COLUMN
Cross-cultural leadership – an Englishman in Helsinki I SPENT MY CHILDHOOD IN A SMALL VILLAGE IN THE EAST OF ENGLAND. AT SECONDARY SCHOOL, I WAS GIVEN THE CHOICE OF LEARNING FRENCH, GERMAN OR BOTH. I REGRET TO THIS DAY THAT I ONLY CHOSE FRENCH BUT AT THE TIME, EVEN FRENCH LANGUAGE SKILLS SEEMED IRRELEVANT IN RURAL LINCOLNSHIRE. AS my career progressed, my French language skills helped me secure a global IT management role at Gripple Ltd in Sheffield. It was here that I was introduced to JCI by the Gripple founder – Hugh Facey MBE who was also the 1979 JCI UK National President. In 2004, I joined JCI Sheffield, a chamber formed in 1927 and was the 3rd chamber established outside the USA. Despite my demanding work schedule, I was very active in JCI Sheffield and become the president in 2007. This year was particularly special as JCI Sheffield celebrated its 80th anniversary and also hosted the UK National Conference. My career then took me to Dubai where I worked with an international team to establish JCI Dubai. I had the honour of representing JCI Dubai at the 2008 World Congress in Delhi. I was introduced to Finland through meeting JCI Reading’s Finnish president in 2006 and she would later become my wife. I was briefly involved with JCI Cosmopolis in 2009, before my career took me back to the UK. Today’s organisations need leaders who can adjust to different environments quickly and effectively communicate with people from other cultures. There’s no doubt that JCI had a profoundly positive effect on my personal & professional life. It allowed me to gain skills and experiences that I feel could take others (nonJCI members) a lifetime to achieve. I embraced many opportunities in JCI from local to international level. I attended a number of European & World Congresses that expanded my global contacts, many of which I have turned into life-long friendships and business associations. In today’s ‘information age’, business leaders are increasingly expected to lead intercultural /
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global teams. Managing teams across international borders demands cultural empathy – the ability to understand different points of view and share feelings & emotions. My JCI experiences allowed me to refine my empathetic skills. From working on a cross-faith Peace Conference in London - to losing my passport at one of the world’s most dangerous borders in Korea, JCI allowed me to learn in a supportive environment with like-minded people. In 2012, I moved back to Finland and joined Makita Oy as their CIO. Makita Oy is responsible for a large geographical area and is part of the Makita Corporation from Japan. On a daily basis, I’m interacting with staff from around the globe and dealing with diverse cultures. The cross-cultural leadership at Makita Oy is challenging from a number of perspectives including geopolitical issues, time-zones, language skills & business customs. My advice for aspiring cross-cultural leaders would be to exploit every opportunity to understand different cultures. Consider speaking to the Syrian refugee in your local café or stretch your networking skills at international JCI events. This will help you challenge cultural stereotypes and gain first-hand knowledge & understanding. I would also strongly recommend language skill development. Language ability can open many doors and I hope to refine my Finnish language skills once my MBA studies at Haaga-Helia are complete next year. ANDREW BAXTER
fi.linkedin.com/in/andrewsmbaxter
I embraced many opportunities in JCI from local to international level.