Managing stakeholders in Asia

Have you been to Asia? These days, more and more people say, “Yes, I have!” But most of us have experienced Asia as tourists. Only a few have had the chance to work in Asia or collaborate closely with Asian teams.

And that’s a completely different story. Visiting a place for a holiday is not the same as working hand in hand with local professionals, managing projects together, and navigating shared responsibilities.

Today, I’m joined by a special guest who knows this world from the inside out: Beata Malinowska, who shares her real-life experience of working across Asian cultures — not just Asia as a region, but as a collection of distinct countries, customs, and ways of doing business.

In this episode you will learn:

How to build trust with stakeholders in Asia
Key cultural differences across Asian countries
Why humility matters in international projects
How to deal with ambiguity and uncertainty
What to know about hierarchy and communication
Gender dynamics in Asian business environments
How to adapt your leadership style by region
The impact of strong company culture
Tips for preparing to work abroad
Why mindset and empathy are game-changers

When you listen to this conversation, please think about any leader, HR, DEI expert that can benefit from it and share with this person later on. I really care to be reaching the right people with my content, so thank you very much for this in advance.

I wish you fun and discovery!

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If you need to educate leaders in how to create psychological safety in your remote teams, or if you would like to increase inclusive leadership practices, or resilience of your employees – please contact us at ETTA www.ettagoglobal.com.

Additional materials:

Connections with Asia

I’ve been working with huge companies, huge corporations and I’ve always been in regional and global roles. That gave me amazing exposure to different cultures. I’m coming from the supply chain area—that’s where I grew professionally.

When I reflected on my experience, I realized that throughout over twenty years in regional and global roles, more than 80% of my stakeholders were actually non-Polish. I was fortunate, lucky even, that in one of my roles I was assigned to run a project in Asia, with our customers there.

At first, it was a smaller project in just one country—South Korea. But then I was asked to run a very complex, large-scale project with a huge geographical scope. Asia was in scope, including China and India, Australia and New Zealand, and also Turkey and a few former Russian republics—a massive geographical area.

And that’s where my real experience, both personal and professional, in Asia started.

Taking on the challenge

First of all, I really wanted this project. When I found out we had won the negotiations with the customer, I really wanted to be involved in the implementation of solutions for them. But at the same time, I was a bit afraid of working with those countries because I knew it would be a totally new experience.

I had worked with the Middle East before. I had done some projects in Mexico and South Africa. But here, I knew I’d be working with China, India, and Australia—completely new cultures, so different from Europe and even from the ones I’d previously worked with.

So these were mixed feelings: Happiness—I got it. Excitement—wow, great development for me. But at the same time—oh my god, how am I going to do this? So I decided I needed to get ready for it. I didn’t want to just jump into it.

I thought, oh my god—I’ll go to China! I’ll see all these places where I haven’t been before. But from the professional side, it was decided that it would be more convenient if I moved to Asia.

I was offered a contract in Singapore, to be closer to our production plants, to my key stakeholders, and to the customer. Their hub was in Bangkok, Thailand. And we knew our main focus countries would be China, India, and Australia, so being in their time zones would be far more convenient. That’s when the entire adventure started.

Preparing for the transition

I started getting ready to move to Singapore—preparing from both the business side and the personal side.

To prepare, I read a bit about working with China, how to work with India, how to work with Australia. I already had some experience with Southeast Asia. I had colleagues from Singapore on my team before, and a colleague from Hong Kong as well, so I knew something. I had observed their communication style—how they share successes, how they talk about difficult topics. So I knew something—but I still wanted to prepare better.

I connected with colleagues who had experience working with China, and with one colleague who had actually lived in China for a while and also lived in Singapore. Her insights were extremely helpful, because I immediately understood the difference between Singapore and China.

When we talk about Asia, we think: Asia, Asia, Asia. But Asia is a mixture of so many cultures, so many different approaches and mindsets. So I was slowly getting ready for this mix of everything.

And what I want to emphasize is that the colleague I talked to about China wasn’t even Polish—she was Italian. Yet I realized that her perception of how to work with Asia was much closer to mine than it would be to someone from Asia onboarding me.

Learning from experience

This is how I started my preparation while still in Poland. I talked with people not only about lifestyle—how to fit into the culture once I’m already in Singapore—but also about their challenges, their tough moments, the mistakes they made or things they would do differently. I wanted to listen to their best practices.

