For most country you could find "doing business in...." that would tell you a lot about what you should know.
Then listen
Maybe find someone that can act/coach on local ways to support the PM
For most country you could find "doing business in...." that would tell you a lot about what you should know.
Then listen
Maybe find someone that can act/coach on local ways to support the PM
I'm with Vincent, I usually try to read about the country, how they used to do business, analyze the differences between them and my previous background, and after listen actively them.
I'm with Vincent, I usually try to read about the country, how they used to do business, analyze the differences between them and my previous background, and after listen actively them.
Good Day! There will always be cultural differences both in terms of country practices, traditions and in terms of company culture (the client i.e.). I was once deployed to the client site in the U..S to kick-start the Knowledge Transition as the client will be outsourcing its IT operations to our company with an added complexity of offshoring part of its IT team. I was then the PM for the development team offshore. I faced tons of challenges including people from the client site not willing to share information. I don't blame them being totally new to them and I was far from building the trust with any of them. Some take away points that worked for me back then - (1) Do your homework by studying their culture, go down to the specific location practices (you'll be surprised to find out that there are varying practices within a country) as well as their specific company culture, (2) Get support from the Executive team of your client, it will go a long way to get them help you pave the way, use your leverage! (3) Any project usually starts from a pain / challenges/ problems - get your colleagues from the client site to talk - this is the part where you can employ active listening! You'll get a lot from this exercise, and if you do it correctly, the people on the ground will start to feel that they are part of the process, by allowing them to contribute at the start of the project. There are much more to share depending on your scenario but the above should enable you to get started. Hope this helps!
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1 reply by Anupam
Dec 01, 2016 5:16 AM
Anupam
...
Hello Rey,
Thanks a ton for your input. Appreciate it.
I agree with you, and am glad you shared your experience.
I am actually expecting such positive answers, and your comment is bang on time :)
Good Day! There will always be cultural differences both in terms of country practices, traditions and in terms of company culture (the client i.e.). I was once deployed to the client site in the U..S to kick-start the Knowledge Transition as the client will be outsourcing its IT operations to our company with an added complexity of offshoring part of its IT team. I was then the PM for the development team offshore. I faced tons of challenges including people from the client site not willing to share information. I don't blame them being totally new to them and I was far from building the trust with any of them. Some take away points that worked for me back then - (1) Do your homework by studying their culture, go down to the specific location practices (you'll be surprised to find out that there are varying practices within a country) as well as their specific company culture, (2) Get support from the Executive team of your client, it will go a long way to get them help you pave the way, use your leverage! (3) Any project usually starts from a pain / challenges/ problems - get your colleagues from the client site to talk - this is the part where you can employ active listening! You'll get a lot from this exercise, and if you do it correctly, the people on the ground will start to feel that they are part of the process, by allowing them to contribute at the start of the project. There are much more to share depending on your scenario but the above should enable you to get started. Hope this helps!
Hello Rey,
Thanks a ton for your input. Appreciate it.
I agree with you, and am glad you shared your experience.
I am actually expecting such positive answers, and your comment is bang on time :)
If the new country has different language to be used, the first step might be learning some useful local words to speak out whenever you meet the local members of the client, which might be helpful to reduce unfamiliar atmosphere during the meeting regardless of whether it is formal or informal.
Activities to enhance transparency of communication and understanding the different culture might be helpful in the long run but not in a short period of time.
If the new country has different language to be used, the first step might be learning some useful local words to speak out whenever you meet the local members of the client, which might be helpful to reduce unfamiliar atmosphere during the meeting regardless of whether it is formal or informal.
Activities to enhance transparency of communication and understanding the different culture might be helpful in the long run but not in a short period of time.
