For many European and US-based Brands and Manufacturers, the Indian market represents a vast opportunity yet remains challenging due to its complex regulatory landscape. Traditional export models like direct export, agents, or distributor arrangements often fall short...
To ensure a smooth transition and maximum productivity of an international company operating in foreign markets, one of the main factors for success is to try and adapt to and respect local culture, without losing the global corporate identity.
As an international manager, you have to understand your foreign team and bring in changes as you see fit to both cultures, to overcome hurdles and improve on efficiency, rather than changing things completely to the work ethic and work culture you were used to at home.
These are some of the most important lessons that NXT management trainee Floris Moest in Bangalore, India, wants to share.
‘I read a lot about India, and I arrived in its third most populous city with my Dutch mentality, attitude and behaviour. My mindset and work culture was still programmed as what I experienced at the Dutch Ministry of Defense.
When I approached my first weeks at the ‘Garden City’ office with that same mindset, it caused a culture clash, and made the beginning quite challenging. There was a fair bit of friction between me and my team, and after analysing why, I very soon realised that “The Dutch way” is not the only way of going about things.
I quickly learnt to look at the overall results and performance of employees rather than getting stuck on the nitty gritty of things as we normally do back home. In a country and city as diverse, rapidly growing and sometimes hectic like Bangalore, flexibility is key in every aspect of life here, and that translates in the working culture as well.
Building a good network of people and relations inside and outside the office, is another valuable feature to improve your steps to success. Moest says: ‘I always make it a point to stay in tune with everyone at my office. Even if it’s just a quick conversation checking in to see how they are really doing. These conversations have resulted in a much better understanding of each other, and therefore improved our working relationships.
Because of these bonds I cultivate, I notice that their appreciation of me and see that we work for each other’s and therefore the company’s joined success, instead of working against each other due to culture clashes.
As a management trainee I studied all facets of NXT’s infrastructure. So what did I do exactly?
In the six months I worked as a trainee in the NXT office in the Silicon Valley of India I gathered valuable input and have been open to a new way of thinking and doing things both professionally and personally. It really was on the go- job training.
I’m now well versed in how to effectively manage a team. Giving them more space and trust to show and perform their expertise rather than try to micromanage them, as I was used to do in the Netherlands, has led to some fruitful results.
I have much more comprehension too of what Key Account Management entails.
Identifying of what divisions a company is built up from, learning who has what position in the company and what his or her role is, has shown to be of key importance. Are they an influencer, decision maker or gatekeeper?
I have come to see Key Account Management as playing chess with a twist. Seeing what the playing field is on both NXT’s and our partner’s side, learning which pieces play which role and how that can be played to a successful outcome, leads to a game of chess where both parties can win. This is a position and challenge that interests me a lot.