And last but not least, I used this opportunity to learn more about my internal stakeholders—people from my company who are based in China. I wanted to know how to build my network there, how to start managing stakeholders in China: who I need to talk to, in what sequence, how often I should engage with them.

Should I bring them on board only for project milestones? Or should I keep them informed continuously, regardless of their seniority? These were all friendly tips from my colleague on how to manage stakeholders internally in China. She had already gone through it, so there was no need to reinvent the wheel. I wanted to learn as much as I could. That’s how I prepared for this move—by using my network.

More than just a trip

I think that was the best approach you could have taken. And we can really see in this conversation how different it is to go to Asia for a work assignment compared to going there for a holiday.

The level of research and insight you need before going is so much higher—and the cost of a potential failure is just incomparable. I think you used all the best tips and advice, the same ones we’d give to expats preparing for international assignments. That’s part of what we do as a company (ETTA. Go Global) —we focus on the cultural aspect: how to behave, how to shake hands, how to establish connections.

But there’s a part we can’t do for you—the part you did yourself: creating relationships within your company, gaining insider knowledge on who’s who and who needs what.

That’s something every individual needs to do on their own.

Cultural awareness

And I think it’s really important, what we just said. When we go on holiday, we’re completely relaxed. I’m not saying we need to be stressed when we travel for work, but going on vacation is just a summer experience, right?

When you’re going to do business—or when you know you’ll be working with, for example, Japanese stakeholders—you don’t want to be testing how open they are to your culture. It’s much more professional and effective to learn about their culture in advance. That way, you can avoid mistakes that might affect the heart of your initiative, your project, or whatever you’re supposed to deliver together.

I remember that even before moving to Asia, I had the chance to work with a Japanese company. We had guests visiting from Japan.

We did the same back then—we prepared for the meeting and dinner together, along with our colleagues from the European side. It was the first time in my life I had to prepare business cards because it’s a must when you meet with Japanese stakeholders.

And that means you have to start getting ready earlier—not just the day before the meeting—so you’re really prepared. You also have to think about little things like where to sit during the meeting or at the dinner with your counterparts from Japan or China.

Fun fact: where you sit during dinner can even tell you who’s going to pay the bill. The most important practical insight!

It’s not the same as a vacation

These are the things you really should know when you’re running a business with someone from a different culture. It’s fun to learn about it, of course—but it’s so different from being on holiday. On holiday, you can laugh about things. Sure, in business life, you can also laugh sometimes—but you never really know how it’ll be perceived by your business partner. When you’re on holiday, you just come and go. There’s no real, intense working relationship where a lot is at stake. It’s such a substantial difference.

I really wanted to highlight that, because sometimes we encounter clients—whether teams, organizations, or individuals—who assume they know enough just because they’ve traveled to a country for holiday. Maybe even two or three times. But when it comes to actually working together, a whole new environment opens up. A whole new realm. So I’m really glad that difference is coming through clearly in our conversation.

Building connections with stakeholders

I would say that the rules for building connections with stakeholders are quite similar, no matter where you run a project—whether it’s in Mexico, Asia, or South Africa.

For me, the key practice is to stay humble.

I go there and try to understand the people—their way of working. Usually, I share what we want to achieve. And it’s important to emphasize: not what I want to achieve, not what you want to achieve—but what we want to achieve together.

Let me remind you—I worked there as a project manager. I was coordinating the readiness of around 14 production plants for a specific product introduction. So we wanted to deliver as one team.

I came to them, and of course, given the huge geographical scope, the region was split into smaller subregions. I just talked with people. I introduced myself, and I wanted to listen—to hear about them. Then I started sensing their energy, how they presented themselves, how relaxed or less relaxed they were. And I realized quite quickly that some countries are more formal, while others are more relaxed.

Formal vs. relaxed cultures

Just to give you an example—China seemed to be quite formal. And this is, of course, my subjective perception, but I’ve also heard similar feedback from other people. They seemed quite formal, quite strict. Hierarchy was super important. And as I mentioned before, that was something I had prepared for, as part of getting ready for the whole project and the trip.

