The frustrated manager who said this…was Indian! But he had worked his whole career in the US and was not in touch with what motivated Indian team members to share the good, bad and the ugly with their remote manager.

Walk the talk! Give them time to analyze before committing.

In Charis Working with India programs, Western team leaders ask how to get their India team members to take more individual initiative, make clear commitments (does ‘yes’ mean yes?), and be willing to admit problems early.

Charis recommends these gold nuggets Westerners can apply to build trust and motivate more collaboration across the distance and difference with Indian teams.

1. “Analyze before Commit” – This golden rule for Indian engineers prioritizes being accurate, first and foremost. Pressuring them to estimate a distant delivery date can be an unsuccessful exercise for everyone, as they may indulge in people pleasing behavior and state a delivery date they are not able to meet. Give the Indian team members time to analyze the task or project and come back with their commitment and requirements. Have frequent check-ins per week, to be sure the project is on track, and there is no deadline slippage.
2. Harmony is crucial; avoid embarrassment, anger, confrontation. – Some will be quite assertive and talkative, while others may be quite reserved; whatever the personality, respect in this collectivist culture is crucial.  Even if you feel frustration or anger, don’t show it outwardly. Maintain your composure, Indians will continue communicating with you and increase their respect for you.
3. Identify decision-makers. – Generally, authority and decision-making is retained at high levels in the organization. If you’re not getting action from your Indian counterpart, escalating can get results.
4. Circle back 3x to check “yes”, understanding, or buy-in. – Indian conversation style is often circular, revisiting a topic to add more info, clarify, read between the lines, insist a bit to get an agreement. Particularly in a culture where it is rude to say “no”, circling back is the best way to clarify a hesitant yes into a clear commitment or a verified negative.
5. Build teamwork with explicit instruction. – A common complaint from Indian team members is that Americans “throw instructions over the wall”, meaning cryptic directions are emailed at the end of the US work day, and are not substantive enough for Indians to know what needs to be done. Often Indians will avoid the risk of inaccurate actions, and delays ensue. Give clear, detailed, step-by-step procedures.
6. Be conscious of rank in the room. – Junior staff will usually not disagree or speak up in a meeting with higher ranking members present. It is useful to ask individual team members what they think on a particular issue. This tactic encourages them to speak up, and let them know that their opinions matter. If you still need the junior staff’s input, follow up with a one-on-one communication.
7. Give the “big picture”. – Spending the time up front to discuss the context in which the work will be done gives Indians the logical framework in which their tasks make sense. Share the strategy, project goal, client relationship, inter-departmental dependencies or other “big picture” context, and you may save a lot of time clarifying why and how later on.
8. Be friendly, flexible, and have a network of Indian contacts (work & social). – In interviews and training with over 400 Indian engineers, software and IT professionals, Charis finds that “Career opportunity, open communication, direct approach to solving problems, and friendly relationships” are most highly valued, consistently, among Indians in high tech. Indian culture, cuisine, cricket, education, entrepreneurship, and democracy are points of pride that you can explore when motivating Indian team members.
9. Role Model: Walk the talk! – If the team values risk-taking, be explicit about your expectations for initiative and risk taking. Be a risk taker, and praise openly the risk taking that has been exhibited by team members.
10. Story telling works wonders. – Share personal work experiences of any problem solving methods you employed. Let your team members know of any projects/situations that are similar to the one you are working on and some of the key learning you have gleaned from experience.

Next! To expand your knowledge and skills in working with Indians and other cultures in global teams, request more resources and contact Anjali Rao, Manager India Practice or Ashok Mathur, Manager India Strategy at info@chariscorp.com or call 925.931.0555

“We’ve encountered ‘elastic truth’ in this project. Can we trust them?”

“We’re hiring in Country X, are there specific COI (Conflict of Interest) issues to include in employee orientation?”

Ethical dilemmas occur for us all, but when crossing cultures the “right behavior” can be fraught with ambiguity, differing legal systems, loyalty and duty to friends/family, fears, and ignorance or misunderstanding of concepts that are challenging to translate.  “Open communications and a willingness to raise difficult issues are more critical ethics determinants than knowing whether there is a helpline,” says behavioral ethics specialist David Gebler. Leading ethical practices globally can be done with a formula of Understanding + Application + Monitoring.

