
roles hard.
One of the elements they introduced in their
senior leadership training journeys was a 1 2 3
visioning exercise, wherein Asian leaders were
encouraged to think of a world where there
was ‘no headquarters.’ They were encouraged
to plan the strategy of the enterprise if there
was no global corporate strategy team to lean
on, and if they had a ‘free hand’ in steering
the enterprise.
In order to develop better credibility of Asian
leaders, the regional HR team also identified
forums and opportunities for global executive
leadership team to get exposed to high-
potential Asian talent.
Helping Leaders “Vision” Exposing Asian Talent to ELT Moving HQ Leaders/Roles to Asia
The global leadership team is also looking at
possibilities to re-locate certain global roles
to Asia, roles that do not require constant “Apart from leadership competency “The effort is to ensure regular “The one battle I have been fighting is to
coordination and connect with the corporate development, our focus is helping interactions between Executive bring global roles to Asia – why can’t the
headquarters in the US. leaders vision – ‘be in the shoes of Leadership Team (ELT) and Asian head of sourcing operate out of China?
a global leader.’ In one of the leaders; it may be during The other area where we have experienced
sessions, we ask leaders to assume conferences/events, regular travel, skip success is to get Asian leaders in
there is no headquarters and ask reporting relationships, joint headquarters to rotate to their native
them to define the vision and assignments, fire-side chats, etc.” country for 2-3 years.”
strategy in that scenario.”

Our organization did not have a system to

tap the talent globally, so whenever they looked for
recruitment at headquarters, they looked for folks
at the headquarters. In addition to helping Asian
leaders appreciate the role at headquarters, we have
tried to informally engineer ELT interactions for
Asian executives, and to build some role models
locally by bringing senior leaders of Asian origin in
GM roles to Asia.
HR Lead - APAC,
Global Tech Company Source: CCL Research, 2018.
 Page 59
GAL Pipeline
Issues
COMPANY N
COUNTRY
Issues
COMPANY
Issues
INDIVIDUAL
Issues Making Expats Accountable for Developing Asian Successors

Key challenge: Breaking the cycle of one expat leader following another in Asia ompany N, a global pharma company, devised
an innovative approach to make incoming expat
leaders in Asia more accountable for developing
local successors.
The company realized that outgoing expat leaders from
Asia were often replaced with other expats coming
1 2 3 from headquarters or other regions. The key reason was
lack of ownership and accountability the expat leaders
demonstrated towards local successor development
during their tenure in Asia.
SETTING CLEAR ACCOUNTABILITY FOR DEVELOPING ASIAN LEADERS
The HR team crafted a plan to sensitise expat leaders
to the need of local successor development before
Pre-Move to Asia 3-4 Year Asia Expatriation 2 Years Back in HQ/Another Region
they took on the assignment in Asia, and make them
accountable for local leader development even much
Crafting Clear Expectations Setting Accountability Following Through
after they completed their Asia rotation.
Before the rotation, global HR made the leaders
∙ Implicit understanding ∙ Expat leader positioned in a 3 year ∙ Successor continues to report to the understand that one of the key success expectations
that one of the key business unit/function head role leader in his/her subsequent from their rotation will be to develop a successor of
success expectation will in Asia assignment (for a minimum period
be to develop a successor of 2 years) Asian origin. Part of the bonus of incoming leaders
of Asian origin ∙ Has visibility into a subsequent role as was linked to how well they performed on the local
well (contingent on successful ∙ Upon completion of two years, leader development KPIs. The team also ensured that
∙ Clarity that the successor completion of Asia repatriation) the Asian successor’s reporting the local successor continued to report to the expat
will continue to report to relationship may change
the leader in the ∙ Selects a pool of successors in year-one leader even during his/her subsequent assignment
subsequent role upon (post Asia rotation).
completion of Asia ∙ Crafts a development plan, which
repatriation includes skip level projects, a one-year Expat leaders positioned in a 3-year Asia rotation were
assignment in the headquarters expected to select the potential successors in year-1,
∙ 10% of bonus linked to create a development journey for them, including a stint
partnering successfully ∙ Finalizes the successor in partnership
with manager to select with his/her manager, regional HR, at the headquarters, and then continue to manage and
and onboard the and global business CEO mentor them after they (expat leaders) are gone, in order
successor to ensure Asian leaders’ long term success.