Thailand or Indonesia

When I dealt with countries from Southeast Asia—and let me remind you, we’re talking about seven different countries here—I noticed a distinct difference. For example, when I worked with Thailand or Indonesia, they seemed to be more relaxed. Conversations outside of the official agenda were far more casual.

Also, my observation during our so-called kick-off meetings—because we ran face-to-face meetings to launch the project—was that when I talked with colleagues from Southeast Asia, no matter how senior the people were on the call, I felt like I was talking to one team.

They really worked as one unit, and you didn’t feel much of a hierarchy or noticeable differences in seniority.

China

Whereas, in meetings with China, from our perspective, it often looked like senior people were leading the meeting, and the rest were simply taking their “homework” to do afterward. You could sense that the tasks would be executed in the background, following the lead of the senior participants.

So I really felt the difference between these two groups.

India

And then it was even more different with India. Conversations there were also quite relaxed—maybe very relaxed is too strong, but definitely on the relaxed side. Senior people didn’t want to get involved too quickly.

But over time, I learned that in this culture, I needed to keep a closer eye on things. Because it was so relaxed, I could end up finding out at the very last minute that something hadn’t worked at all or hadn’t been done.

So that was a key difference I observed between these three subregions within the Asia region.

Understand the structure

One piece of advice we share with people working with countries in Asia is to gain insight into the organizational structure—really understand who reports to whom, who is part of which team.

It’s important to be clear about relationships and dependencies in terms of hierarchy and matrix structures. Sometimes, it also comes down to knowing who to talk to and in what sequence.

Talk to a right person

First of all, this was something I discovered during my preparation—and I’ve mentioned it before. For China, for example, I knew there was one specific person I absolutely needed to get on board if I wanted his team to take action. That was my first priority.

I remember that during my first trip to China, he was the very first person I wanted to talk to—even before the official meeting—because I knew that once he was on board, the message would be properly cascaded to the team: “Hey guys, we need to deliver this—this project is now a priority.”

I was already prepared with stakeholder mapping before kicking off the project.

For each country or subregion, I spoke with people face-to-face. I was still lucky enough to do that before COVID.

Tailoring communication to the stakeholder

When I visited them, I simply asked: How often do you want to be engaged on this project? And I’m talking here specifically about senior stakeholders.

Some of them want to stay on top of every single detail. Others only want to be involved when there’s a critical issue. For some, a written update—monthly or quarterly—was enough, especially since the project was long-term.

China – senior person

In China, I knew that if I went directly to a more senior person, the team might interpret it as a failure on their part—that they hadn’t done something properly. So I had to be very careful. I explained to them, “Hey, I’m going to talk to your director every second week because I have my regular one-to-ones with him. He wants to stay updated about the project.” At the same time, I had my project coordinator, whom I talked to more often during the week.

Southeast Asia – team

It was different in Southeast Asia. As I mentioned earlier, they worked more like one cohesive team, and a weekly project update was enough. Things were going smoothly, so there was no need to escalate anything. I didn’t even have to go higher up.

India – different thing

India was different again. At some point, we realized the work wasn’t progressing—we were at risk of not delivering on time. That’s when I escalated. But the team didn’t take offense. They understood that the project was stuck, and they actually seemed to welcome the escalation. It helped people start working differently and take quicker action.

How I knew who to talk to

In China, it came from prior experience. I sensed things during early face-to-face engagements. I asked questions. I observed how the team reacted when I mentioned talking to someone senior. That helped me understand whether I should escalate only as a last resort—or if it was something I could do more regularly. It’s all about knowing people.

The challenge of remote work

I also want to emphasize that I moved to Asia before COVID, so I was lucky to have that initial face-to-face engagement. But then COVID came—and everything shifted to remote work. We worked virtually… but without cameras.

That made it even more difficult. I couldn’t see facial expressions. I had to rely entirely on people’s comments, their tone of voice, and sometimes even emails to sense how things were going. It was definitely more challenging.

Intercultural competence

These are really the best components of intercultural competence. It’s about being able to observe people and draw conclusions. It’s about being able to listen and create meaningful relationships. That’s exactly what you’ve been describing—put into practice. Also, being aware of different levels in the company and how they function is crucial. And one more piece of advice for international cooperation: Transparency is key—given in a humble, soft way, with care for the people involved.

