Executive Coaching in China

A week ago, I went to speak at the 4th Leadership and Executive Coaching Conference in China. The event was hosted by Mindspan Leadership and Executive Coaching, a company with the largest and most trusted Executive Coaching footprint in China. The Event took place in Shanghai, and the attendants were a mixture of executive coaches and companies. The goal of the conference is to explore what competencies, skills, and traits must leaders develop to meet the demands of the new China. Moreover, how can Executive Coaching can enable leaders and teams to develop and cope with the challenges ahead?

 Here are my thoughts on the event. 

1- It was eye opening

I have visited, lived or worked in 37 countries. I always had an idea of what to expect and was rarely surprised. My trip to China was eye-opening, I was not expecting to see the progress, the forward thinking and most importantly the hunger to succeed and get better from the conference attendants including coaches and executives. 

2- There are lots of opportunities and challenges

The first day of the conference was marked by talks of several industry leaders. These highlighted a mixture of national pride and the need to continue improving and making a mark in the world. The highlight of the day, I thought, was in a couple of slides presented. One slide was a map of the world showing the extent in which Chinese companies have reached. Then, a slide showing a series of foreign companies built on the principles of well-known Chinese companies. 

3- Millennials are taking the growth helm 

In the conference, as attendants and presenters, there were a variety of young, eager entrepreneurs. People that are not afraid to fail. Unlike previous generations, as mentioned by one speaker in the conference, failing was seen as something that would completely break an individual. Interestingly, there were not many differences between the Chinese Millennials and their American counterparts. They are more likely to take risks, and young Chinese entrepreneurs are making their presence known and are launching successful companies, almost overnight. 

4- The theme of the conference was to build High-performance Organizations 

The challenges are various: Chinese leaders need to adopt a bigger Global Mindset which includes diversity. They need to Engage Employees effectively, but more Employee Engagement research needs to be done taking into account cultural differences. Leaders must develop the ability to empower, motivate and elevate employees in traditional hierarchical organizations. Finally, leadership development needs to be raised to the strategic level. 

5- Executive Coaching is playing a major role

Executive Coaching is taking big leaps in China, the development of individual leaders that will influence entire organizations is being recognized and encouraged. Companies, Chinese or not, are taking steps to develop the next generation of leaders and also nurturing change in current leaders. However, their main question is: How do we get people ready to be globally aware, culturally sensitive, agile, ethical, and collaborative?. Traits that future and current Chinese business leaders need in growing abundance? 

The answer, might not be as complicated as one might think. In fact, companies are already moving away from traditional leadership development structure and rigid career paths. They are adopting a, “let’s just get them ready to cope with a rapidly changing landscape, today” philosophy. Leaders are not born but groomed by the experiences they are thrown into or the ones they consciously go after. Mindspan Leadership is at the forefront of the Executive Coaching industry in China, a service that most likely will continue to grow. 

There were so many things to admire in China, including their leadership style. However, much needs to be done and adapted to the high pace of progress that China is currently experiencing. The 4th Leadership and Executive Coaching Conference has provided a view of the opportunities and challenges Chinese companies are facing. The next step involves creating effective solutions and development practices that can make a difference in China and Chinese companies operating globally. Executive Coaching is and will be making a bigger contribution in how Chinese businesses adapt and evolve. 

Overall, it was a great experience, and I hope that I can go back and experience more of that beautiful country. 

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Luis Velasquez is an Executive Coach living in Silicon Valley. Follow him on Twitter, @luis1_velasquez.  For some of his other posts, see his business blog at www.velasconsulting.com and his book blog at www.beyondthefear.com