When I came to Asia, I knew fully well that my success in

my repatriation assignment will emerge long after I transition
into my subsequent role; the aspiration was to be the ‘last expat’
in the role.
Business Head,
Source: CCL Research, 2018. Global Pharma Company
Page 60

COMPANY O GAL Pipeline

Issues

COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL

Looking Within to Strengthen the Asian Leadership Pipeline Issues Issues Issues

ompany O, a global FMCG company, realized that Key challenge: Fast track development of local Chinese talent
with ambitious growth targets in China, it needed
to ensure a strong pipeline of local talent to drive and
grow business.
In 2009, the company observed that its leadership team
in China was not sufficiently diverse or representative
of the Chinese market and decided that steps were Questions Approach Findings Action
needed to fast-track the development of local Chinese
talent. The company began by trying to understand core
competences required to be a successful leader in China.
Through structured interviews with key stakeholders, 7 Success Factors
including the leadership team and high potential 1. Voicing Opinions
Chinese talent, the company examined key business and 2. Leading Diverse Teams
3. Making Tough Decisions
leadership challenges in China in order to answer the
4. ………..
important question: “What are the few critical success 5. ………… Key Gaps to
factors to be a competent functional leader in our be Plugged
6. …………
organization in China?” What are the core Structured interviews with
7. …………. ∙ Speak Up 70:20:10 Approach to
competencies required to be key stakeholders plug gaps
∙ Display Ownership
The company identified 7 Critical Success Factors – which successful in China? (leadership team and
high-potentials in China) ∙ Take Stand on
although closely aligned to global competencies, were Controversial Items
more specific to the China context. They included for ∙ Building Strong
example, elements such as ‘voicing opinions’, ‘leading Ratings (China) Networks
diverse teams’ and ‘making quick and tough decisions’. ∙ Gain Early Global
Independent Interdependent
At the same time it sought to better understand the Experience
profile of its Chinese talent by leveraging five years of Egalitarian Status ∙…
data from its assessment centers in China. Risk Restraint ∙…
∙…
With both sets of information – a picture of what is Direct Indirect
What is the typical Chinese Analyzed 5 year data HR educates broader
required to be a successful leader in China and a better leadership profile? from assessment centers leadership
understanding of the profile of its Chinese talent – the Task Relationship
in China
company was able to identify key gaps and target
specific areas for development.
In response to these key development needs, the
company focused its development programs around
crucial themes. The HR team in China also worked with
its senior leaders to provide training on this subject.
This included sharing findings of the study as well as
providing specific recommendations and workshops
to enable senior leaders to further support the
development of their Asian teams.

Source: “Adopting an Asian Lens to Talent Development” Report, Diversity and Inclusion in Asia Network.
 Page 61
COMPANY P
GAL Pipeline
Issues

COUNTRY
Issues
COMPANY
Issues
INDIVIDUAL
Issues Pushing Asian Leaders to Take Risks

Key challenge: Crafting short-term incentives to push Asian leaders to take risks n a bid to encourage Asian leaders to take risks,
Company P, a professional services firm, tweaked their
compensation strategy in Asia.
“Money is very much linked to recognition in Asia, so
we decided to link it to their aspirations” pointed the
leader. He added, “in order to push leaders harder and
Bet on A Performer Create a Compelling Incentive Scheme... to encourage them to take risks, I told my leaders, if you
have delivered X, I will give you Y, and then six months
later if you have delivered A, I give you B.”
The company introduced a bonus plan, wherein a
particular percentage of salary of the leader was locked
3X for 2-3 years, and basis the business performance of the
leader, the compensation strategy allowed and applied
a multiplier of between 3 and 10 to the locked amount.
The agenda was to encourage Asian leaders to take risks.
In the interim period, the leader could draw upon a part
of the bonuses in a time-linked manner.
∙ Targeted at HIPO employees ∙ 25% of the monthly salary is locked away for 2 years ∙ The leader can draw down 30% According to the organization, the incentive scheme
of the amount at the end of 12
∙ Targeted at business units or ∙ A multiplier of 3X - 10X is applied on that based on encouraged risk taking ability of leaders, and also
months, and 70% at the end of
functions that are critical to the performance of the function/business unit and worked as a retention ‘lever.’
24 months
the success of the global individual performance rating average for previous
organization 2 years ∙ Bonuses and other incentives
are not impacted
∙ Scheme ‘exploits’ the fact that ∙ Expectation is that the leader will push his team(s)
money is still the biggest and business operation harder
engagement driver in Asia
∙ Big upside for the global organization

