SynCEO ep9: Gaining trust from stakeholders for new Principal & Manager level

Question 1: As MFV grows, we are welcoming more senior leaders. Coming in as a new leader or principal is uniquely difficult because you have to earn trust from the people above you, beside you, and below you. How do you define “trust” for a new seniors entering MFV?

Emma's Answer: In general, a management job is interesting. Because you have the chance to consider team synergy and also the team's growth. Your team members grow as well. This is a very precious moment. But at the same time, most importantly, the reality. If you have just a manager title or a leader title, people might not trust you so much or immediately. 

Trust is generated time by time. 

But at the beginning, maybe your members try to understand you, who you are, how you care about the members, and how you make decisions. But if they can start to understand your intention, or your way of leadership, your commitment, and maybe your consistency, then trust begins to build. This process itself is also one of the precious leadership moments, I think.

Question 2: When a new leader steps into MFV. The challenge is not proving their expertise immediately. It is blending their leadership trait to MFV culture. What is your advice on how they should actually go about gaining the trust of their new team and stakeholders?

Emma's Answer: This is also a very important part. My idea is, first, to observe and listen carefully. The people surrounding you. Your members and your stakeholders. Understand the team and your stakeholders. This is the first step to generating or building trust with your people. Then, your idea, or way of thinking, or your direction, or your leadership style will be shared openly and transparently. This could be the second step. Try to be visible and predictable as much as possible. And then maybe your members and stakeholders will be relieved and also understand you more clearly. Trust doesn't come from just one big action, but is built through small steps. Gaining trust is not something ultra-shortcut. But every day's small action is important. 

Question 3: MFV is a unique bridge between Vietnamese engineering talent and Japanese business stakeholders. In your experience, does “trust” look different across these two cultures, and how can our members navigate that difference?

Emma's Answer: Because we are a diversified team. We have teams in Japan, Vietnam, and India as well. We have multi-cross-border collaboration. So in a cross-cultural environment, trust could often be misunderstood. For example, being direct may be seen as honest in some cultures, but in another culture it can be seen as aggressive, and this is not really polite. Being indirect is polite in some cultures, but in some other cultures, this is just unclear or vague.

The first step is to recognize these differences. But then, the next step is to be aligned. Especially in cross-cultural communication, if you try not to have clear communication, the other side cannot get the point correctly. So direct communication is one of the solutions to understand each other clearly. We will set up this kind of like mutual agreement. Direct communication is not attacking yourself or less respect. This is just because we want to achieve our goal and target.

I sometimes encourage the use of the 5WH1H communication model: What, who, where, when, why, and how. Because in some cultures, ASAP is possible within one hour. But in another culture, it is three days. Perception is totally different. Once again, having a mutual agreement in terms of the communication or way of work. We will sync up on what our goal or direction is. Having this mutual idea about where we are heading, and also why we are working (user-focused product development), this kind of communication conflict can be reduced. So trust is built not only by respecting differences, but also by aligning on how we work together.

Question 4: To wrap up, what is your final piece of advice for any senior professional who is considering joining MFV and taking on a leadership role?

Emma's Answer: In the wrap-up part of this episode, trust in general, trust doesn't come from what you say. It comes from how people see you, understand you. And also as well as from your behaviors. And trust is not just about respecting differences. 

Respecting difference, understanding difference is the first step, but it is not enough. It's about agreeing on how we will move forward together. So that we will make a significant success and make our users happy.