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The ancient Chinese cultural concept that could save your banking career

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If you’re moving to mainland China or Hong Kong to start a new job in banking, your financial-markets skills will only take you so far.

Your career success will also hinge on your ability to give and receive “face” in front of Chinese colleagues, managers and clients. Face – or mianzi, loosely translated as dignity, respect, prestige or reputation – is an ancient and hugely important sociological concept in China that governs the way people relate to each other in and away from the office.

“Face, or public image, has been a core Chinese value for thousands of years,” said Vivian Lin Thurston, president of the Chinese Finance Association of America (CFAA). “Face results in a form-bigger-than-content style in Chinese banking – how you communicate an idea could be much more important than what the idea is.”

Face can be lost, maintained and enhanced, but must be constantly attended to, say the Chinese cultural experts we spoke to. Here are their top face tips for expat bankers in China.

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1) Buy luxury brands…

You need to both “have face” yourself and “give face” to others, said Zhao Mo, founder of Shanghai consultancy China Cultural Insight. As a banker, you must keep an eye on what your colleagues and clients are buying and wearing. “In highly materialistic contemporary Chinese society, having face extends to what you buy,” he added. “For example, if people in your bank dress in luxury brands, you should too, or risk losing face.”

2)…but don’t flaunt them

Don’t stroll into the office on Monday morning and start chatting about the new Rolex you bought at the weekend. “Be careful not to show off ostentatiously to colleagues as this can be seen as poor taste,” Mo said. “You should let others discover what you have.”

3) Don’t focus on the wrong kind of face

In a dynamic sector like financial services, the concept of face can change with each deal. “I once observed an American co-investor in a financial joint-venture with a Chinese SOE who talked up how heroic the Chinese managers would appear by doing the deal,” said Rob Koepp, author of Betting on China: Chinese Stocks, American Stock Markets, and the Wagers on a New Dynamic in Global Capitalism. “But the Chinese didn’t want the kind of face he was offering. The deal used Chinese secured debt to support foreign enterprises, but Chinese officials generally view the intentions of foreign businesses with suspicion.”

4) Mind your English

Appearing attentive when listening to Chinese colleagues, particularly if they don’t speak fluent English, is a good way for expats to give face, said Edison Gao, a partner at search form Pro-Matrix in Beijing. “And to avoid awkward misunderstandings when you speak, be patient and don’t use sophisticated English words. In Chinese culture, smiling and nodding also show respect.”

5) Don’t cross your boss

“Chinese tend to be authority-worshiping, so face becomes even more important when communicating with managers,” said Lin Thurston from the CFAA. “Always avoid disagreeing with your managers in front of others, no matter how accurate you may be. Your boss will lose face in public, which will bring bad consequence for you.”

6) And don’t always take your boss literally

If you’re in a team meeting and the boss asks for ideas, it’s sometimes better to keep quiet. “Never give suggestions which may top your manager’s ideas,” Lin Thurston said. “It’s possible they only asked for the sake of formality, when really they had already made up their mind. If you have a good idea, you should communicate with them privately in a very polite, humble way.”

7) Don’t ever, ever be seen as a threat

Treating your boss with respect and recognising their prestige extends beyond how you communicate into every aspect of your job. “To demonstrate or imply, intentionally or otherwise, in any way that you are more capable than your manager would be a loss of face for them,” said Sean Upton-McLaughlin, founder of the website chinaculturecorner.com. “Even more serious is if you appear as a threat to their position. Both could affect your chances of a successful career.”

8) Support your superiors

Focus instead on supporting your manager and protecting their face – for example, finding more effective ways to implement their instructions and praising them in front of colleagues and clients, Upton-McLaughlin said. “Giving you manager face protects them and helps you in the long run by making them your ally.”

9) Managers: take time before you criticise 

If you’re a manager yourself, you need to be equally aware of your subordinates’ faces, especially in a buoyant job market like China where they might leave “at the drop of a hat” if they feel uncomfortable, Upton-McLaughlin said. While criticism is often unavoidable, kicking off the conversation with it risks humiliation and lose of face. “By taking time to get to the criticism and by emphasising positive contributions, you can blunt the impact and increase the chances you will be listened to,” he added.

10) Peers: resolve your differences before team meetings

You also need to tread carefully when dealing with colleagues of a similar rank – as always, don’t oppose them publicly in meetings. “Getting a consensus before meetings by working with them privately is a good approach if you want to gain support from a face-conscious peer,” Lin Thurston said.

11) Don’t pry into people’s personal lives

You can rarely be too polite in a Chinese workplace, according to Mo from China Cultural Insight. “You should also be more tolerant to ambiguities. When people have something to hide – like being vague about where they went on holiday – don’t be too inquisitive; being vague lets the other person keep their face in unfavourable circumstances.”

12) Pay the bill at restaurants

“Picking up the tab and offering a toast and a compliment are simple things you can do to give face to colleagues while dining,” Upton-McLaughlin from chinaculturecorner.com said. “This further builds your relationship with them,” he added.

13) Have a successful family

If your family is thriving, your colleagues will respect you for it. “Your face extends to your immediate family – what your spouse is doing, what school your child goes to, their extracurricular classes,” Mo said. “The need to keep up one’s face is driving professionals in China to work hard and is putting lots of pressure on them.”

14) Work tremendously well in a team

In China, being a “strong team player” isn’t a meaningless resume phrase. “While many Chinese bankers share the get-ahead-quick attitude of their Western counterparts, it’s often still impolite to show it,” Upton-McLaughlin said. “So praise the contributions of team members – it’s important to not alienate yourself or cause others to lose face just for a little extra credit. Even if your manager knows you did most of the work, they may still think you a bad team player for your directness.”

15) Learn all you can about Chinese culture

The more you learn about Chinese culture in general, the easier it becomes to get to grips with face. “Cultural understanding is the cornerstone for building mutual respect with Chinese colleagues,” Gao from Pro-Matrix said. “By understanding the Chinese way of thinking and expressing, expats should be able to communicate more transparently, and accordingly give face to their peers and managers.”


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