October 15, 2007

Bangkok Post - For the last few weeks we have been presenting the thoughts of some of Thailand's outstanding leaders in business and public life. This week we continue in a similar vein, featuring the perspectives of a foreign executive who heads a m...

Loic Tardy is the chairman Unilever Group of Companies in Thailand. After serving in French Navy, Mr Tardy has worked with Unilever since 1988. He started a career as a management trainee, moved to be a sales representative, a marketing executive and climbed the corporate ladder to the top job. Mr Tardy has been in Thailand since July 2005 after assignments in China and Vietnam.

Q : Loic, what did you learn from China and Vietnam?
A : My first six months were a mess. There was no system support and the quality of people was weak. But after that I cleaned house. I also recruited Chinese talent to help me. I learned that mediocre people had recruited a mediocre team. And the top talent also recruited top people. You have to get a good people from the top then they recruit the high quality to work with them. Otherwise, you will not go anywhere.

It took me 12 months to really start moving. After that, it was fantastic.

Q : What is unique about Thailand?
A : Thai society is quite authoritarian _ top down. The boss is really the boss. There is a lot of respect for the boss. The respect for seniority and power.

I had never realised how popular His Majesty the King is. The yellow shirts are everywhere every Monday....It's interesting _ I have not seen it before.

Q : Do you manage Thai staff differently compared to your previous experience?
A : I don't think I do much differently and I am sure I am wrong in some areas. Thai people are quite different _ I read from your book and some other books.

I respect hierarchy. But here people expect that the boss will tell them what to do. For me I have never been trained like this. I have been trained to take initiative to be proactive, not to be reactive.

The other thing that I find unique here is that Thai people value relationships. A positive climate even comes before demanding that people. People are very polite.

Q : How do you motivate the Thai team?
A : I am straightforward. I am open. I challenge their ideas. But I am who I am. I am authentic. I have never lied. I tell them what they are supposed to know...One caution for expats in Thailand is that sometimes I use some impolite expressions. Thai people don't like that. It's impolite.

Q : What are the differences between Thais compared to French or Chinese?
A : French and Chinese are quite similar. Both nationalities are confrontational, speak openly, rationally and pragmatically and rely more on facts and figures.

Q : What else do you do in terms of motivating Thai staff?
A : In the beginning, there was a silo approach _ people did not know what other business units were doing. I shared the direction with all team members _ to build consensus. Then, I facilitated communication by keeping team members informed.

I try to explain to people what's going on. It's all about trust and being trustworthy. You need people to deliver on what they promise. Listening to each other is also necessary...Once the team starts to understand one another better, they realise their contributions.

Q : How do you manage change?
A : First you need to establish a case for change. Then brand the change programme properly. When people heard about the change programme they resented it because they believed I was trying to tell them that what they were already doing. I like to call it continuous improvement.

Q : Who is your role model and why?
A : A colonel during the time that I served in the Navy. He is very human, a nice guy, open-minded, caring, very close to people and generous. But when he dealt with crisis he was very efficient.

Q : What are the qualifications for a professional manager in a multinational company?
A : Being self-driven, proactive, taking initiative, bring a team player, continuous improvement, learning. The key attribute is courage to speak up and stand up for your opinion. As a leader you can't be waiting to be asked.

The other thing that I learn a lot is from 360-degree feedback. It helps you to see yourself from different perspectives.

Kriengsak Niratpattanasai provides executive coaching in leadership and diversity management under the brand TheCoach. He can be reached at coachkriengsak@yahoo.com. Copies of previous columns are available at www.thaicoach.com.

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