Just like what you did in China—you were simply transparent about your contact with the superior. I think that’s very fair, and also calming, for the people you’re working with.

Project Management

We had milestones. From the very beginning, we were super transparent about our project milestones and the overall project plan. But I want to emphasize: this plan wasn’t created by me, or by someone at the top level. It was built together with all the teams. Because, as we’ve said before, Asia is not one country. There are so many local specifics and constraints we had to consider. Of course, we started with a high-level plan, which we then shared with the teams. Then I worked directly with each team to really listen and gather the local constraints we needed to take into account.

Partnering with the Customer

We also worked very closely with our customer—and I want to point out that our key stakeholders on the customer side were mostly Europeans. So, in preparing for our engagement with Asian stakeholders, we prepared together. For example, when we were heading into a meeting in China, we prepared jointly—from a European perspective—how to make those meetings most effective.

And I think that was very important. We were coming as partners to our colleagues in Asia—not as two separate companies asking them to do something for us in Europe. That collaborative approach made a real difference.

The milestones, as I said, were prepared together with the local teams. Then, of course, we had to find a sweet spot between what we needed to deliver and what they said was feasible. And we had to adjust the plan many times—because of COVID.

The impact of COVID

The human factor was a big part of it too. I worked with China and India—countries that were hit extremely hard by COVID, and also by strict regulations. I really remember how my colleagues from India were on and off all the time—either someone in their family was sick, or they were sick themselves. And, as we all remember, it was very serious at the time. In China, I was told, “We won’t be able to deliver because trains have stopped.” And it was just that—stopped. We were simply not able to deliver.

So that’s when we had to really work together and adapt. But these were the days when I think everyone understood the situation. Our customer wasn’t pushing us. We all just knew that we had to stay open and flexible because of everything going on.

Regional holidays

Another thing that comes to mind when working with cultures outside of the European environment is the need to consider cultural and religious holidays. This is extremely important.

In Europe, we mostly have school holidays or the typical summer vacation season. But in Asia, we work across so many religions and cultures.

Take Chinese New Year, for example—during that time, the Chinese part of the world essentially shuts down for two weeks. Business stops. It’s a must for them to take that break. Countries like Singapore and China are basically switched off from a business perspective during this period.

Then there’s Diwali, which is a very important time for people in India. They’re also not available during that celebration. And it’s important to remember that there are large communities of Indian people in Singapore and other countries too—so Diwali affects business far beyond just India.

You also have people from the Middle East working in Asia, and when it’s Ramadan, it’s good practice to be mindful. For example, not drinking water during meetings out of respect, because they aren’t allowed to drink during the day.

Real respect in projects

These kinds of cultural sensitivities are really important if you want to build good connections with your stakeholders. They show appreciation for what matters to them.

As a project manager, I had to account for all of this in my project plans—whether for this project or others. And I truly believe it’s a good practice. That way, you’re not forcing your stakeholders to do something they wouldn’t normally do, just because you’re from Europe.

Just because we’re from Europe doesn’t mean they have to do everything our way.

How to navigate around ambiguity in relationships

I had to ask them to communicate to me where the constraints were. At the very beginning of the project, of course, there were some constraints that I could communicate. But a better example of how we dealt with ambiguity was during the COVID period—when we didn’t know when we would be able to kick off production, start logistics, or when the ports would reopen.

China: Structured Communication and Ownership

With the Chinese team, I was totally aware of the constraints: lockdowns, halted logistics, closed companies, and a high number of COVID cases. But they came to me with solutions.

They would say, “Beata, this is not possible, and that is not possible—but in three weeks we’ll be able to come back to it. Right now we’re in lockdown, but in three weeks we’ll fix it.” And when they realized that they wouldn’t be able to meet even that timeline, they informed me upfront.

That gave me confidence. I felt things were under control—they were clearly monitoring the situation and came with creative, out-of-the-box suggestions for how we could move forward. And I accepted that. I knew we couldn’t push for more. That was the case with China.

Southeast Asia: Unique Local Constraints

In Southeast Asia, we have to keep in mind—as I mentioned before—there are a lot of local requirements, which can be difficult to understand from a European perspective. Many countries in the region have significant bureaucracy, and each has unique regulations that vary from country to country.

Sometimes, they’d tell me, “We don’t know when this will happen—it depends on a government officer.” And that was something we, as Europeans, had to accept.