Understanding: Ethics is based on values, and knowing the values and context shared among employees is the right starting place for common understanding.  For example, employees in Vietnam may experience strong family pressure to hire relatives, a norm in business. In India, have you heard of “off the record compensation”?

Ashok Mathur shares an illustrative example in India. Prior to the economic liberalization that occurred in 1991, India had punitively high income taxes and low ceilings on managerial income. As a consequence, many organizations compensated management by giving them tax free perquisites and sometimes “off the record compensation”. These practices, from an American perspective, would be unethical and even illegal. Even though the business environment in India has changed, and it is not necessary to compensate management using dubious compensation practices, the tradition continues in many organizations, and is not regarded as unethical. It would be prudent for multinational organizations to discuss all aspects and limits of compensation, have leaders role model company ethics, and be vigilant to ensure that traditional compensation practices do not creep into their India organizations.

Application: After “understanding” policies, even taking tests in online training on compliance, employees don’t always make the connection to real ethical dilemmas, and may continue unethical practices (copying intellectual property, asking for kickbacks from suppliers, falsifying receipts, etc.)  At Charis we have found employees “get it” when trained with realistic scenarios, specific to their country and job role, then engaged in discussions to examine the ethical dilemma from a different points of view, including the organization’s stance. The legal (local and U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) and company consequences are made explicit. Areas we have helped clients with include Conflict of Interest*, Intellectual Property, Financial or Expense Reporting, Kickbacks, Falsifying Records, Hiring of Relatives, and Discrimination – from various cultural aspects.  Once unethical behavior has occurred, there are benefits to having an outside 3^rd party consultant who can gain the trust and respect of the group, conduct interviews with confidentiality, deliver ethics training in the local language, and report the suggestions of the employees back to leadership to build more open communication and avoid future infractions.

Monitoring: Support ethical behaviors with channels of communication, and monitoring systems that show leaders are serious about ethics. Some best practices for leaders include:

• Lead with personal commitment,  and share stories of how you have dealt with ethical dilemmas
• Be fully informed of the local laws and traditions where you are operating
• Investigate and address unethical behavior swiftly and fairly
• Use written tests for hiring positions(avoid hiring based on loyalty) and change tests frequently
• Per Diems instead of reimbursed receipts
• Help line to report anonymously
• Consistent expense reporting practices, with questionable receipts non-reimbursed
• Discuss ethics regularly with subordinates, explore team members’ challenges, don’t wait for a crisis

We do our employees, colleagues and business partners a service by discussing how we will “do the right thing” from a culturally informed position. While it helps to get things in writing, most cultures want to hear what you believe, and watch how you operate in challenging situations. Listen with openness, check assumptions, and be aware of the limitations to your flexibility.  Leaders can support success by their commitment to personal responsibility, honesty and fairness, and convey this in clear policies in the local language with consistent fair monitoring.

Evelyn, a Baling hou, aspires to be a stock broker.

Growing up in modern China, China’s Baling hou are characterized by their optimism for the future, excitement for consumerism and entrepreneurship, openness to the West, and acceptance of their historic role in transforming China into an economic superpower. Broadly speaking, these young people from mostly one-child families are known to be independent, competitive, ambitious, brand-conscious, eager learners, tech-savvy, and enjoying the comforts they earn…now! Companies are experiencing turnover and wage compression when Baling hou seek higher salaries (wages increased 34% in the last 3 years), bonuses, promotions and perqs. How to motivate and retain Chinese young talent in your team? Charis recommends 10 Points to lead your team in China.

