How to Retain and Develop Asian Women Leaders

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What then are the key factors in recruiting and retaining Asian women?

Organizations first need to have a sound and strategic approach to recruitment and talent development, creating a tailored assimilation plan for recent hires that includes teaching the unwritten rules of organizational life and insights into the nuances of culture.

Second, a compensation strategy must be structured to meet employee needs. This may include benefits for extended family members, particularly in China, where employees are expected to support both sets of extended families. In India, benefits around working arrangements, including working from home or having flexible hours, are important. Many women I've coached find "work-life balance" talk laughable. After working over 10 to 12 hours in the office, they return home to start global conference calls around 10:00 p.m.

Third, the organization needs to commit to building local talent and refrain from quickly parachuting in corporate talent. Consulting to a consumer products company headquartered in Shanghai, I worked with a seasoned female marketing executive who had been passed over three times for the top position. After recruiting many high-potential Asian women, the organization continued to send in expatriates for developmental assignments abroad without realizing the impact that doing so had on the local team. She ended up leaving the company, and I doubt it ever knew why. The single most important factor in retaining Asian women is having more women in senior positions, providing a career path for advancement, and committing to developing local talent.

Coaching

I've worked with a global high-tech firm that is extremely successful in retaining Asian women leaders. They use an executive coach for each leadership transition. The coach guides the executive in examining the subtle side of organizations, understanding power networks, using firm language, and learning how to manage perception.

Leadership transitions are tricky and often derail executives, so using a coach is not only smart but is often a critical component for success, particularly with newly recruited Asian women managers. One of the biggest challenges women face is knowing how to navigate the political side of organizational life. Most shy away from politics and typically put their heads down and work harder. Each leadership transition requires a different set of skills. Moving up the corporate ladder requires less focus on details, and moving beyond the role to build robust relationships. This will, without question, make or break a career.

Organizations need to understand ethnic differences among women and how these differences can drive results and innovation. Americans are taught to stand up and be accountable; Asians are not. Being modest is not to be equated with weak leadership. This quality, coupled with a concern for community brings a new, humane dimension to organizations.

Organizations must start rethinking their talent strategies now and roll with the "Asian tsunami" of globally astute, locally educated Asians who will dominate business for the foreseeable future. Perhaps it takes a global economic financial crisis or the rising demographics to instigate a change, but the surge of qualified Asian graduates will drive corporate leadership changes. With such vast talent in these markets, the next generation of corporate executives will be Indian, Chinese, and female. Follow the demographics.

Jane Horan is founder of the Horan Group, a Singapore consultancy focused on developing Asian women leaders.

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