Four Groups Blog

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of meeting Tim Watmuff and sharing a chat over coffee (Tim’s looking to move to the South West in a senior HR role, so if anyone can help, please get in touch). We spoke about a variety of different things but the key theme was that of culture, change and working internationally.

The one thing that struck me during the conversation was the contrast in cultural and commercial outlook and how a company’s values have such a bearing on performance. Tim’s had a fair amount of experience with Japanese firms and he introduced me to the ideal of Nemawashi. The definition below is from Michael Phillips.

The process of making changes in Japan, a truly cooperative-self examining culture, is called nemawashi. The word refers to a tree transplanting. The tree is dug to the roots, wrapped and left in place. It is then taken out of the hole and left in place near the hole. A week or more later it is moved to the new site and placed next to the hole, where it waits again until it is put in the hole.

I think this bottom-up or covert approach offers a superb complement to the often relied upon top-down or overt styles of leadership that are practiced and preached so frequently on these shores. Perhaps there is an ideal balance between them both?