1. Listen, socialize, get to know Chinese employees individually. – Some will be quite assertive, want opportunities to demo their work in front of others, and ask you personal questions. Others may be quite reserved, and you will need to draw them into conversation. Used to a lot of attention from adults, Baling hou say a close relationship with their manager is a big motivator. When visiting China, go to lunch, dinner or karaoke – great settings to build relationships.
2. Communicate clearly, slowly, simply. – Remember this rule of thumb (for speaking or email) – One major point per sentence. If you have more than 3 related points, number them. Proofread and remove business or sports jargon (e.g., Let’s ramp up the roll out!) or slang. If you’re a fast talker, just think, “If this conversation were in Chinese, how fast would I want THEM to talk to ME?”
3. Circle back 3x to check understanding or buy-in. – Chinese conversation style is often circular, revisiting a topic to give the opportunity to add or perceive information. Never ask, “Do you understand?” (it is insulting; besides, you’ll probably get a “yes” no matter what). If you ask for clarification or commitment 3 different ways on the same point, Chinese will know it is a priority for you, and increasingly disclose their understanding or commitment.
4. Build teamwork through assignments and explicit instruction. Beware of their competitiveness and “connecting the dots.” – A common experience among these young people is not having shared with siblings, and needing to excel at extremely competitive national exams (gao kao). While older generations of Chinese are “collectivist”, many Baling hou do not find teamwork so natural. Avoid intra-team competition with very clear, structured role assignments, accountability to the manager, explicit assignment for task/project leadership, while giving guidance for steps and limits to taking initiative. Structure carefully who is “To” and who is “Cc” in emails; that is part of the message Baling hou will infer.
5. Earn respect, with predictable behavior. – Send agendas, plans, slide decks ahead of meetings, so they can prepare questions and contributions, check the English, and gain confidence to speak up. Don’t surprise them by calling on them in a meeting, when they are not expecting to report project status or findings.
6. Find a Chinese mentor, a senior engineer to guide you. – David Wan says, “China is not another country, it’s another world!” Spending a few hours a month with a Chinese mentor, one who can explain the challenges, hopes, pressures and assumptions operating in your team, can save you hours of repairing communication, rework, or new recruiting.
7. Start projects small, build with patience. – A Chinese value that has not changed is mian-zi “face”. Building success patiently, in small steps, is critical for Baling hou who want to succeed but are still learning the job, business practices, etc.
8. Plan more F2F time for coaching, accountability and guidance. – A “hands on” management style (some U.S. would call it micro-managing) is the norm for Chinese managers, and I’ve experienced being managed this way by Chinese clients. The message to Chinese reports is a) show me deliverables step by step (I’ll trust you after you deliver); b) I care about your work and you (relationship); and c) you and I will be held accountable, let’s avoid mistakes (don’t lose face).
9. Be careful what you ask for – they may be too compliant. – Many Baling hou have taken big risks to follow their dreams, and obeyed their parents to study and work hard. Some fresh college graduates assume that a manager knows best, want to please him/her, and will say “yes” to a project, deadline, or a teambuilding activity beyond their ability. Remember #3, circle back with specific questions. One client had a swimming event, only to find that two people jumped into the water and did not know how to swim!
10. Role model your Corporate Culture values; they aspire to lead by your example. – In interviews and training with over 600 Baling hou at software and semiconductor companies, Charis associate Amy Miao reports that “Open communication, direct and assertive style, quick reaction to solving problems, and fair/equal opportunity” are highly valued consistently among young Chinese high tech professionals. They are watching how their managers handle technological, ethical and human relations situations, to become good leaders one day themselves.

Next! To expand your knowledge and skills in working with Chinese of all generations, or request more resources, contact Charis at info@chariscorp.com or call 925.931.0555

As an interculturalist, it is always interesting to me to see the cultural aspects to these responses. The first response – I want to end this untenable situation by removing the offending party – is focusing on ending the problem immediately. It is “present-oriented” and resolves the problem quickly. The second response – I want to end this untenable situation through acknowledging contributions – requires much more energy and communication than the first. This response is “future-oriented” and suggests that all team members remain, but work be done to ensure the future of the team through communication and acknowledging resulting hardships from the conflict.

Most interculturalists would bet that the first response comes from someone from an individualistic culture, one that focuses on personal rights and immediate consequences that might even end the relationship. They would probably bet that the second response comes from someone of a collectivist culture, one that focuses on harmony within the team and solving issues so that the relationship will grow. This is a critical difference: some cultures focus on the individual and some cultures focus on the group.

Oh, and one more thing. As the mediator, don’t forget your own cultural filters. You will be seeing the “facts” through your cultural filters which might cause you to unconsciously favor one side over another.

