When my American supervisor informed me of my upcoming promotion, he prepared me for a necessary move.
I was the leader at our main European site in Frankfurt. And the headquarters of the respective business units for which our plant produced were located in Shanghai and in Dallas, Texas. I was now designated as the Global Manufacturing Leader for one of the two business units.
The call came a few days later and the head of the business unit from Dallas was on the line. He informed me and when I asked when I had to move, I was in for a surprise.
“Bernd, we do have a global business around the globe. In the Americas, in Europe and in Asia. I expect you to be present to all of our sites and the best time zone either for your conference calls or for your travel organisation is in Europe. So, please stay in Frankfurt.”
The time difference was 6 to 7 hours in different directions. This meant that for joint video routine meetings of my team, I had to take into account a 12 to 14 hour time difference.
A challenge.
Our Americans were early risers. From 6 a.m. local time, I was able to plan with them without thinking. But that was 6 p.m. at the earliest in Nanjing, our site in China.
On my first trip to the facilities in Nanjing, for which I was newly responsible, I experienced the next surprise. On a typical working day there, a supervisor spent about 8 hours in the facilities, but „called it a day“ on time just to plan a few evening hours for the conference calls after the commute and family time.
It had become a routine that I did in the same way on my travels in Asia. After dinner with the team from the facility, the last part of my working day began on the phone, often until after midnight.
For my global video meetings, I used this for the solution. Start between 6 and 8 a.m. in the Americas, 1 or 2 p.m. in Europe, between 7 and 9 p.m. in Asia. Duration was usually one hour or a little more and generally never on Fridays.
Not an optimal solution, I am aware of that, but a feasible one. Recording a meeting was not an alternative. Because everyone’s interaction was the most important element.
What luck in this regard that no plant in Australia was on my business map.
➡️ And you? Do you know the problem? How did you solve it?
I am Bernd Scharbert and as a mentor for leaders and executives, I accompany them in such a way that globally composed and intercultural teams have the opportunity to develop further in their performance and mindset for growth. If you are interested, feel free to follow me at LinkedIn, #Prepare4Landing or contact me directly.