We are using short-term cash incentive schemes to push

Asian leaders to take on more risks. It also works as a retention
tool as other offers become much less valuable since there is a pot
of money to be made at the end of 2 years.
ASEAN MD,
Source: CCL Research, 2018. Global Professional Services Firm
Page 62

COMPANY Q GAL Pipeline

Issues

COUNTRY COMPANY INDIVIDUAL

Short Term ‘Twin Axis Backpacker’ Development Rotations Issues Issues Issues

ompany Q, a European chemicals Key challenge: To expose Asian leaders to corporate and country culture across geographies
company, realized that in order to make
better global leaders, Asian talents needed
exposure to different countries and cultures.
1
The organization started to encourage people
to take delegations into Europe – short term, Rigorous Selection √ At the annual HR Conclave, the local business manager to nominate local
up to one year long, because some Asian Process talent to business HR
leaders were not mobile for 4 or 5 year √ Over the next six months, minimum of 2 to 3 senior executives get to
assignments. These were structured for the interact extensively with nominated talent
early career phase to enable Asian talent to
√ If the collective opinion is positive, the candidate is informed she is a part
see different cultures and experience different of the ‘next generation talent pool’
parts of the organization.
√ The talent goes through local training programs, gets exposed to local key
Leaders pointed that since this was a short clients and stakeholders, to train for bigger jobs
term rotation program, the projects were very
tightly defined to achieve tangible outcomes. √ The talent is put on a multi-axis backpack rotation program
“We believe culture you get when you work
there [in another country], not just visit, or sit
with another colleague and listen,” explained a
business leader. 2
For instance, while the organization has R&D √ Selected candidates are sent on delegations to Europe Multi-Axis Backpack
operations in Germany, India, and China, the Assignments
√ Most rotations are to a different business in a different country, but
HR team (in partnership with business) would
within the same function
select an engineer from Mumbai to do a project
in Germany, fully aware that he could have √ Short term 9-12 month rotations; some Asian colleagues are not
executed the project even locally in India. The mobile for long term 4-5 year moves
objective however is to expose them to the √ Most assignments are project-based
global organization and other cultures.
√ E.g., an individual from an R&D Center in India goes to the R&D
Business nominates talent for such Center in Germany for a 9-month project to work on a research
assignments to regional HR. HR then loops in initiative in a different product line
2 to 3 senior leaders to interact and evaluate
the nominee over a six-month period. Selected
talent then attends local training programs,
gets exposed to various businesses and key
accounts, in a journey to get ready for bigger
jobs. At the end of a six-month period, selected
talent is sent on a multi-axis 9 to 12 month long We build delegations around projects to have something tangible at
‘backpack’ rotations. the end of the rotations. It is better to be working in another geography
to integrate with the new environment, rather than sitting with another
colleague and listening. We believe, you get a better sense of culture when
you work there, and are not just a visitor.
SVP – Construction & Chemicals,
European Chemicals Company Source: CCL Research, 2018
 Page 63
GAL Pipeline
Issues
COMPANY R
COUNTRY
Issues
COMPANY
Issues
INDIVIDUAL
Issues ‘Injecting’ Global-Ready Talent Into Asia