If someone didn’t show up to the office, the task wouldn’t be completed. It’s just how it worked. They communicated this in a very matter-of-fact way—not necessarily friendly, but clear: “This is the way it is.”

Again, I felt that they were keeping track of the situation. Whenever there was an update, they shared it. And as I mentioned earlier, I knew they worked as one team—there was a strong connection between the various stakeholders across Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore.

India: Optimism Without Visibility

Now in India—something I touched on before—they kept saying, “We’re working on it, we’re working on it. It will be done. It will be done.” But then, at the last minute, you’d find out that it wasn’t done. In my opinion, they communicated difficulties too late. It became a learning experience for me. Eventually, I adjusted by setting more frequent checkpoints—more often than in other countries. This was necessary to track progress and avoid surprises.

What I also noticed is that they weren’t great at saying, “This is out of our control. We won’t be able to do it.” So I had to manage the situation actively. I had to investigate: Is it really happening? Is it progressing the way we need? Because they often said it was moving forward, but in reality, it wasn’t—or not at the pace we needed for the project timeline.

Different approaches to bad news

Another point about ambiguity that comes to mind is how different teams handled bad news.

As I mentioned, the Chinese team brought difficult updates—but always with a solution. The Southeast Asian teams, especially in Thailand and Indonesia, would say, “Here’s the problem, we’ll work on it.” So as a project manager, I still didn’t know what the solution would be, but I knew they were trying. With colleagues from India, they would say, “Here’s the problem, but it will be fine.” Again, no clear idea what the actual solution was.

This difference in communication style—especially when it comes to challenging topics or project delays—is something to keep in mind. It impacts how you organize the work and manage stakeholders in each region.

Trust vs. Control

As I said, I gave much more freedom to my Chinese colleagues. I had the trust that everything was under control. But I realized quite quickly that with India, I needed to check in more often. I had to monitor very detailed actions to ensure things were progressing on time and tasks were being completed.

The company’s role in navigating cultural differences

I would say it was very helpful that, even though I was working with different cultures—in China, in Singapore, in India—these were still people working within a big corporation. And that meant certain things. For example, they were generally open-minded.

We were a truly diverse team, and we were used to working in a diverse environment.

We were also used to working virtually, which made a big difference. That was definitely helpful for me.

Contrast with traditional organizations

I clearly noticed the difference when I had meetings with customers or on other projects—when we were meeting with people from different companies that were probably more traditional or conservative. Then you could feel the difference in approach, in the way they behaved during meetings, and in how openly they communicated certain messages. You could definitely sense it.

So I think it’s very important, and I felt really lucky to be in an organization that’s quite mature in its development and in its approach—how projects are managed, how people are selected to run certain initiatives, and who gets appointed to leadership positions. It really matters.

Company culture as a competitive advantage

I’ve also observed that global organizations with a well-developed company culture have an incredible competitive advantage. They’re able to work very efficiently and harmoniously across cultures—within their own company—while many more local organizations struggle more with internal diversity.

Let me put it this way: the intensity of difference in those other organizations is much higher, and it’s harder for them to manage it.

In my team, diversity was already the norm. We had women and men equally present in meetings. We had women in technical positions. That was something normal for us—something that should be normal. But hearing stories and reading messages from other companies, I know it’s still not a norm everywhere. And I’ve definitely experienced that when working with companies that were at different levels of development.

So yes, it was incredibly helpful—and I felt very lucky to be with a company that’s mature, that builds strong relationships, and that knows how to work across cultures.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

In some projects, we really focus on working in global teams—and that would be the case with the company you mentioned earlier. But sometimes, we deliberately choose to work with a local person from that specific country. This creates a strong connection point—someone who speaks the same language and understands the local nuances. Sometimes, even language itself can be a barrier, which changes the nature of cooperation entirely.

What I mean is that putting all people from China, or all people from India, into one category would be a mistake. It really depends on the context, the circumstances, and the nature of the cooperation.

Women in business in Asia

Singapore: strong, vocal, and balanced women

I did go as a woman. And let’s be honest—Singapore is a very specific country. It’s extremely developed from a business perspective. You have huge corporations there, and a lot of startups as well. It’s not actually easy to be based in Singapore because of the strict regulations. The country keeps a close eye on who’s coming in to work, and there’s a strong focus on protecting local resources.

