Curso de Inglés de Negocios

Unit 10 – Advanced Business Course – Leadership

"Exploring cultural differences in business relationships and communication"

Enhance your business English and leadership skills with our comprehensive course. Learn to discuss different types of leadership, give a briefing using the passive voice, and express how you feel about something in a professional setting. Join now and take the first step towards achieving your career goals.

Juan Carlos Martinez
January 23, 2023
Advanced Business Course
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Audios Unidad 10

Audio 10.1

Conversation

Lydia I’ve been asked to take over a failing team that has been without a leader for several months. They’re quite demotivated, and they’ve got used to operating as a selfmanaging team. They’re a very disparate group of people, very different in their ways of working, although very good at what they do. The problem is, they’re currently functioning as individuals, not as a team. I can already see there’s massive duplication of effort and they’re not being productive. Erm, in that sense they’re quite dysfunctional. They’re used to a very specific leadership style and they’re extremely loyal to their previous team leader who was a big personality, hands-on, very charismatic. She was extremely supportive of them, individually, and they were quite dependent on her. She left suddenly and they miss her. So, I’m starting from a pretty challenging position. So how am I going to approach this? … OK, I know I can’t just walk in and take over and expect everything to be fine. There will be issues. It won’t be confrontational – that’s not my style. But there are two things I need to do, and they’re going to take time. The first is to establish my authority with them as team leader. But I need to get them to accept my authority, not force it on them, so they in a sense give me permission to lead them. I need to get to know them individually, find out what motivates them, and consult them on key decisions. I’ll have to be consistent in my expectations and feedback, and just generally make them feel valued. Unless I can instil confidence in them that I’m up to the job, and that I have the interests of the whole team at heart, it won’t work. Secondly, I have to get them to work as a team again. It won’t be easy. Essentially, I have to try to build a culture of trust between the individual team members. I sense that at the moment they don’t have this, that they’re all competing with each other. I need to find a way to get them to work together. I don’t know exactly how this will happen, not yet, but it’s essential for me to develop a sense of cohesion within the team. Otherwise nothing will change and the team will continue to fail.

Audio 10.2

Conversation

Bruce I’d spent fifteen years as a manufacturing engineer, eight of them as a manager. And suddenly here I was, co-leading the team that would design a new fuselage for our latest passenger plane. The technical demands were awesome: stretch the plane by eight metres, add lots of functionality, do it in less than two years. The human demands were just as challenging – my job was to coordinate the work of 300 team members. Most of them didn’t report directly to me, almost none of them knew me very well – and vice versa. It’s a kind of daunting prospect! The first thing was, I had to establish my credibility. I had lots of credibility as an engineer, but now I was responsible for all kinds of areas that weren’t in my background. 95% of my people get their pay-checks from other departments, so all I can do is influence them. I realized pretty quickly that what the experts say is true. Team leaders don’t lead teams: they lead a collection of individuals with different strengths and weaknesses, different workstyle preferences … There’s no way you can get a team to work together unless you learn how to work with each person on a one-on-one basis. You have to deal with people based on how they want you to deal with them – that’s how you get them to follow you. It’s about generating mutual respect. Look, if you want to exert influence over hundreds of different people, few of whom work for you directly, the only way is to work with them on an informal basis – walk around, ask how it’s going. But do it subtly, in a noninterventionist kind of way. Avoid the temptation to micromanage. It’s easy to criticize people if you don’t understand their roles and their constraints. Take a step back. Most people want to do a good job. You have to let them know that you’re there to help, not just to tell them what to do. I basically have one message to everyone on the team – it’s designed to reinforce a sense of team spirit and collaboration: ‘We’re all here to build airplanes. If the plane could talk, what would it tell us to do? And what can we do to make that happen?’ But I also make sure that I recognize individual achievement within the group. Let me give you an example. Recently, one of my engineers was taking his time authorizing a decision. I said I’d get him a dozen doughnuts if he’d deliver the signed form that day. At 4.00 p.m. it was on my desk. He got his doughnuts the next morning. It was neat to see the look in his eyes, like, ‘You really did that?’.

Audio 10.3

Conversation Part 1

Jim OK, you’re all aware that a decision was taken at last week’s strategy meeting that affects all of us. I hope you’ve read the briefing document … Yes? Good, so you know what’s involved. I understand you may feel it doesn’t address your particular situation, and that’s part of the reason I’m here. I’m sure you have quite a few questions and concerns, and I’ll do my best to answer them. But first off, let me bring you up to speed on some of the key points. As you know, it has been agreed that we are going to combine our e-banking systems into a single integrated network – this involves the creation of what is called a ‘middle layer’ to the network, enabling us to bring all our applications together. What this will allow us to do is offer our clients a more personalized and customized service – something we couldn’t do before. Another great thing about this development is that it will allow us to grow our business in our core markets more rapidly. We can get our applications and new products into the market more quickly and more cost-effectively – which is obviously good for the business as a whole. There may be some short-term inconvenience during the implementation and the switchover phase, but it will be well worth the investment. In the longer term, the benefits are clear. We all know that this is a competitive sector – our customers want a fast, efficient service, and this is going to allow us to provide this and to stay ahead of the competition. So, you and your teams are crucial to the success of this strategy. That’s why I want to involve you now in planning the implementation process at a local level. It is proposed that we hold a series of seminars for team leaders at the regional training centres well in advance, to ensure that everyone is familiar with the system and the procedures. If we’re going to succeed, we need to realize that we’re all in this together. Each one of you has a key role to play in making the new system work. What I need you to do, first of all, is to commit to making this project a success. If you are committed, your teams will realize that and they’ll get behind it. I’d like to see all of you being proactive and taking a lead in this. Set up regular meetings or teleconferences, to share ideas and coordinate your plans. I’d also like you to work together to develop a schedule for training – familiarizing your teams with the new applications and how they work. Another way you can help is by keeping your team informed, and asking them for their ideas and opinions. I would encourage all of you to do this. Make them feel involved, make them feel that their views count – which they do. Well, now, I’m sure you have some concerns, so let’s just talk about …