Key challenge: Solving the global Asian leadership pipeline issue at multiple levels ompany R, a global courier
company, adopted a three-
prong strategy to solve the global
Asian leadership pipeline issue at
2 the Asia-Pacific level.
One, realizing that it had a higher
demonstrated performance
1 TACTIC 2:
Send Asian ‘Ambassadors’ at the CXO Level rate of Asian leaders who were
recruited in the US, and spent a
∙ Have a distributed regional headquarter (different few years in the headquarters,
TACTIC 1:
Create a Strong Pipeline at the Intake functions/businesses being run from different before transitioning to Asia,
countries in Asia) the company ran a campaign to
∙ Offer an opportunity to Asians to move to country attract management graduates
∙ Under the D&I initiative, run a campaign to attract
head roles for a 3-5 year period of Asian origin to join the US
management graduates of Asian origin to join the
US operations Steady pipeline of Asian leaders whom the operations. After spending a few
∙ The graduates to spend the initial 3-5 years in the emerging leaders can model after and emulate years in the US, they were offered
US, learning key skills, culture, making connections, an opportunity to move to their
developing relationships country of origin in Asia.
∙ Offer the option to the leaders to move to their
native country in Asia for a 3-5 year rotation Two, the company decided
not to have one mega regional
Asian talent at mid-level that imbibes corporate DEVELOPING GLOBAL headquarters in APAC, but
values, and has relationships in the HQ ASIAN LEADERS distribute business headquarters
3 across different countries.
Three, the company has also
taken a policy decision to move
TACTIC 3:
Bring Global Roles to Asia some global roles to Asia. To
date, they have moved the global
∙ Move global roles to the APAC region. E.g., the recruiting role and global head of
global head of talent sourcing is based out of digital marketing role to Asia.
Singapore
∙ Company is evaluating moving the global head of
supply chain and digital marketing to Asia as well

Send a message of Asia’s criticality to the talent

Source: CCL Research, 2018.

Page 64

VII ACTIONABLE
ADVICE
 Page 65
NEXT-GENERATION GLOBAL LEADER
5 Pieces of Advice

Be Sure Before You Leap

“My wife and I, on an average we moved ncumbent global leaders had several pieces
every 27 months. How many people are of advice for Asian leaders aspiring for
willing to do that? The ability to work across global roles. Advice about clarity of purpose
time zones, be constantly jet lagged, and to on why you want to be a global leader cause
work round-the-clock, is something not it is a tough path, with long work hours, lots
everybody is willing to do. A global job of travel, and uprooting and re-rooting your
Step Out Early requires physical sacrifices.” family several times during the career. “Be
“Get out of Asia, work in another Asia President, clear why you want to do what you want to
geography, in global headquarters; it is Global Healthcare Company do,” advised a leader.
critical to get some exposure out of the
Several interviewees advised the need to step
region where you are comfortable; you
need to test for yourself what works into general management shoes early on in the
and what doesn’t in another environ- career and not wait till when the leader is in
ment, culture, context.” Move Across the fifties. “Go for general management roles
early - Westerners get their first GM role in 30s
Singapore MD, “Build your portfolio of capabilities
European Healthcare MNC and Asians get their first GM role during late
required for a global GM role in stages; 40s,” a leader explained.
look for a lot of lateral moves to
broaden your horizon.” Working across cultures also requires getting
Talent Lead – HQ, comfortable with discomfort. “Get some
Global Pharmaceutical Company exposure out of the region where you are
comfortable, test for yourself what works and
Navigate the 'System’ what doesn’t,” advised another leader.
Another set of leaders underlined the need
“Understanding the ‘system’ is critical.
By system I mean the common frame for building networks and relationships.
of reference that comes naturally if you Build Relationships Interviewees pointed that diverse and wide
are from the same country, have gone to “Work on your network; it is very key in relationships in the organization help leaders
the same schools, can talk about similar an MNC; through your network you will get trust and legitimacy.
things, and have generally grown up in a get trust and legitimacy. You must go Finally, the need to navigate the system
similar environment. If you are not from beyond your job with regards to – ‘system’ indicating a common frame-of-
the same system you tend to get judged building networks.” reference that comes naturally if leaders
through lenses, and it is therefore hard to VP HR APAC,
Defence and Security Technology Co. share the same context. For Asian leaders to
pass the test of trust.”
navigate and be considered as a part of the
Malaysia MD,
same context, they need to understand the
European Food Products Company
host-country culture and social fabric, and
micro-culture at the headquarters.

Source: CCL Research, 2018.

