Protocol fosters international relationships
Posted by Hilka Klinkenberg on Sat, Aug 08, 2009 @ 10:27 PM
Mind your manners and make millions...so reads the headline of Stefan Stern's review (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5300a858-7c9f-11de-a7bf-00144feabdc0.html) of a new book, The Cost of Bad Behaviour, by Christine Pearson and Christine Porath. Having spent many years teaching executives how to mind their manners (http://www.etiquetteinternational.com/), especially if they go abroad, I can attest to the veracity of the authors' message. Companies can lose millions in revenue because of the behavior of their executives and representatives.
Good manners lubricate relationships whereas bad manners can lead to client attrition, bad press and investor revolt, not to mention a toxic workplace. A few sniping cliques or an arrogant manager will result in staff ineffectiveness and high turnover. There's an old saying that employees join companies and leave managers. It should be obvious, then, that management training with 360 assessments, especially in the area of Emotional Intelligence, should be compulsory. However, too many companies are penny wise and pound foolish when it comes to addressing these ‘soft skills', especially in this economy. When times are tough, relationships can be a deciding factor in a company's success or failure.
Global coaches and consultants are acutely aware of the value of good manners in fostering international business relationships. Yet companies still send managers abroad as a way to remove them from a toxic situation in the home office. Adding the cultural component to an already toxic manager is a sure-fire speedway to failure. Relationships in business are crucial overseas where an executive can be judged harshly on his appearance, attitude and actions, and that can undermine the trust necessary to build successful relationships.
Before an executive goes abroad, extensive efforts should be made to ascertain that he or she is the right person for both the job and the culture. That person should be given all the support needed to help make the cultural transition. Why is this so important? Simple. A company won't lose just one or two clients or employees, it will ruin its reputation permanently in that market. All the time, effort and money that had gone into opening the market will be lost.
Unfortunately, as Stern writes in his review, "the book is a bit short on what the victims of unpleasantness should do about it." Etiquette writers are very good at telling you how to act properly; they seldom teach you how to react properly when you have been treated badly. Role-playing serves in this scenario to both to forestall negative situations and to correct them, and is an integral part of the learning process. When simultaneously combined with ongoing coaching efforts, the client making the necessary changes is supported overall. To dismiss either the coaching or the training component, especially where cross-cultural challenges are involved, is to increase the likelihood of incurring the "Cost(s) of Bad Behaviour."