A talented employee who consistently delivers strong results is seen by her manager as lacking initiative. But does a reluctance to act independently necessarily indicate a lack of competence?
This case illustrates how workplace conflict may stem not from the individuals involved, but from differences in national culture.
Key Players
Sun Meiling
Sun Meiling is a 32-year-old microbiologist working at a research center in Beijing operated by a major German pharmaceutical company. Before joining the company, she worked at a government laboratory. Her responsibilities include testing new compounds, and she plays a key role in many of the center’s projects.
Helga Schreiber
Helga Schreiber is a 35-year-old German project manager with a similar scientific background. She has been assigned to China as an expatriate for three to four years. This is her first long-term international assignment.
Before moving to China, Helga worked at the company’s main research center in Germany, where she advanced quickly through the organization to become a senior project manager responsible for several major initiatives.
The Company
The research center in Beijing is operated by a major German pharmaceutical company. It is headed by a German manager with international experience, although he has not previously worked in China.
China is strategically important to the company’s future, and the new Beijing research center was established both to adapt products to the needs of the local market and to develop innovative solutions specifically for China.
In her day-to-day work, Sun works closely with Helga. Both are part of a team of scientists, most of whom are Chinese nationals. Around one-third of the team, however, consists of international specialists, primarily from Germany and other European countries.
The Situation
The center is struggling to fully tap into the potential of its Chinese employees.
Helga hired Sun Meiling with the intention of handing over responsibility for microbiological laboratory research. She expects Sun to take ownership of her work, exercise independent judgment, and proactively move tasks forward without waiting for step-by-step instructions. This would free up Helga’s time to focus on building a network of collaboration with Chinese laboratories and external partners.
However, six months into the role, Helga finds it very difficult to get Sun to work independently and take initiative. Helga believes she has clearly explained what needs to be done, but notices that Sun follows her instructions once and then waits for further direction each time rather than taking the next steps on her own.
Three years after the center opened, its performance has fallen short of expectations, prompting the company’s headquarters in Hamburg to question whether the investment has been worthwhile.
What the Participants Say
Sun Meiling (talking to her husband):
“Helga leaves me on my own. Often, there’s no one else in the lab. I don’t like to complain, but I have a bad feeling about this.”
Helga (speaking to the head of the center):
“This can’t go on. I want Sun Meiling to take more initiative. I want to know that I can leave her on her own and trust her to handle the work independently. Every time I come back, I feel like I have to start from scratch and explain everything all over again. She seems very capable, but she doesn’t take ownership.”
Head of the Center:
“Our European scientists are used to organizing their work independently. They don’t like being closely supervised and may even see managerial involvement as unwelcome interference. To be honest, I don’t know how to motivate our Chinese employees. I find it difficult to understand what they expect from us.”
Based on: Jeremy Comfort & Peter Franklin. The Mindful International Manager: How to Work Effectively Across Cultures, 2nd Edition (2014), Publisher: Kogan Page