Page 66

INCUMBENT LEADER (MANAGERS OF NEXT-GEN LEADERS)

5 Must Do Action Steps

ncumbent global leader had five pieces of

advice for their peers.
Play the ‘Bridge’ Between Local Talent and HQ
Interviewees pointed that the first step in STEP
“I help my successor understand who the key stakeholders are, and I take
developing local talent is the intent to do so! it upon myself to help find reasons for her to connect formally or
Taking risks on Asian talent, and placing safe informally with those stakeholders.”
Malaysia MD,
bets even when the talent may not be one European Food Products Company
hundred percent ready is the other hurdle
incumbent leaders need to cross.
Creating stretch opportunities – global Communicate Long Term ‘Story’
transformation projects, tough markets, high
STEP “I realise that I need to convince local leaders that I have a long-term vision ROLE OF GLOBAL
or plan for them, and that the organization is committed to their growth.”
visibility engagements – is one way of helping
Asian leaders develop on an accelerated pace.
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Asia President,
Asian talent also wants to understand the Global Healthcare Company
1 Play the executive
‘story’ around level of the commitment the
organization has towards their development. sponsor to the Asian
Sometimes, local leaders are not interested Create ‘Crucible’ Roles leadership agenda
STEP
in global roles because they are not convinced “Incumbent leaders need to create stretch opportunities for local leaders to
of the commitment and intent of the global accelerate their development; put a Chinese sales person in Jakarta in a Bahasa 2 Set clear accountability
leadership team towards their (local speaking environment, or push them towards non-obvious career moves.”
around talent
leaders’) development. Author and Thought Leader,
South East Asia development in Asia
And finally, it is the key responsibility of expat
leaders to help their direct reports develop a
3 Get involved in the
credible and trusting relationship with their Take ‘Risks’ on People
skip managers (bosses of expat leaders, often STEP leadership development
“I need to take risks on people to help them grow. I need to convey ‘if you fail it is
based out of the headquarters). This is critical OK, we will not punish you’ but you must embrace new opportunities. I believe in strategy
because leaders in the headquarters are often fast-bold-innovative culture, and ‘bold’ means letting them make mistakes.”
the ones taking a call on regional successors. Vietnam CEO, 4 Take individual
Global Insurance Company
ownership of mentoring
at least one or more
Have a Development ‘Agenda’ leaders from Asia
STEP
“When you go up, make sure you press the button and send the elevator down; I
want to leave a development legacy behind; I spend between 10% and 20% of my 5 Send unequivocal
time developing leaders, not only in my business unit, but even outside of it.
message on importance
Regional Head of Supply Chain,
Australian MNC of diversity

Source: “Adopting an Asian Lens to Talent Development” Report, Diversity and Inclusion in Asia Network.
 Page 67
HUMAN RESOURCES
5 Hats HR Needs to Wear

R needs to ‘wear five hats’

as they attempt to develop a
Brutal ‘Myth Buster’ global Asian leadership pipeline.
“My job is to ask tough questions and bust myths One, busting the myths around
about talent in Asia. Businesses find me difficult to what Asian leaders can and
deal with cause I will not tolerate biases.” Clever ‘Marketer’ cannot do. Two, ‘marketing’ Asian
APAC CHRO, “I do ‘marketing’ for Asian candidates. I am talent aggressively for global
Global Transport Company legitimate enough to call hiring managers and talk roles. Three, playing the match-
about the person, and I also talk to candidates to maker to help Asian talent find
give them ‘tricks.’ I often give examples to hiring senior mentors and sponsors in
managers on why they [Asian leaders] said what the headquarters. Four, having
Patient ‘Match-Maker’ they said to help them reconcile.” the undying passion to push
VP HR APAC, the Asian talent development
“Helping develop mentoring and sponsoring
Defence and Security Technology Co. agenda, despite pushbacks from
relationships is like match-making. It is about
critics. And five, partnering
adopting someone as your ‘elder brother.’ When
with key stakeholders to get
it is assigned it does not work, but when you go
funds for cross-business talent
out and help talent ‘adopt’ a mentor, it works
development interventions in
much better.”
Chairman, Passionate ‘Advocate’ the region.
Asian Conglomerate
“Developing an Asian leadership pipeline is a HR has a critical role to play in
tough task – so it is all about patience, passion facilitating the development of
and persistence. For example, if talent is not local leaders. The regional HR
mobile, don’t give up, revisit that dialogue again function needs to work with
Astute ‘Politician’ and again, as mobility is never permanent. Don’t regional president and global
“HR needs to go out of its way to make sure that write-off talent if they are not mobile at the HR to ensure that the Asian
Asian leadership development program is moment; keep at it.” leadership development
Talent Lead APAC agenda is top-of-the-mind
sponsored by a senior business leader in the
Global Fin-Tech Co. for the enterprise.
headquarters, and jointly funded by businesses in
the region.” Interviewees suggested that
Talent Lead – HQ,
Global Pharmaceutical Company the regional HR leader has a
pivotal role in driving the local
leadership agenda.

