Perlmutter Institute for Global Business Leadership

Perlmutter INStItute Global buSINeSS brIef Developing Networking Skills in Young Global Leaders Andy Molinsky, Ph.D.

Networking is a critical skill for business leadership. Yet for many young professionals working in the United States, the behaviors required for networking actually conflict with their culturally ingrained values and beliefs. In this brief, I outline the challenges young professionals face when learning American-style networking behavior and offer suggestions for how they can be successfully overcome.

Andy Molinsky, Ph.D.

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he ability to network – to develop contacts and personal connections with a variety of people who might be helpful to you and your career – is a critical skill for any global business leader. A deep and varied network of trusted colleagues can help when searching for new business partners, when seeking investment opportunities, when looking for sources of capital or opportunities to develop your own skills, or even when looking for another job. In an increasingly globalized world, these connections are being built not only across industries, but also across cultures. This is true for seasoned executives and it is especially true for those beginning their careers and aspiring to become the global business leaders of tomorrow. In fact, one of the most common pieces of advice that I hear corporate recruiters give to our MBA students is to learn how to network: to go to networking events and meet people; to speak about your accomplishments; to impress people with your skills; and to become your own best advocate.

The Perlmutter Institute for Global Business Leadership Established by trustees Louis Perlmutter ‘56 and Barbara Perlmutter, the Perlmutter Institute for Global Business Leadership prepares students for leadership positions in global corporations throughout the world. This institute explores the intersection between business, the global economy, government, and civil society. Using a multifaceted, holistic approach, the Institute also focuses on leadership in a globally independent world, promoting contrasting values of the profit motive and the public good.

But what if the bread and butter of successful networking behavior, such as making casual, lighthearted small talk and speaking in a poised and upbeat manner about your background and accomplishments, conflicts with your culturally ingrained values and beliefs? That’s unfortunately the case for many would-be job seekers in the United States who know that they need to network in order to succeed, but who struggle engaging in the behaviors required to master this key job-search ritual. Listen, for example, to the words of two of my former MBA students describing their experiences trying to engage in American-style networking behavior in the United States. This first quotation is from a Nigerian MBA student describing the challenges that she faced: It felt strange and uncomfortable. It felt like I was disappointing my parents and my heritage…I found it difficult to approach the representative of the organization. When I got to him I was tongue-tied, I could not speak, I was embarrassed and sweating. I forgot about everything I was supposed to be talking about, all the research I did about the organization.

This second quotation is from an Indian MBA student describing his experience in the same situation: It was a very bad experience. I felt totally against my values and I was doing something I had thought was bragging and very indecent. I had to project my accomplishments and not be modest. I felt this is very difficult and I thought I should not be continuing the conversation at one point. All I wanted was to leave the room. You can see the problem here. Each student very much wants to succeed in what they fully understand is a critical aspect of the job search process in the United States. But they both face a key cultural liability: the very behaviors that are critical for them to perform are incredibly uncomfortable for them from the perspective of their culturally ingrained values and beliefs. In fact, these cultural differences can be so strong that many students avoid networking events, despite the fact that they know how important such opportunities are for developing their careers.

Networking Requires Cultural Knowledge and Skill Most of us born and raised in the United States are familiar with networking behavior in this culture. Although we ourselves may sometimes struggle with the behaviors, we know how we need to act to be effective and, most importantly, these behaviors do not conflict at a deep level with our culturally ingrained values and beliefs. For example, upon meeting a potential networking contact, we know that we need to be positive and upbeat in our communication. We know to greet the individual with a warm smile, outstretched hand, and with sustained eye contact. We also know how to engage in small talk to ease conversation and break the ice before getting down to business. We also know how to speak about ourselves in a manner that is selfpromotional, but not overly self-promotional: not minimizing our accomplishments, but also not embellishing them. While intuitive to us, these rules are not universal. Many cultures, for example, are more hierarchically organized than the United States. As a result, when speaking with a potential employer, many people from cultures outside of the United States would typically act in a far more deferential manner, perhaps making less eye contact than one would typically expect in an American setting, or listening instead of speaking as a form of respect and politeness. Self-promotion, a hallmark of networking situations, is also something that varies quite significantly across cultures. Many people from cultures outside the United States have been trained throughout their lives to be quite modest when presenting themselves to seniors – which of course can then handicap them when having to speak positively about themselves and their accomplishments in the U.S. Finally, small talk – the positive, upbeat, lighthearted communication that is so critical to the beginning moments of a networking encounter – is not at all part of the script in many cultures around the world. In fact, it can appear quite strange to speak about the weather or the commute or other seemingly superficial topics during a such an important business conversation. You can see the problem here. The way many potential job applicants from around the world have been trained and socialized in their native cultures ends up handicapping them when trying to be effective in the U.S. I was struck by these cultural differences during a recent training seminar I conducted with a small group of Indian professionals about networking behavior in the United States. As part of this workshop, I presented the group with the following scenario that focused on networking behavior at a career fair, which for this crowd was a particularly relevant networking context:

Imagine that you are at a networking event and see a potential employer from a company you’re interested in across the room. You walk over to that person, look her in the eye, and say the following: ‘Hello, I noticed that you are from IBM. I’m very interested in IBM and would love to give you a sense of my background.’ I then asked whether they believed that according to American cultural norms, the person’s statement was: (a) Too direct (b) Not direct enough (c) Appropriately direct I also posed the same question to a group of American professionals and the answers from the two groups were telling. The American-born professionals mostly answered (c): that the statement was appropriately direct and a reasonable way to begin a networking conversation. The Indian professionals on the other hand mostly answered (a): that the behavior was too direct and assertive for an American-style networking event. What seemed to be appropriately direct in the U.S. felt much too direct from an Indian cultural perspective. I then posed an additional scenario that further illustrated differences between the two cultures: You are ready to leave the networking event, feeling that you have had an interesting day of interactions and have also enjoyed hearing some of your colleagues speaking with potential employers as well. On the way towards the door, however, you see a potential employer from Reebok. You did not know that Reebok would be at the networking event and are thrilled, because Reebok is truly your dream job. Before approaching the employer, you’re not sure about how much excitement you should show. You are authentically excited. You would love to work for Reebok; it’s truly your dream company. However, you are unclear about whether this is appropriate to exhibit. So you say: “Hello, my name is ______. I’m an MBA student majoring in marketing at Brandeis International Business School and am so happy you are here today because I am really interested in Reebok! I have worked in retail and in the athletic apparel industry for 3 years before coming to business school –and as you can see (pointing to your shoes), I am also a big fan of your products!” Is this statement: (a) Far too enthusiastic. For a professional situation, it is important to be far less lively and excited, even if you are actually excited about the company. (b) Not enthusiastic enough: If you really are interested, you should express much greater enthusiasm than this. You are being too subdued in this situation, given your level of true interest (c) Appropriately enthusiastic: You are expressing your true interest and it comes through. The next step is to have a professional conversation about the organization and hopefully arrange a follow-up conversation. Again, most Indian students answered (a) – far too enthusiastic, whereas the majority of American-born professionals answered (c): that the behavior was appropriately enthusiastic. You can see how the Indian perspective on networking is quite different from the American cultural perspective. And, of course, it’s not just Indian-born students who struggle in these situations. In my research I have seen foreign-born professionals from a wide range of different counties and cultures struggle to adapt behavior in the allimportant networking situation in the U.S.

So what can be done? How can budding global professionals acquire this critical professional skill, especially when how they need to act to be successful runs counter to their culturally ingrained values and beliefs?

Tips for Developing American-Style Networking Skills Based on my own decade-long research program on “Global Dexterity,” as well from teaching and working with foreign-born professionals over the past fifteen years, I believe that there are no “quick fixes” when learning to adapt behavior across cultures. However, here are a few tips that can help accelerate the cultural learning process: 1. Be a cultural detective: Watch how others around you people network successfully, and emulate their behavior. But don’t stop there. Create your own “blend” from these styles to create something that feels natural for you -- and that also is effective in the new cultural setting. 2. Practice in realistic, but overly challenging settings: Find opportunities to practice your new cultural skills. The best practice situations are challenging, but not overly challenging. You want to get a realistic preview of the pressure you’ll ultimately face in a performance context, but you don’t want to be overwhelmed by this pressure when practicing and honing your skills. 3. View networking as a learning process: Networking is a skill. It’s just like learning to play a sport, speak a language, or ride a bike. It takes time and practice and repetition and commitment. Just like with any other process of skill development, don’t worry too much about “success” immediately. Find situations where you can learn from mistakes, and focus on developing a style that feels authentic and that is effective in the new setting. 4. Find a Mentor: Finally, perhaps the best piece of advice I can offer is to find a mentor – ideally a mentor who is both knowledgeable about networking and also sensitive to the challenges that foreign-born professionals can face when trying to network in the United States. Mentors can offer help with skill building and can also offer invaluable encouragement and support to guide the cultural learning process.

For additional copies or more information about the Perlmutter Institute for Global Business Leadership contact:

Acting outside of your cultural comfort zone takes strategy, determination, and, often, a great deal of courage. However managing this balancing act is critical for working successfully across cultures -- and doing it successfully will pay great dividends down the road for yourself and for the people you manage and lead.

Perlmutter Institute for Global Business Leadership Brandeis International Business School Mailstop 032 Waltham, MA 02454-9110 781-736-8351 http://brandeis.edu/global/world-ready/centers [email protected]

Andy Molinsky is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Brandeis International Business School. He is the author of the book Global Dexterity: How to Adapt Your Behavior across Cultures without Losing Yourself in the Process (HBR Press, 2013). Follow Andy on twitter at @ andymolinsky.