Episode #4: Aki Kubo, CEO, Tag Japan

Japanese leaders in Japanese companies are often more like managers, than like leaders
- leaders are expected to lead change, managers are expected to manage (but not lead change)
- in the West, new leaders often come from outside the organization so they have no in-house bias
- you have to be hands-on and understand what is going on in order to be a strong leader, otherwise you cannot create innovation.

Japanese companies have low productivity, which has a lot to do with the consensus-driven decision-making process prevalent in Japan.

Japan needs more foreign leaders because they are free from feeling they must conform to the status-quo maintenance or slow change regimes of typical Japanese corporate culture. Japanese people typically expect that leaders will come from within the company however these people are biased to the typical Japanese way of doing things.

When coming in from outside the company, understand that there are people within the company who thought they should be the leader. In order to get them to follow you, try to identify 2-3 out of your 10 direct reports who might appreciate you as a leader. Work on getting their buy-in so you can leverage their intelligence and insights to materialize change.

Even if you are Japanese (local talent), if you come from outside the company, understand you will be perceived as an alien.

As a leader, you need act as the interface for Japan and let your global headquarters know about what is going on in Japan. At the same time, you need to let those in the Japanese office know what the global agenda is – this is particularly important in a homogeneous society like Japan.

It is important to have a healthy relationship with your organization and have direct contact with one or two levels below your own direct reports, whilst avoiding becoming subtly biased if you are too close to your people. Additionally, it is important to have regular town hall meetings. It is not necessary to go out drinking with your colleagues however.

Matrix management styles are beneficial because geographically your subordinates can report to you but report on their subject matter to the subject matter expert.

Low Japanese engagement scores have a lot to do with the high number of seniority-driven organizations, and the fact that performance evaluation is on a deduction principle, rather than a points principle.

Most Japanese organisations do not appreciate behavior that puts you out of step with your age/generation group since that runs against their management principles. You are expected to behave like the rest of your peers. However, the younger generations are starting to take/want to take more risks, and their senior managers are conservative, which sees about 30% of young talent in tier one Japanese companies leave within 3 years because they do not see a viable career path for themselves.

You have to create your own personal brand as a professional, as opposed to relying on the company`s brand, which is a very accepted Western practice. The typical Japanese way of sending you to work for various divisions over a long period of time only makes you a specialist in how your own company works. From an outside perspective, you are an generalist, not a specialist in anything in particular. So you need to design your career around your chosen specialization, e.g. marketing, and move around companies honing your marketing skills.

Because of the changes in Japan, it is a good opportunity for Gaishikei companies to acquire tier one local talent, which has traditionally been difficult for Gaishikei companies in Japan. Get in contact with people who are one or two levels below the senior managers, they are likely to be more open to discussing opportunities than you might think.

It is in your benefit, the company`s benefit and the country`s benefit if you can commit to Japan for a longer time frame rather than thinking of Japan as a stepping stone in your career (whereby you leave after 3 or 5 years).
Japan needs more game changers, Japan needs more innovative foreign leaders.

Aki Kubo - CEO Tag Japan.