But at the same time, when I was based in the Singapore office and worked with my colleagues there, I noticed something very clear: women in Singapore are strong. They’re strong both in terms of their skills and their personalities. They were very vocal during meetings. They wanted to be seen. They wanted to be heard. They made their points clearly, and they were excellent at delivering on what was expected of them. I would describe them as strong characters in a very positive way.

You could see that Singapore is quite advanced when it comes to maintaining balance between men and women in business.

Southeast Asia: diversity and equality in action

I had a similar experience in Southeast Asia. I met female managers not only in roles where, based on stereotypes, you might expect women to be—but also in areas like production. I saw diverse teams where there was no differentiation between men and women. It felt quite equal, I would say.

Again, I was lucky to come from a company that was already advanced in managing diversity within teams, which made this kind of inclusion more visible and natural.

China: a more reserved dynamic

In China, my experience was different—though I’m not sure whether it was coincidence or not. There were many men in the teams I worked with, and the women who were present seemed a bit more shy. I started wondering: Was it because of the hierarchy? Were they lower in rank than the men? Was it simply due to personality? Or is that still the cultural norm in China? I’m not sure.

However, I do see that there’s a growing trend to promote women in China, to support their rise into higher positions. Still, a few years ago—at least based on my experience—the balance wasn’t quite there yet. Maybe it was just chance that I ended up in meetings with more men.

India: strong women, strong voices

In India, I worked with some very strong women—similar to what I saw in Singapore. These were women who clearly wanted to make a difference and drive their initiatives forward. They were great people to work with—not always easy, because they had strong opinions and wanted their voices heard—but it was fun. It was dynamic. And it was a great experience to observe how women’s roles are evolving in the workplace across these regions.

Three key points for working in Asia

1. Be Humble and Open to Learning

The first thing that comes to my mind—and something I’ve mentioned before—is: Be humble. Go there to learn, and to enjoy the experience. That’s something I kept in the back of my head when I was moving there. As I said, I was excited, but at the same time, a bit afraid of how everything would unfold. I wanted to treat it as a personal adventure—an opportunity to take the most out of it. You’ll definitely learn something. It will be a great development opportunity for you.

2. Embrace the Experience—Professionally and Personally

You’ll come back with memories. You’ll gain amazing experiences from all the situations you’ll encounter. And that mindset really helped me—especially during the tough times, like the COVID period in Asia. What kept me grounded was the belief that it wasn’t just about business. It was also about personal development, about dealing with people from different cultures, and growing through that.

3. Don’t Forget to Enjoy the Ride

And one last piece of advice—something I always share with my team, whether it’s a project team or my direct reports: Whenever we face a difficult topic, I say: “Guys, try to have fun. Try to enjoy the ride.”

So that’s probably what I’d say to anyone preparing to work with Asia: Take the most out of it. And just—have fun.

Intercultural Competence

If you look at the core components of intercultural competence, Beata demonstrated all of them perfectly. The model I work with is the Intercultural Readiness Check—a tool I’m certified to use as a consultant and assessor. It was developed by Ursula Brinkmann and the IBI net.

Here are the four components of that model—and how Beata embodied each one:

1. Intercultural Sensitivity

To what extent are you aware of cross-cultural diversity?

Just think about how Beata prepared before going to Asia: How many people she talked to. How much effort she put into those conversations, the reading, the planning. It wasn’t just surface-level—it was deep and thoughtful.

2. Intercultural Communication

The ability to build meaningful dialogue with different types of communicators, in different structures and styles.

Beata showed how she could navigate how people express challenges, how she could read between the lines and understand the culture behind the communication. She was reading the culture code in action.

3. Building Commitment

Creating ways for both sides to work together and succeed.

She was able to build shared goals, encourage collaboration, and help people from very different backgrounds move forward together.

4. Managing Uncertainty

Because everything happens in the realm of the unknown. This is where Beata really shined—especially during the COVID period, with its high levels of ambiguity, unpredictability, and constant change.

I was truly impressed, and I’m so glad Beata joined me for this conversation. She didn’t just share tips and strategies—she shared her mindset and approach, which I believe are even more valuable.

Thank you!

Photo by Christian Chen on Unsplash