When you manage a multicultural team or group, consider these simple suggestions for mediating a conflict:

1. Do your homework before the mediation meeting.
   Research each cultures’ orientation with regard to “individualism” and “collectivism” (including your own culture) so that you will have prior knowledge of some cultural values of each culture. A web tool to compare countries on this cultural dimension at http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html.   GOAL: increase your understanding of, and sensitivity to, the influence of culture in a conflict.
2. Start the meeting by asking each party to describe the resolution that they want. �
   Engage the parties in a discussion about the differences, focusing on the value that drives the expectation. You may find that each party has the same value (respect, for instance) but the behavior that each party associates with respect may be different. GOAL: find cultural commonalities as a way to connect the  parties at a deep level.
3. If the parties have the same or a similar value, facilitate the mediation by periodically referring back to it.
   When both parties have the same value, even though the behavior associated with the value is different, use that “value connection” as a way to encourage discussion about differences in behavior.  GOAL: take the focus off the behaviors that drove the conflict and onto the realm of understanding where the conflict began. Here is where potential resolution will begin.

Jacqueline Oliveira, M.A.,  is Director of Global Teams Practice at Charis and can be reached at info@chariscorp.com

A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble. - Mohandas Gandhi

Its 9:00 p.m in Mountain View, California (USA) and you are on what feels like a never ending teleconference call with your team in Chennai, India. After the presentation, you ask, so do we all agree to this deadline? Chances are you may get silence, and then again, chances are that you may just get a Yes. Does that mean Yes-I-agree? Maybe, then again, maybe not!

In almost 90% of the Working with India training sessions I conduct, this question/issue poses problems of mistrust and miscommunication in the team. A lot of the trainees feel frustration and confusion when they hear a Yes but don’t see the required action and follow-through. There could be a variety of reasons why this is happening like prevalent organizational hierarchy, propensity to please, insecurity regarding one’s role in the team etc.

The 3 Cs: Talking with Indian managers over the years, I’ve gleaned these 3C’s recommendations and best practices for you when working with Indians:

1. Clarify, clarify, and clarify roles and responsibilities, available resources of headcount, access to tools, and dates for milestones and deliverables.
2. Communicate expectations and give the Big Picture i.e., what happens when they miss a deadline and how that can impact the team and other stakeholders’ goals.
3. Create a “safe” environment where risk-averse employees can “think outside the box”, provide ingenious solutions and feel protected even they make mistakes.

In a country full of paradoxes, Gandhi’s quote above is the inspirational ideal sparking millions of people to say No during the Independence movement. But deep set hierarchical values can give rise to Yes still producing misunderstanding. By being truly open to the cultural diversity impacting communication, and using the 3Cs, you can earn trust and a solid YES! commitment from Indian employees.

Three engineers, an Asian-American, an Indian and a European-American manager rescue a web programming application, but almost fail in the process.  It takes the combination of each culture’s approach to assemble diverse engineering knowledge in the organization and create a breakthrough in time to launch the high priority software.

Case Study

I’m Rick, an Asian-American software engineer, who was asked to work on and take over a web programming application that had not launched. Over chat and email, my manager, Dave (a White American), said that this was an important project to start right away, and I trusted that he would give me the project scope, requirements, and necessary resources from the previous owner.

Lost in Limbo
A month passed without an official meeting to pass on the project from its previous owners. Requirements remained very vague, so I continued to work on my other projects. After two months, pressure came from Dave’s manager to release the web application with some new project requirements and an aggressive date. Now I was under pressure, but didn’t have the capability or experience to deliver the project on my own. I brought my concerns to Dave, but he could not get additional resources. His response was to finish it as soon as possible, with a “get it done!” attitude. Tejinder, an Indian engineer also reporting to Dave, noted the situation.

Rick Plays it Safe
I’m a quiet, reserved kind of person. I dedicate hours of my own time to gather data, test new methods, and prepare recommendations to fellow team members. I don’t take many risks; better to get consensus among the team before investing time in a new process or before heading in a completely new direction. I like to work in smaller teams, or alone. I would stick up for friends and save face, never put them on the spot by announcing something to a larger audience when it wasn’t finished. I dreaded the loss of face if I disappointed everybody.

Teijinder’s Plugged-in Style
Tejinder offered to help me, and his extensive network went into action. He knows what’s going on in the organization, gets information from friends, family and colleagues during a discussion on another project or at a team off site. He takes risks to discover new opportunities, which have appeared to me as meddling in areas that didn’t concern him. He tends to start working on new tasks as soon as possible, and may be involved in multiple projects at once, often doing favors for others to strengthen relationships.

