1) What, in your experience, are the top 3 critical skills for working successfully in the Middle East?
Even though the world is getting smaller, it’s important to recognise that the world of business does not operate the same way – or at the same pace – from culture to culture. Throughout the Middle East, your soft skills count more than your technical skills or ability to reach your sales target by a deadline, which is already likely to be regarded as arbitrary by your Middle East colleagues.
- Relationships: Building good, solid and trustworthy relationships between your team and your Middle East counterparts is a must. Do this face to face whenever possible. Learn to develop your repertoire of small talk, even if you really just want to ‘get down to business.’ Show a genuine interest in your Middle East environment. Your host will ask you how you are enjoying Dubai or Dammam or Doha – and will be analysing your response to determine your ability to work in the region. Good manne
rs can never be underestimated. Learn how to say thank you (shokhran) even if it is the only Arabic word you ever learn. - Flexibility and tolerance: Things may or may not happen when you expect them to. This can be for a variety of reasons, including many that have nothing to do with work. Be aware that throughout the region, family comes first – even if you have just flown halfway across the globe to complete a critical deal. Time is regarded as a guideline only. Appointments are often reprioritised throughout the day. Find a way to fill your waiting time if you don’t like to feel like you are ‘wasting time’.
- Patience: In a region that looks at business in the long term, combined with a strong belief in fatalism, i.e. Insh’allah (God willing), your ability to cope with uncertainty and your counterparts’ corresponding attitudes is paramount. Never lose patience – your Middle East counterpart is likely to take it as a sign that when things get tough, you may not be trustworthy enough to be relied upon.
2) Our client is considering sending a Western businesswoman to the region. What are some common attitudes and challenges that businesswomen face in the area?
Please leave your preconceptions at home, especially if they have been formed by most Western media or through stories repeated by those whose sole knowledge of the region was gained through military experience. Both are likely to be wildly wide of the mark!
With some exceptions in Saudi Arabia, Western businesswomen are often in a position of privilege in the Middle East. Her nationality and job title determines her status, which can be quite powerful, depending on her line of business, her local business partners and wasta (connections and influence.) Many Western businesswomen will find it no more difficult to do their job in the Middle East than they would in London,New York or Sydney.
However, some challenges for Western businesswomen remain, especially when working with very traditional or very religious colleagues. The most frustrating situations include speaking to the woman through a man who is also present, not looking directly at a woman when speaking to her, or assuming the woman must report to her male counterpart simply because of her gender. The woman should be reminded that these behaviours are rarely meant to be malicious, but are the traditionalist’s belief in how to treat a woman ‘properly’. It is often enough for the woman to remind her counterpart gently of her job title, emphasising her authority, as more and more of the Middle East is acclimatising to Western (and, increasingly, Arab) businesswomen working in all capacities.
3) What do you see for opportunities moving forward in 2012 and beyond?
Most Middle East economies are growing at rates that are the envy of the developed world. For those organisations looking to enter in the Middle East for the first time, Dubai remains the regional hub for most businesses covering the region as a whole. Qatar is also a lucrative market, especially for those organisations with an interest in education, medicine and sport. Indeed, today’s Doha resembles mid-1990s Dubai in many positive ways. Education, medical and banking opportunities remain strong in Saudi Arabia.
For those organisations comfortable working in uncertain yet potentially very rewarding markets, two countries are worth investigating: Libya and Iraq.
Already amongst the wealthiest African countries due to its oil, Libya has a huge built up demand for infrastructure and hospitality services to support a country containing some of the world’s most significant UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Libya also has hundreds of kilometres of pristine beaches only a short flight away from 300+ million Europeans. Opportunities exist for upgrading everything from roads to water supplies to telecommunication.
The biggest opportunity for infrastructure development, without a doubt, is in Iraq. Working in Baghdad or Basra may remain off limits for organisations not prepared to deal with the very real security risks in these areas. However, many opportunities are being realised in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan controlled by the Kurdish Regional Government. The KRG, with its pro-Western and pro-business approach, actively supports commercial activities. Most expatriate organisations working in Iraqi Kurdistan have an eye to eventually move into ‘Arab Iraq’ once the political and financial situation stabilises. As in much of the Middle East, early friendships are likely to be rewarded over newcomers and perceived opportunists.
In spite of the uncertainties in parts of the Middle East caused by the events of the Arab Spring, the Middle East as a whole remains a business destination of choice for 2012 and beyond.
————————————————————————————————————–
Donna Marsh is an IOR Intercultural Training Consultant who has travelled extensively throughout her 30 year professional career, and has visited more than 140 countries on five continents. She has been travelling to the Middle East regularly since 1978. She was also one of the first Western business women to form a joint partnership between multinational organisations on the Indian subcontinent after the liberalisation of the Indian economy in the early 1990s.
Ms. Marsh was Middle East Sales Manager for a Fortune 500 IT company for several years in the 1990s and early 2000s, running a territory from a regional hub in Dubai that extended throughout the Middle East to the Afghan border, as well as to countries in North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, including Saudi Arabia as a businesswoman in her own right. She was also responsible for marketing and public relations, including print and broadcast media.
For information on Ms. Marsh’s book The Middle East Unveiled click here.
