Managing Chinese team takes finesse

Most newcomers to China come ready to take on their new posts, investing time, energy and faith in the decision to move here. But, sometimes things don't go as planned. By understanding the Chinese culture, you should be able to cross the cultural divide and become a part of your new team.

Take these two contrasting experiences. Edison, from Belgium, was hired as a manager for a fashion store with several supervisors reporting to him. Amanda had studied overseas and worked abroad for six years before returning home to China to manage a well-known department store.

Before moving to China, they both had successful work experiences and brought their management styles to China. And both of them were met with difficult situations in the workplace.

Edison's boss speaks English, but other staff members are locals with no foreign language skills. Edison, who is self-motivated, wanted his employees to have the same passion and desire to reach their goals.

However, some employees didn't want to follow his leadership style. And other employees had no way to relate to Edison, which leads to a lack of trust.

Amanda also faced a crisis of confidence from her subordinates. Fortunately, she speaks Chinese and knows the local culture well. But in the office, she was considered a foreign worker.

Things became interesting when they decided to take action. Edison started to learn Chinese and helped his staff with foreign clients.

After working hours, he would go out with his employees to drink erguotou (a strong, colorless liquor distilled from sorghum produced in China). He also tried to do less coaching and more listening when talking with his staff members.

On the other hand, Amanda insisted on making her leadership style work. She created lots of new rules and didn't take time to listen to her staff members. She regularly received bad feedback.

By now, you can probably guess the outcome of each story. Edison was successfully managing a cross-cultural team, but Amanda was not so lucky. All of her subordinates worked against her, telling her boss to make a choice between her or the rest of team.

If you cannot cross the cultural divide successfully, goals mean nothing. With these simple steps, you can better understand the Chinese culture.

Reputation and "saving face" is very important. Try not to disagree openly and do not embarrass someone in front of the team. Do not ask superiors difficult questions and always be polite. And remember, when talking to a Chinese colleague you are not just talking to an individual person; you are addressing their whole social network.

It is well known that Chinese people are proud of their modesty. Conversations tend to revolve around a topic, as compared to Westerners who speak very directly about a subject. But no matter how hard Chinese people try to polish their sentences or expressions, keep the conversation revolving around the central idea and use your skills to control the dialogue.

And stick to your principles. Nobody will believe someone who doesn't have any thoughts or ideas of his or her own.

In the West, many people tend to think that seeing is believing, making them more fact-oriented. The Chinese culture is very similar, but many value the process a person goes through to achieve the final result - creating a more human-oriented society.

To better understand these ideas, here are a few ways to put the points into practice.

First of all, listening is the most important character trait. Chinese people are not good at talking to their bosses. So strike up a conversation on a regular basis, letting the employees know it's a common practice. This way, you can listen.

Take time to watch how Chinese people interact and the result of the interaction. Paying attention to communication, especially the non-verbal, pays off. Do everything you can to get involved in all factors of the Chinese work life, like Edison.

Examples such as drinking Chinese wine, being available to your staff and even awarding special prizes will help both you and the employees better understand each other.

The company can also play a key role. Some are providing cross language classes where Chinese and foreigners teach each other their first language.

With just a little bit of effort, you can better understand the Chinese culture. But, take some time to create and develop your image in the office.

Just like a barrel of water, the principles mentioned in this article make up the shape of the barrel; your special skills and personal style is the water inside. The shape of the barrel will decide what the water looks like and how they work together.

The author is China Partner of Antal International.