Tejinder helped to get things moving by advocating the value of my project to a wider audience, scheduling meetings with engineers in other teams he’d worked with in the past. He was having lunch with the intern coordinator and they discussed my programming project, and Tejinder discovered that two interns were available to help.

Dave Accelerates
Dave had been at the company many years, and tended to focus on each project in isolation. As pressure rose, Dave decided to email other managers, requesting volunteers and a design mentor for me, and while a bit late in the game, successfully recruited these resources.

Multicultural Teamwork
It was challenging for me to work with the ideas and new approaches a troupe of volunteers, interns, and a mentor, but their input was what I needed. My initial design was rejected by management. Back to my resources, we reworked it, persistence paid off, and I found an existing program (used for another project) that contained a core piece of code that could be adapted to this project.

I reevaluated my earlier impressions of Dave and Teijinder. Was Dave such a successful project manager, when he accepted this project without the talent or time to accomplish it? Was Teijinder over-extended with multiple projects, when he could leverage these resources so skillfully during my high pressure project? Should I have been more assertive with Dave, managing him to get clearer requirements at the beginning?

• We welcome your comments on this Case Study.
• To see how this case study ended for Rick, Dave and Teijinder, go to Epilogue. 

 Cultural Factors

What are the cultural factors operating in this case?

Rick, Asian-American Engineer

• Careful to take well calculated risks, willing to work very hard
• Communication style is indirect, expects others will see his needs
• Team player, prefers to work with small circle of known friends
• Will defend his friends to save face, would like the same done for him

Dave, European-American Manager

• Believes in working your way up the corporate ladder
• Communication style is direct, challenges others to support their points
• Results-oriented, competitive, very time conscious
• Patriotic, respects authority

Teijinder, Indian Engineer

•  Believes hard work and ingenuity will bring success
• Communication style is direct, debates and gives opinion in meetings
• Respects elders, often does favors, has many social connections
• Can be involved in multiple projects and tasks at once

Intercultural Strategy to Resolve the Situation

 How could they work more effectively together? 

Rick, Asian-American Engineer, to work more effectively with Dave:

• Initiative: Take more leadership, request a formal project hand-off  from Dave. Build alliances to generate future support and influence.
• Analysis: Pro-actively identify and gather your requirements; use data to “speak Dave’s language.”
• Planning: Show the amount of resources (skills, man-hours) needed beyond Rick’s capability.  
• Communication: Be direct, let Dave know what factors were slowing down progress.

Dave, European-American Manager, to work more effectively with Rick:

• Trust: Create transparency, reduce ambiguity and anticipate requirements by creating a detailed plan that they both can agree on. This will eliminate surprises, and build Rick’s confidence in himself and in his manager.
• Leading: Generate enthusiasm for your group, influence peer and higher level stakeholders earlier.
• Career Development for Rick: Encourage Rick to expand his network for broader contribution and visibility across the organization. Recommend training to build his skills in the direction the company is going.

Epilogue

What happened in the end? Did this situation get resolved? 

Prototype Released, Happier Team

Trust within Dave’s team strengthened, and Rick felt a lot more confident with a consensus on the goals of the project and transparency on what the deliverables were. With Tejinder’s help, insight, and active discussion to bring more attention to the project, Rick’s concerns decreased. Dave found Rick a mentor with experience building similar web applications. The project moved along much better than it started, and a prototype application was released by the target date. With this team composed of three different cultures, the perception of the project and the happiness of team greatly improved.

Presentation at Asian Professional Women in Technology, Silicon Valley
by Anjali Rao and Marian Stetson-Rodriguez

To download, click on the link below.

  Lead Breakthroughs Across Borders-Trust

Both ethnic (Italian and US) and functional (Sales vs. Engineering) cultures clash when trying to construct a winning proposal for a client’s photovoltaic system. With meetings running long, deadlines shifting, and procedures changing, there are challenges and cultural misunderstandings for this technical – business team to get the proposal finished by the deadline.

Case Study

We were creating a proposal for a photovoltaic system for a client. I, John, was working on the technical portion of it with an Italian business development manager named Enzo who was working the sales/financial portion. My boss assigned the proposal to me and interacts on a regular basis with Enzo’s boss. He gave us one deadline and didn’t assign who was the lead on the proposal. This caused us both to share the lead on our own parts, however each of our parts relied on the other’s to complete. Often I’d be waiting on him to get his part to me, like when he needed to get the costs from our suppliers so I could decide which equipment to use on the project. He would promise to give the supplier a call, but didn’t give me a timeframe of when I could expect those prices.

