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Foreigners can lead by example
PORNNALAT PRACHYAKORN
Foreign businesses should help Thailand to improve business practices by serving as role models in doing business based on human skills, according to Pamela Hongsakul, managing director of Hongsakul Media Ltd.
Mrs Pamela, the publisher of Law Magazine, said in a presentation to the British Chamber of Commerce that Thai society, whether in politics or business, recruited people based on friendships and connections rather than based on skill or value to company and country.
Foreign business leaders should help change this practice by serving as role models in their own companies. "Show the Thai people how this is done," said Ms Pamela, a cross-cultural observer who works with key leaders in the media and marketing fields.
She also said that foreign firms should be encouraged to run their businesses in Thailand in the same way they would do in their own home countries, including following the rules and avoiding discrimination.
Thailand's business sector was not competitive in the global market, she said, because leaders did not challenge staff to overcome sabai-sabai tendencies.
"Thai people have got used to relaxing under coconut trees and enjoying plenty of water, fish and sun," she said.
The first thing to be done, she suggested, was to get rid of the culture of fear in the society. Thai people are afraid to stand up and state their needs to people in authority since they are afraid of losing their pleasure.
"We should adopt more principles and not focus on the point of reward," she said.
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And...another closely related article of the same theme.
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Bridging THE GAP
Using the Socratic Method
KRIENGSAK NIRATPATTANASAI
'Khun Kriengsak, how should I coach my Thai team?" David asks me in our first coaching session. He's been on the job for a month in charge of his company's Thai office.
"Things seemed to be okay until my direct report came to ask my opinion," he says. "I'll give you an example. This morning, Khun Somchai, the director of sales, came to see me.
"He told me, 'David, we have a problem. Our sales revenue year to date is far below the target. What do you think I should do?' So, I asked him back, 'What do you think?'
"He said, 'I don't know. That's why I came to see you.' Then he left the room with an embarrassed look on his face."
"David, why do you think Khun Somchai behaved like that?" I ask.
"I guess he expected to get an answer from me."
"I think so. You're his first expat boss. He was used to getting answers from a poo-yai (a senior person). When we were growing up, our parents didn't ask us, 'What do you think?' When he went to school, we were taught to memorise information. We were not trained to apply critical thinking skills. When Khun Somchai had worked here with Thai bosses for the past 10 years, his bosses never asked his input. They gave answers. That's how he's conditioned."
"What should I do?"
"What do you think?"
"I need to unlearn him first, don't I?"
"That's a good idea. How do you plan to do that?"
"I think I'll tell him that from now on I will use questions to coach him. So, the next time he comes to see me with a problem, he should prepare some alternative solutions for discussion."
"That's a good start. What is the benefit for him? In the old system he didn't think that way. It became quite sabai (comfortable) for him that he was freed from that responsibility. Now you are pulling him out of that comfort zone. Furthermore, if he has to think about solutions, he has to accountable for them. This is a big burden for him.
"What's in it for him to change? He has to weigh the new way versus the old way."
"Khun Kriengsak, here are the benefits," says David, as he lists the ways Somchai may be able to develop:
If he has a problem and he has to prepare some solutions prior to meeting me, it helps him to understand the situation much better. Hence he will be getting better at his work.
He will learn more by trying to think about solutions.
He is close to the problem. He has much better ideas about the solutions than me. Hence, the chance of solving the problem is higher.
"As far as accountability, is concerned, I have to explain to him that is is part of his key performance indicators (KPI)," David concludes.
"That's great," I say in encouragement. "This approach to coaching by questioning goes back a long way. It was adapted from Socrates, the Greek philosopher (495-399 BC). Socrates' Way by Ronald Gross traces the beginnings of the famous Socratic Method. Socrates was a man who asked questions. 'He does not offer us his insights, conclusions, or tenets. Rather, he interrogates us about ours - and provokes us to think things through, consider alternatives, and sometimes make surprising discoveries,' the author writes."
"For most Thais who have not been trained in analytical or critical thinking skills, we feel uncomfortable. When something is new we are scared. How will you make Khun Somchai less scared?" I ask, directing a Socratic inquiry to David.
"After I tell him that I will use this approach, and also tell him about the benefits for him, I will show empathy to him by saying, 'Khun Somchai, this is a new way of working for you. You might feel a bit uncomfortable. I do understand. But I want you to try."'
"Good. David, usually when you ask his opinion, he might have some ideas in mind. But he may be afraid of losing face in front of you by offering a poor answer. Or he may feel you might look down at him if he shows bad judgment. When you start using this method, you might need to give him a lot of encouragement. You might want to say. 'Khun Somchai, this is just brainstorming, there is no right or wrong answer. Let's try to come up with some solutions.'
"For some people, giving a spontaneous answer in front of the boss for the first time might be hard. If you notice that he's stuck or silent the first time, you might allow him to prepare himself first by saying. 'You may need some time to gather more data. Why don't you come back in an hour?"'
of a country without making it nationalistic, internationally economically inept, brain dead, stuck in its ways, in denile about 'progress',etc,etc,etc,etc,etc. 
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