Audio 10.4

Conversation part 2

Jessica Jim, I’d like to raise an issue – I imagine it’s something all of us are worried about. I understand the reasons for upgrading the system, that’s clear, but I’m slightly concerned about the timing and its effect on my team. Will we have enough time to prepare properly? And will there be an increase in workload? I wonder if you have any information about this?

Jim Well, I understand your concerns, but I think we need to look at the positive side. We’ve been given a deadline of the 30th of September, which is still more than three months away. As I understand it, the switch over to the new system will be coordinated centrally and you’ll be briefed about it well in advance – so it shouldn’t have an impact on the way you work. As long as your team have had the training in time, I don’t think you need to worry.

Thomas Well, that’s something I wanted to mention. You said you wanted us to work together, and I like the idea of regular meetings and sharing ideas, but I’m not very happy about having to schedule and coordinate the training for my team. I don’t really feel I have the expertise to do this. Can you give us an assurance that we’ll get the appropriate level of support?

Jim Of course. That’s a valid point, but again I really don’t see this as a problem. My understanding is that you will receive all the instructions and materials you need to help you implement this.

Thomas Yeah, well … I guess that should be OK. But I also have some concerns about the impact on customers. I mean, how do we ensure that we continue to provide a proper service? What assurances can you give us that it will work?

Anna That’s a good point. And can we address the issue of costs and budgeting? I think the basic idea is good, but I have some reservations about the cost implications. I mean, whose money are we talking about here? Are there any guarantees that we won’t be asked to contribute to this out of our operational budgets?

Jim Well, I understand where you’re coming from, of course. The core investment comes from central funding, obviously. It’s been suggested that the regional centres should contribute a certain amount of the training costs, on the basis that this will be recouped in increased business later on …

Anna What?

Jim Yes. I’ve been told that the costs need to be shared around. Apparently the intention is to make everyone’s lives easier and better – including yours. Anyway, the decision has already been made. I know it’s not great, but come on, let’s give this a chance to work.

Audio 10.5

Conversation 1

A So what did you think of the meeting?

B I thought it was quite productive. But to be honest with you, I think there are still some things to sort out.

A Oh? Such as?

B Well, for example, we still don’t really know how the new assessment system will work in practice. And personally speaking, I don’t see how we can agree to something that we haven’t even been consulted about.

A You’re not in favour of the changes then?

B It’s not that. I’m actually quite enthusiastic about them. But it’s the lack of proper consultation, the lack of any real discussion. I have to say I find that quite difficult to accept.

A Yes, I can understand that …

Conversation 2

A I was interested in what you said earlier about working in Kenya.

B Yes, it was a good experience for me, especially so early in my career. I learned a lot.

A What did you like about it in particular?

B Well, the people were fantastic – positive, friendly, incredibly hard-working. But what I really liked was the independence. It was just me and a team of locals in the field office – I was accountable to Head Office, of course, but I was pretty much free to make my own decisions.

A Even so, it must have been challenging at times?

B It was challenging, yeah. But to tell you the truth, I really enjoyed it. To be perfectly honest, I’m not particularly good at working in a big team. I much prefer to be my own boss.

A I can see that that would have been quite attractive. So … how does it feel to be back at the centre of things?

B Honestly? It’s fine, the job’s good, but what I’d really like to do is run my own operation, my own projects, with no … well, interference. That would be even better.

A Yes, I know what you mean …

Conversation 3

A You were saying earlier that you’d been on a team-building course.

B Yes, the whole weekend.

A I heard some people thought it was a waste of time.

B Yeah, well … maybe. Personally, I think that’s down to their attitude.

A What do you mean?

B Well, I look at it like this: you get out of these things what you put into them.

A You mean, if you approach it positively, you’ll get something positive back?

B Exactly. And vice versa. Even if you aren’t 100% sure, at least give it a try.

A So …?

B Look, my attitude is, if you expect something to be a bad experience, you go in expecting it to be pointless, chances are it will be – for you. Don’t get me wrong, I know when something’s not working. But I do think I have the ability to make the most of my opportunities. It’s one of my strengths.

A Well, good for you.

B Yeah … look, anyway, how was your weekend?