Source: CCL Research, 2018.

Page 68

VIII CONCLUSION
AND NEXT STEPS
 Page 69
CONCLUSION
From Local Stars to Global CXOs

‘Building’ Global Asian Leaders

uilding a steady pipeline of Asian leaders

who can play global roles needs four
pieces of the puzzle to come together –
right set of individual capabilities, suitable
experiences to build critical capabilities,
supportive organization context, and
development-friendly country scenario.
ATTRIBUTES EXPERIENCES
Courage Cross-border Experience Asian leaders must have five critical skills,
Curiosity Diverse Experience called the ‘big-five global leadership traits’ in
Trust ‘Crucible’ Experience this study. These are courage, curiosity, trust
Influence (being trustworthy and trusting of others),
Strategic Thinking influence and strategic thinking capabilities.
In addition, Asian leader must have ‘the will’
Current State Desired State to go global.
Stunted Asian ‘Stars’
To develop these skills, the leader must
Global Asian Stepping into undergo stretch roles, multi-cultural
Leader Pipeline Global CXO Roles experiences (or cross-border roles), and
develop diverse understanding of business
operations so that he is fit to wear the general
manager ‘hat’ early in the career.
These experiences will need an organizational
context that favours diversity in leadership.
COUNTRY CONTEXT ORGANIZATION STANCE Enterprise policies should enable local leader
Competitive Talent Aligned to Develop Local Leaders
development, and there should be top
Adequate Availability Willing to Take Risks on Asian Leaders
management sponsorship to the Asian leader
Affordable Talent Enabling Talent Management/Development
development agenda. Also, this should be
aided and supported by focused interventions
on the talent management front.
And finally, for a consistent and robust Asian
leadership pipeline to emerge, the country
context should be such that enables leadership
development. This includes having top-of-the-
line institutions ‘churning’ out capable and job-
ready young leaders, and an environment that
is able to develop and retain top class talent.

Source: CCL Research, 2018.

Page 70

NEXT STEPS
From Local Stars to Global CXOs

sian and Western multinational

organizations embarking on the global
Asian leadership development journey, must
initiate three actions as early as possible.
One, get a buy-in from the top leadership team
at the headquarters, and find an executive
3 Desired State
sponsor (or a set of executive sponsors) at TALENT Asian ‘Stars’
the top. This will need a lot of persuasion Stepping into
DEVELOPMENT
and persistence from the Asian leadership
INTERVENTIONS Global CXO Roles
and HR teams. This is a must-have condition.
Enterprises that are not able to find a set of
sponsors at the top or get ‘buy-in’ from the

2
executive leadership team are rarely successful 2-3 year entry level
in pushing the envelope on the global Asian program in Asia
leadership agenda. Global Asian leadership
Two, create and play to the 3-5 year global development journey
3 TO 5 YEAR deep-rooted in local
Asian leadership development plan. The plan
must identify clear responsibilities and key
PLAN WITH CLEAR context
stakeholder accountability, and there must be ACCOUNTABILITY
a top team forum to evaluate success of the
plan on a regular basis. Critical parameters in
the plan must include tapering off the number
of western expats, talent interventions to
1 Craft a 3-5 year Asian
leadership development
strategy
develop Asian leaders, and a graduate program
to ensure there is enough Asian talent entering STRATEGIC BUY-IN Ensure KPIs with clear
the ‘funnel.’ FROM EXECUTIVE accountability
Three, the talent development interventions LEADERSHIP TEAM
must be tweaked for suiting the Asian context,
and focusing on the critical gaps in local talent,
not driven by the stereotypical (and often Ensure a global sponsor in the
Western) picture of what a global leader must senior executive leadership team
look like. Current State ‘Engineer’ right messaging
Stunted (through the sponsor) on
Global Asian diversity and Asian leader
THE LAST WORD…
Leader Pipeline development

More of talk-of-the-same is not going to help,

we need action – action and commitment on wanting
to solve for this issues of developing local leaders;
business leaders need to put their money where their
mouth is!
Regional Talent Leader
Source: CCL Research, 2018.
Global Trading Company
Page 71

STRONG GLOBAL
ASIAN LEADER
PIPELINE?