Many of the problems that arose during our work were based on culture. Since Enzo is Italian, I could see how he values reason, family ties, charisma, and freedom. I noticed right away the importance of his family when he showed me pictures during our first meeting, and his emotional style with gestures is very charismatic. As an American engineer, I value time (quicker the better), work-life balance, competition, and challenges. I like keeping my work and social life separate so I don’t think Enzo appreciated it when I didn’t really open up. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so closed off, but I found Enzo’s style intrusive.

Enzo was very social which really helps in sales, but didn’t help him keep on time to meetings. In meetings he was constantly answering his cell or stepping out to talk to a colleague. The meeting could be scheduled for just an hour, but by the time we got through everything with the interruptions it would last a couple hours. In meetings with clients, Enzo was all business and would take control of the meeting. I wished I got the same respect in our meetings as he gave to the clients. I constantly had to reschedule other meetings and apologize to other coworkers for my tardiness.

Soon Enzo and I were having heated discussions over deadlines. I wasn’t given much notice on any of the deadlines because he would discuss timelines with the client without informing me. He would then ask me for things when he got around to it which would put me in a pinch for time. His attitude was always carefree, as if there were endless amounts of time, even if a deadline was approaching.

I would put all my information that Enzo needed in a report or email, but he still felt the need to come by and discuss it with me. Sales are always “running” around, traveling, working long hours, and multitasking as if everything they are doing is highly important and has to be finished right now. As an engineer I like procedures, agendas, and working on one task at a time which wasn’t a good fit with Enzo’s seat of the pants style.

To see how this case study ended, go to Epilogue

Cultural Attributes

John, U.S. Engineer

• Linear organization of time, punctuality and deadlines are valued
• Builds rapport by focusing on the work that they share
• Respect is felt when his time is used within expected boundaries (punctual start times, enough time to meet deadlines)
• Roles are assumed to by same level on the project “different by equal”

Enzo, Italian Sales Manager

• Fluid and overlapping (multi-tasking) organization of time with team mates, but punctual for clients
• Builds rapport by blending social and personal with work
• Assumes higher rank (due to manager title and relationship with client), so he leads the project and John
• Agility is valued, enabling one to respond to people and situations creatively with excitement rather than stress.

Intercultural Strategy

John, U.S. Engineer, to work more effectively with Enzo:

• Rapport: Be more open, personally, so Enzo can get to know me and feel comfortable with who he is working with.
• Meetings: In meetings, I will have a mental idea of what I want to cover, but expect him to jump around on topics. To reduce my stress level, I will leave more time after our meetings to account for them running long, and bring my computer so I can work while he is on the phone or running late.
• Email: Give him a paper/email, not assume he will read it, and expect to discuss it. The paper trail will be my way of tracking that I completed my portion.
• Deadlines: I will try to get a commitment from him, and remind him whenever I pass him in the hall. If this doesn’t work, then I can go to my boss and ask him to lay down some milestones (although this would be a last resort.)

Enzo, Italian Sales Manager, to work more effectively with John:

• Rapport: Talk about the roles we have, and how I expect to lead this project. Let John know about other projects I’m working, their importance, and how that can impact our project.
• Meetings: Set up a calendar of project meetings, and notify John if I will be late.
• Email: Let John know whether you prefer phone calls to email.
• Deadlines: Set milestones and discuss them with John as they approach, inform him ahead of time if deadlines need to change.

Epilog

RFP Deadline Met, How about a Beer?

In the end, we got the RFP completed and submitted on time, although I was a little stressed by the end of it all. However, Enzo seemed completely at ease and satisfied with how it turned out.  I asked him if we could discuss it. He agreed but said it had to be over beers because we had to celebrate the completion. Over beers I explained how I needed more guidelines for tasks, and he laughed a bit and said “You need to roll with it more!” He made me realize how everything did work out without sticking to straight path. By understanding his Italian culture and multi-active personality I know what to expect and feel better prepared to work with him again in the future. I hope that I can keep learning from his style because it will be great asset when I move into a management position at work.