Please reach out to CCL to know more about the GLOBAL ASIAN LEADER offering:
Center for Creative Leadership
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 Page 72
1 DISCOVER 2 ADVISE 3 DEVELOP
CCL Can Help You IDENTIFY… CCL Can Help You UNDERSTAND… CCL Can Help You CRAFT…
Key stalls leaders face in
your organization Development needs
Critical experiences Developmental journey
Drivers of leader performance for Asian leaders
Potential action steps
Key capability gaps

Conduct HR leader and business Co-create measurable action steps

Help HR and regional / global team with HR and regional / global team
leader interviews
understand the current snapshot, and
evaluate the options and recommended Partner with HR to evaluate, design,
Roll-out the Global Asian Leader
action steps and develop a comprehensive plan to
capability gap survey
overcome critical capability gaps

GAP / OPPORTUNITY REPORT DEBRIEF ON THE DEVELOPMENTAL JOURNEY

DISCOVERY EXERCISE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
 Page 73
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Center for Creative Leadership thanks the 120 senior leaders across Asia-Pacific, Europe and the US,
for participating in the research study, being generous with their time for the interview, and for graciously
sharing their stories, insights, and thoughts on developing the global Asian leadership pipeline.
The research team expresses a deep sense of gratitude to Cargill, DBS Bank and Microsoft Operations
for supporting The Global Asian Leader research study.

AUTHORS
Sunil Puri is the Asia-Pacific director of research, innovation, and product development at the Center for
Creative Leadership. He is a seasoned leadership and human capital researcher and thought leader with 20
years of experience across large global organizations. In his current role at CCL, he is responsible for leading
research/product design around leadership development in the region. His research interests include Asian
leadership, global leadership development, HR transformation, diversity, and cross-cultural influences.
Prior to CCL, he served as head of Research and Insights at Human Capital Leadership Institute (HCLI), set
up by the Singapore government to drive the global Asian leadership initiative. Sunil has authored several
research studies including CHRO 3.0: Preparing to Lead the Future HR Function in Asia, HR Leadership
Stall Points, Developing Next-Generation Indian Business Leaders: The Keys to Success, CHRO 3.0 India,
7 Myths of Leadership Development in Asia. In 2015, he co-edited a book titled Human Capital Insights:
Inspiring Practices from Asia, for Asia. Sunil holds a post graduate degree in technology from Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, India, and post graduate diploma in management from Indian Institute of
Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, India.

Sophia Zhao, PhD., is a senior research faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership. Based in CCL’s APAC
office in Singapore, she serves as a researcher, coach, facilitator and trainer. Sophia has more than ten years
experience in researching organizational behavior, human resource, and leadership. She has published more
than 20 academic journal papers, research reports, white papers and media articles. A key area Sophia is
working on is to further the understanding of Asian leadership and developing global Asian leadership.
Sophia is also a core member of the CCL Asian Women Initiative and Network (AWIN) team that focuses on
supporting women’s and girls’ leadership development. Sophia holds a Ph.D. degree from National University
of Singapore, with full academic scholarship. She also obtained her B.A. degree in economics from Fudan
University, where she received the People’s Scholarship every year.

N. Anand Chandrasekar is a senior research faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership. In this role,
Anand leads CCL’s Asia focused leadership development research and evaluation practice, partnering with
CCL staff and clients to identify leadership needs, design and deliver leadership development solutions,
articulate leadership solution outcomes, and evaluate the solutions for impact and improvement. A key area
of his current research is on enhancing the ability of individuals and organizations to make learning from
experience intentional, not incidental. Anand holds a B.E. degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering
from University of Madras and an M.Bus. degree from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore