IS THERE A FUTURE FOR BELGIAN EXECUTIVES?/media/Corporate/Images/Eenmalige-images/2 Research...

IS THERE A FUTURE FOR BELGIAN EXECUTIVES?

A QUALITATIVE STUDY ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF BELGIAN TOP MANAGEMENT

CELINE CLAUS PROF. DR. DIRK BUYENS

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First and foremost, we would like to thank our project partners, Michel Deboeck, Pascale Bastin and François Van Vyve, for their cooperation to make this project a success.

Also, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the 25 top executives who agreed to participate in this study and without whom this project would not have been possible. Their inspiring talks and openness in sharing their ideas were the main input for what follows in this paper.

Adrienne Axler Luc Bertrand Paul Buysse Patrick De Maeseneire Jozef De Mey Bart De Smet Chantal De Vrieze Pierre Gurdjian Nicolas Hollanders Rudi Kindts André Leclerq Gottfried Leibbrandt Filip Lerno Pierre Mariani Jacques Rogge Duco Sickinghe Michel Tilmant Pieter Timmermans Jo Van Biesbroeck Jean Van den Eynde Phillip Vandervoort Christophe Vandoorne Emmanuel van Innis Joost Van Roost Anton Van Rossum

A sincere “thank you very much” to all of you,

Céline Claus Dirk Buyens Michel Deboeck Pascale Bastin François Van Vyve

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INTRODUCTION

Over the years, several Belgian managers have succeeded in reaching top positions in international organisations. European president Herman Van Rompuy, Karel De Gucht, European Commissioner for Trade, or Peter Praet, Chief Economist at the European Central Bank are just a few examples of Belgian talents who managed to take up a key position in important European institutes. Is the fact that these positions are all appointed to Belgians a mere coincidence or do we have reason to believe that Belgian professionals have certain qualities that make them utterly suited for the top? For these positions, other factors apart from pure competence are at play. According to several interviewees, it is not to wonder that the CEOs of Nestlé, Adecco or Heineken are all Belgians. Like one CEO mentions:

“I have the feeling that Belgians have certain characteristics that make us well appreciated internationally.”

Is that really the case? And if so, are these qualities so ingrained, that Belgians will always have a competitive advantage when applying for C-level positions in multinational companies?

Generally, the opinion was raised that there are certain emerging trends that may hinder Belgian young professionals to obtain such an international job. First of all, because of the globalisation and the economic footprint moving away to the BRIC-countries, a lot of multinationals decided to relocate their headquarters elsewhere. Brussels, as the centre of Europe, used to be the perfect location for European headquarters, yet today, multinationals are decreasingly present and hence, recruit less, which makes that there will be fewer opportunities in the future.

“I’m holding my breath when I see more and more headquarters moving away. A lot of young professionals will get less opportunities in Belgium. Smaller companies may be interesting, but they are not the stepping stones for international careers.“

At the same time, many European countries are facing the same problem and Belgians are well armed to overcome this issue. Because of the globalisation, companies are increasingly looking abroad when it comes to filling the spots in their organisation. Therefore, Belgians may be the perfect foreigners to counteract the “inbreeding” within the company. Additionally, knowing how to communicate with the local workforce is often seen as a real asset and that is exactly where many Belgians have a competitive edge. Nevertheless, most


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interviewees agree that action is needed to keep and attract international business to Belgium.

Since multinationals increasingly close their Belgian headquarters, opportunities for young professionals to build an international career are substantially lower than was the case 10 to 15 years ago. Apart from some multinationals, such as Bekaert or Solvay, Belgium is predominantly known as an SME landscape. This environment leads local youngsters to leave the traditional path to climb the management ladder in multinationals and instead, choose a more alternative career path. According to some, the current generation of students and young professionals are far less interested to go abroad for several years in their career. Instead, they prefer to make the career moves they see as necessary and that can bring true added value for their own development, rather than added value for the company. This trend is well reflected in the following quote:

“Today, people who are building their career make their own choices based on what the next move could mean to them. They look at what is missing now and make a judicious, intelligent analysis of what is already in their baggage. Their next move could just as well be a hierarchically lower one or one to a job where they will make less money.“

An SME can bring many interesting jobs, because of its versatile and complex nature. However, with more and more young professionals working in these smaller companies, the cradle for upcoming international C-levels will downsize. As a consequence, young Belgians may have less experience carrying responsibility in bigger organisations, compared to other nationalities, and could have less chance to stand out in the future.

The relocation of European headquarters and the fading leadership ambitions in an SME landscape lead us to believe that even though Belgians apparently have innate qualities that make them highly suitable to take on C-level positions, we will need to change and install proper conditions in such a way that we will still be able to leverage these Belgian competencies and to ensure that Belgium remains the cradle of international leadership in the future. This paper aims to give an answer to the question of how we can breed the next generation of C-levels in Belgium.

INTERNATIONAL LEADERS: WHAT DOES THE LITERATURE SAY?

With the world becoming a global village, professionals are increasingly required to leave their home country and take on assignments abroad. As a consequence, they are confronted with intercultural teams more frequently. Since companies are becoming more global, C-level positions of large multinationals are increasingly occupied by non-domestic executives. Leading a team of


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professionals with different nationalities and other backgrounds than your own is therefore becoming an important skill for current and future executives and requires different competencies than leading a team in your home country. Successful global leadership, and its antecedents, is a theme that is gaining in importance with academics as well. In a recent edition of Harvard Business Review, Hansen, Ibarra and Peyer (2013) constituted a list of the best performing CEOs in the world based on both the long-term financial performance and their companies’ social and environmental performance. Top performing CEOs had several success factors in common. First, CEOs that were appointed from inside the company generally obtained a better performance than CEOs from outside the company. Secondly, prior performance is seen as the best predictor for future success. And lastly, CEOs who had an MBA degree ranked 40 places higher on average than the non-MBA CEO.

According to Brown (2007), transcultural or global leadership is described as “running an organisation or institution that stretches across national borders – that combines the best practices of “traditional” business leadership with the understanding that the world is composed of many cultures whose values and customs vary dramatically”. Global leadership requires a different set of skills than domestic leadership. A short review of the literature brings us several sets of competencies that are indispensable. Pless, Maak and Stahl (2011) for example see three main qualities as critical for global leaders. First, international CEOs must have a high cultural IQ. They should boost their knowledge of and be open towards other cultures. The authors identified having a global mind-set and thinking in a cosmopolitan way as a second quality that makes up a successful international leader. Lastly, global leaders must be able to build a community, improve their interpersonal skills and maintain good relationships with different stakeholders.

Another study identified ten key behaviours that define great global leaders (Cvitkovich, Hogan, & Gundling, 2011): cultural awareness, invite the unexpected, results through relationship-building, frame-shifting, expand ownership, develop future leaders, adapt and add value, flexibility, influence across boundaries and come up with third-way solutions. Butler, Zander, Mockaitis and Sutton (2012) narrowed these down to three core qualities. Global leaders must be boundary spanners, by which they mean that they must be able to leverage the skills of their team members in multiple locations. Boundary spanners are characterised by their ability to develop multiple social relationships and possess a fair amount of people skills. Secondly, great international C-levels know how to build bridges among people of different backgrounds and cultures. They know how to foster understanding and dialogue between people. Lastly, great global leaders are skilled in blending team members of culturally diverse backgrounds into a high-performing team. They respect individuals’ need for belonging as well as their need for uniqueness.


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Academic literature has focussed on key qualities that successful global leaders have in common. Yet, to our knowledge, not much is known about why some nationalities have a higher success rate in delivering top performing executives than others. We aim to investigate what sets Belgian executives apart from other nationalities and determine the qualities for which they are highly appreciated in a global working environment.

METHODOLOGY

The data for this study were gathered through semi-structured in-depth interviews. We opted for semi-structured interviews since these follow a uniform approach, yet at the same time give us sufficient flexibility to bring up new questions and explore all topics in depth. In total, 30 top executives were contacted, each of them belonging to one of three target groups: Belgian executives active in Belgium, international executives who are acquainted with Belgian executives and Belgian executives with experience abroad. Additionally, we took the opinion of three executive search partners into account. Within the timeframe of the study, we were able to conduct 25 interviews. The aim of the interviews was to answer three main research questions:

1. Is there such a thing as ‘a Belgian executive’?

2. How do Belgian executives distinguish themselves from other nationalities?

3. Given the current international context, does the Belgian executive gain in importance?

Finally, we asked all interviewees how youngsters can prepare themselves for an international position. That way we gathered advice for future potential Belgian executives on which steps will most likely guide them towards the top.

RESULTS

Is there such a thing as ‘the Belgian executive’?

We cannot give a clear-cut answer to this question. Altogether, interviewees point out that ‘the Belgian executive’ as such does not necessarily exist. Similarities between C-level executives are often bigger than the differences between them and the differences that do exist can mostly be assigned to differing company cultures and to the type of organisation. One of our interviewees stated the following:

“In the end, there are much more differences between two companies than there are common features on sectoral or national level. It is the company culture and the individuals themselves that shape top


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management characteristics. However, no one can be disconnected from their biotope, from the languages they speak or from the culture they live in.”

There are five remarks that can be made trying to answer the first research question. First, interviewees agree that there are certain characteristics that are archetypally Belgian. Our top executives are formed by our Belgian culture and consequently, their management style knows several historical influences. All through history, Belgium has been occupied by foreign forces. And this leaves an impact.

“Our typical strengths are originated in our roots and are formed by the fact that everyone always wanted to be here. Be it for 20 years, for 30 years, like the Dutch and the French, the Germans and the Spaniards. Everyone always wanted to be in Belgium.“

Secondly, Belgium is a small country with three communities, three languages and six governments which creates an unseen complexity and because of this complexity, those who make it to the top are forced to adjust to so many different things.

“If we can survive in Belgium, we can survive in almost any other place in the world. And that is perhaps the most unique aspect of our community. This is a very complicated country.“

Thirdly, apart from the fact that our executives have similar characteristics as executives from other small countries, such as the Netherlands and Switzerland, still the Belgian culture is seen as a quite unique one.

As a fourth remark, one could wonder whether or not there are differences between the Dutch speaking and the French speaking when it comes to executive style. Unarguably, there are some cultural and behavioural differences, yet these are nothing more than shades of grey.

“There are indeed dissimilarities between the Flemish and the Walloons, but then you can make the same distinction between someone from Antwerp and someone from Brussels.”

We talk about the Belgian executive, not the Dutch or French speaking executive. The international executives who we interviewed, agreed on this matter. They feel that the similarities between the Dutch and the French speaking are much bigger than the similarities between the Dutch speaking Belgians and the Dutchmen, or between the French speaking Belgians and the Frenchmen. One of the CEOs stated the following:

“You can get a lot further when you imagine a Fleming to be a Dutch speaking Frenchman, than you will when you imagine him to be some different kind of Dutchman.“


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Finally, one could argue that there are more Dutch speaking executives who have become successful internationally, than there are French speaking with a position at the top. This might have been the case until 10 to 15 years ago, yet the situation has been changing. In the period of 2008 to 2011, Wallonia has known an economic growth that was twice the size of the growth in Flanders and Brussels. Hence, Wallonia is making a passing manoeuvre on economic level, but also on other levels. During the interviews, some CEOs noticed the following:

“Today, I am amazed of the knowledge of and openness for other languages of French speaking youngsters. I am amazed of how they look at the world and that they are eager to leave their home village and work elsewhere.“

So even though there might have been some differences in the past, these differences are slowly but steadily fading away, and the gap between the Dutch and the French speaking is closing.

How do the Belgian executives distinguish themselves from other nationalities?

It cannot be denied that there was some discordance between the interviewed CEOs on whether or not ‘the Belgian executive’ exists. However, they all agreed that Belgians have certain qualities that are appreciated internationally. Based on 25 interviews, we tried to create a blueprint of the qualities that are acknowledged by most interviewees as classic for Belgian C-levels. Altogether, we made an attempt to group the characteristics of Belgian executive in a 4x4 model (see Figure 1). The blueprint of the Belgian executive consists of four core competencies, each characterised by four behaviours that build up that competency. More specifically, we say that Belgians excel abroad because of their ability to connect people, their cultural background, their due diligence and their underdog position. We will elaborate on each of them in detail below.

1. CONNECTING PEOPLE 1.1. Belgian Compromise 1.2. Loyalty 1.3. Flexibility - Openness 1.4. Diplomacy - EQ

2. BELGIAN BACKGROUND 2.1. Languages 2.2. Education 2.3. Parenting 2.4. Mobility

3. DUE DILIGENT 3.1. Pragmatism 3.2. Executioner 3.3. Efficient 3.4. Discipline

4. ETERNAL UNDERDOG 4.1.Neutrality - Objectivity 4.2. Integrity 4.3. Modesty 4.4. Rather do than talk

Figure 1 The Belgian Executive: a 4x4 model


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1. CONNECTING PEOPLE

This quality points to the ability of Belgian professionals to resolve conflict, and their much appreciated way of interacting with others. They know how to connect people because of their ability to reach compromises, their loyalty, their adaptability to different contexts and their emotional intelligence.

1.1. THE BELGIAN COMPROMISE

A quality that is mentioned by all interviewees as the most striking feature of Belgian executives is their ability to reach a good, useful and acceptable compromise in the decision making process. Belgium is a country of compromises, both in a cultural as in a political way. Belgians have the innate quality to take others’ opinion into account, because they have always been used to dealing with other cultures, other communities and to consider their opinion when making decisions. This leads to the fact that Belgians know how to bring quarrellers together and make them reconcile. They are excellent in building bridges between different parties. This quality is particularly important when executing the strategy, which often implies making a detour to reach your goals and keep the company going. Belgian executives know how to do this and that is why they are tremendously appreciated, abroad in particular. As one of the international CEOs put it:

“Reaching compromises, the way Belgians are able to negotiate contracts: that’s advanced mathematics! Make everyone recognize themselves in a text is something Belgians are better in than any other nationality.”

International executives acknowledge that Belgians know how to listen to different opinions, adjust themselves to others’ needs and always try to come up with a solution that is acceptable to all. It is a quality for which they are truly praised abroad. According to the executive search partners, ‘the Belgian way of making decisions’ is even included in some job descriptions.

However, Belgian executives must pay attention that they do not want to reach compromise at any cost. Postponing a decision until a solution is found that is acceptable to all parties, can also be seen as a form of indecisiveness. According to some CEOs, Belgians are sometimes criticized for not being able to make fast decisions.

“I am not looking for a compromise figure, but for someone who has the gift to go from A to B, provided that some compromises are made. But if you have someone who is a true compromise figure and who installs a culture of compromises, you get nowhere.”

In sum we can say that overall, Belgians are praised for their ability to reach a compromise, it is seen as one of their main qualities. However, they must


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definitely pay attention to the fact that they do not “overdo” it. At a certain point in time, a decision needs to be made.

1.2. LOYALTY

A second factor that contributes to Belgians’ excellence in connecting people refers to their loyalty towards the company they work for and the people they work with. Once they are assigned to job, they are dedicated to do that job with the best interest of the company and of others at heart. Unlike other nationalities, Belgian executives take their time to see what their function entails, what changes need to be made and stay on board to check the results and make adjustments where needed. As one CEO put it:

“Belgians do not suffer from the ‘it was ok when I left it’ syndrome.”

Moreover, it was often mentioned that they are so loyal that when Belgian top executives need to think about who will replace them once they leave the company, they do not necessarily fight for other Belgians in the organisation. They merely evaluate who has the best qualifications for the job, irrespective of their nationality. For the sake of the company. Some attribute this to Belgians’ strong internal locus of control. On the other hand, this loyalty is also labelled as a form of “collective naivety”. Other nationalities often recommend people from their own country to take up a top position in the company. Belgians do not do this, which sometimes comes across as fairly unworldly.

1.3. FLEXIBILITY & OPENNESS

The ease with which Belgians know how to adjust to and accept other cultures is another quality that was often mentioned as characteristic for Belgian executives. Many attribute this competence to the fact that Belgium is a small country. Just like, for example Switzerland, small countries have always had to look abroad in order to get ahead and hence have easily been confronted with other nationalities.

“It is a very eclectic country where a lot of different influences meet. So by definition, you get an executive who is not single tracked, not dual tracked, but who probably is multi-tracked. That also entails that they can work with other cultures more easily, because their own culture is not defined that precisely, and that they can more easily look at things from another perspective.”

Belgians are exposed to other ways of operating, other mind-sets, other opinions much faster than other nationalities are. As a consequence, they intuitively open themselves towards other cultures, try to empathize with them and most importantly, respect them. Belgians often settle in other countries effortlessly. The same holds for other small countries.


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Not only do they easily adjust to different cultures, they also have the ability to migrate between different companies and different markets, as was mentioned in the following:

“I have the impression that we migrate effortlessly from an enterprise market, to a consumer market, to a retail market. I have the feeling that we do this more easily than other nationalities and in my opinion, this is what makes the Belgian executive so unique.”

This flexibility and openness is seen as one of the main reasons why Belgians are much appreciated in multinational companies. After all, organisations today often have complex matrix structures, with new stakeholders on a continuous basis. Knowing how to smoothly adapt to new situations and new people is certainly a true asset.

1.4. DIPLOMACY & EQ

A last reason why Belgian executives excel in connecting people is because of their good share of diplomacy and emotional intelligence. Belgian managers are known for their slow, but steady approach. Executing the company strategy is accompanied by a great deal of caution. Belgians proceed in a quiet, slow way and know that reaching your goals often involves making a detour. They have a natural tendency to proceed very cautiously in their job and by doing so, they are able to make changes in their company without upsetting their stakeholders. A quality that is indispensable in an international environment.

“It is absolutely necessary to be diplomatic in European headquarters. If you are the president of Europe or you’re at the head of a business unit, it is a true art to be on good terms with many people and to know how to get difficult messages across.”

Belgian executives’ high level of EQ could be a consequence of their adaptability and empathy towards other parties and makes that they are quite approachable in the organisation. An important quality according to many, especially in organisations with matrix structures where you meet new stakeholders on a daily basis.

2. BELGIAN BACKGROUND

Belgian executives have a unique background that provides them with several advantages to succeed in multinational companies. They usually know several languages, enjoyed a good education at home and in school and have a certain mobility. A combination that sets them apart from other nationalities.

2.1. LANGUAGES

Most executives in our study stressed that being a polyglot is still a big asset in the business world. The ability to speak multiple languages remains very


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important, for example to communicate with the local workforce or the local government. It facilitates the access to everything executives do and increases their credibility towards the local workforce tremendously. As one of the interviewed executives mentioned:

“In order to get ‘under the skin’ of your executives, it is extremely important to be able to make conversation with them in their own language.”

Because of the fact that Belgium consists of three language areas, Belgians are confronted with other languages from the very start. The ability to speak more than one language is a quality that is often found among inhabitants from small countries. These people have always been forced to look beyond their national boundaries and in order to do so, knowledge of other languages is indispensable. As was mentioned above, inhabitants from small countries have a higher degree of cultural flexibility, which in turn leads to the fact that they pick up new languages more easily.

Nevertheless, we received some signals that Belgians’ competitive advantage regarding this polyglotism is gradually dropping. Interviewees give two reasons for this decline. First of all, English is gaining in importance as thé official language on international level, in the business world and in politics. Belgians generally have a good knowledge of English, yet they still don’t measure up to native speakers. Secondly, where Belgians have always excelled as polyglots, lately, other nationalities have been catching up.

“10 to 15 years ago, we were stronger in English, together with the Dutch and Scandinavians, but in the meanwhile, the French, Germans and Italians have been catching up. We still have an advantage when it comes to cultural flexibility, yet even there, everyone in Europe has made a huge progress.”

Altogether we can say that Belgian executives have a major competitive advantage because most of them know three or four languages and this still is quite an exception in the CEO population. However, it is of the utmost importance that we keep our knowledge of languages, and of English in particular up to date, in order to stay in the front rank.

2.2. EDUCATION

Overall, the interviewed executives agree that the education in Belgium is quite strong. Many agree that our universities are exceptionally good. However, not all degrees are valued equally. Mathematics, physics and especially the engineering degrees have a very good reputation and those students are recognized for their expertise. The Belgian educational system creates professionals who are very competent and who have a detailed knowledge of their field. So generally, the


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interviewed executives agree that Belgian universities are quite strong, however they may not have built up a strong reputation yet. One CEO mentioned:

“Despite the fact that the reputation of our schools is nothing compared to the big, established schools, the best students from our schools are just as good as those students. That was a true surprise for me. On academic level we have a better international reputation than we think ourselves. We do not only offer quantity, but we are also able to deliver quality. And that is a huge plus.”

On the other side of the coin, students are not necessarily stimulated to take a lot of risk or to take initiative in Belgian schools. Students are not used to be involved and to participate in class and often have a lot of respect for authority. Furthermore, the Belgian education system teaches students more to look backwards and to analyse the past, instead of making hypotheses for the future. The lack of being future oriented could be a disadvantage of Belgian executives.

2.3. PARENTING

The same holds for the way Belgians are raised at home. Some Belgian interviewees point out that their parents have taught their children not to take big risks or to take initiative. Belgians have had the advice to work hard and to do as they are told, to deliver what you are asked to deliver and if you do work hard and you deliver good quality, then you will excel.

Furthermore, Belgians are formed by the environment in which they are raised. As several executives pointed out, the complexity for which Belgium is known, makes up a large part of its inhabitants education. Since this country is a crossroads of different cultures within Europe, it knows a very complex context and it requires Belgians to learn quickly how to deal with its cultural differences. One executive sees the ability to deal with this complexity as a major advantage in making it to the top:

“We are lucky to be living in this country: it is a very small country, very difficult, very complex, … But exactly because of its complexity, the ones who want to make it to the top are obligated to adjust themselves to so many different things. Belgians are brought up with this need to adjust and that is a wonderful education”.

The way Belgians are raised makes that they are provided with a quite unique fingerprint that contributes to their success in top management positions.

2.4. MOBILITY

Through the interviews, it became clear that Belgian executives are quite mobile and agree to go abroad for professional assignments fairly easily. Their mobility is already developed during university. This could be the direct consequence of


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the fact that Belgium is a small country and we are rather open minded to get acquainted with new cultures. As one of our interviewees put it:

“In fact, Belgians’ mobility is fairly substantial, as opposed to what we think of ourselves. A Belgian student is quite willing to go abroad to do an Erasmus programme, precisely because they are less afraid to pick up new languages.”

However, this point of view was mainly put forward by the Belgian executives. It was contradicted by the international executives we interviewed in this study. International CEOs do not perceive Belgians to be very willing to take on an expat assignment, pick up your family and move abroad for several years. Other nationalities are much more inclined to do so. In the United States for example, people move from the West to the East coast without any objection. Belgians, on the contrary, are eager to build their own house, which has a direct impact on their mobility.

3. DUE DILIGENT

A third competence for which Belgian executives are highly appreciated abroad is their conscientiousness and the meticulousness and diligence with which they perform their job. More specifically, Belgian executives are praised for their pragmatism, the way they execute their job, their efficient and no-nonsense approach and their discipline.

3.1. PRAGMATISM

Most CEOs agreed on the fact that Belgian executives are known for their pragmatism and hands-on approach. Belgians have a natural tendency to apply the Cartesian way of thinking: problems call for solutions. International executives are sometimes surprised by how hands-on Belgian CEOs can be, because in their eyes, a CEO must not get involved with all sorts of operational matters. According to one CEO, pragmatism is truly ingrained in the Belgian culture:

“If I go to the local government offices in Saint-Germain, carrying 20 different forms with me, then they will send me home because I’m missing the 21st one. While in Belgium, they would say: ‘Sir, you are missing one form, but we are going to fix this’, and they just use the back of another form.”

According to both Belgian and international executives, pragmatism is an indispensable quality in business. Every day, it becomes apparent how important it is to think in a pragmatic and Cartesian way, and this is something that is truly unique for Belgian executives.


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3.2. EXECUTIONER

Belgian professionals are proficient executers and usually do this with attention to detail.

“A Belgian executive is characterized by depth: he won’t be afraid to execute operational tasks. Belgians reason: this is what the company wants from me? Ok fine, I go for it. And they go for it down to the smallest detail. Americans are easily pleased with the broad outlines, where Belgians go into the operational detail. They are not afraid or too proud to go deep.”

Belgian professionals are also internationally recognized for the fact that they are great executioners, as is nicely summarized in the quote above. Whenever they are given an assignment, they will execute it with the greatest attention to detail and they will deliver quality.

On the other side, Belgian executives are sometimes perceived as being overwhelmed by the day-to-day business and therefore leave too little time to do SWOT-analyses and to develop a more global vision. This really becomes apparent on international forums, where other nationalities are much more eager to discuss and share their strategy and global vision. Belgian executives miss, to a certain degree, the ability to think ‘big’.

Additionally, Belgians are sometimes known for their lack of ‘dash’, of real progress or real passion. Our interviewees mentioned that international executives sometimes criticize Belgians for not seeing or seizing opportunities, as is demonstrated in this quote:

“Belgians have a sound dose of ambition, yet taking risks, articulate a stretched vision, strategic thinking… Not finding the incremental improvement, but creating a discontinuity and then surfing on that discontinuity… That is something we, as Belgians, are not that good at. We are great in keeping the status quo and drive the operational continuum, but we are afraid to take bold moves.”

Some say, Belgians’ lack of ‘dash’ could be the reason why they fail to break through internationally. There are so many great products that were invented in this country, however, all too often once Belgian companies become successful, they are sold to multinational companies. Nevertheless, in spite of the fact that Belgians do not rank first when it comes to developing a global vision, they are still internationally appreciated for their excellence in implementing that vision. A quality that is equally indispensable in business, as one of our CEOs put it:

“A strategy without execution is a hallucination.”


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3.3. EFFICIENT

Belgian executives’ diligence is also defined by their efficient way of working. Our interviewees acknowledge that Belgians always bear their goals in mind when performing their job, in such a way that no time or money is wasted on irrelevant issues. They have a purposeful and no-nonsense approach and work until their objectives are met. One CEO gave an example to illustrate this behaviour:

“When Coca-Cola had its crisis where several Belgian children were poisoned, the CEO had flown in and had seen how the Belgian N-3 or N-2 had handled this crisis. Those Belgians had made such a good impression that one of them has managed to obtain a quite high position within the company. They had 2 weeks to set up a contingency plan and they did so in a systematic, goal-oriented way.”

Belgians are highly appreciated because they know how to keep the things that are going well, going.

3.4. DISCIPLINE

Belgian executives are appreciated for the great amount of discipline and strictness they put forth. They proceed in a meticulous and profound way and often display a high degree of conscientiousness. Some attribute Belgians’ discipline to their hierarchical mind-set and their respect for authority. Hierarchy, rules and procedures are respected by Belgian professionals and according to some, the advantage of this mind-set is that once a plan has been made up, you can pursue it to the end. Many Belgians start from the perspective that if you do your job properly and you work hard, eventually, you will surpass your competitors. However, it has become clear that ‘working hard’ is unsatisfactory these days, something that Belgian youngsters are increasingly aware of.

4. ETERNAL UNDERDOG

Belgian executives are sometimes inclined to find themselves in an underdog position. Belgians have a fairly neutral nationality, they show a high degree of integrity, are seen as being very modest and they prefer to “do” rather than “talk”.

4.1. NEUTRAL & OBJECTIVE

Belgian executives enjoy the great advantage of having a very neutral nationality. They do not bring any baggage. According to certain interviewees, some nationalities see their country as the best part of the world. Belgians do not think like that and do not have an island-mentality. Having a neutral profile is very important when it comes to making decisions in a company. Being able to take in a neutral and objective position in the decision making process is a big


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asset for executives. The example was given that if you appoint a German executive as CEO of the company, you have already sent out a signal, without even having met the person in question. This does not hold for Belgian executives, or for executives of other small countries. Belgians are exponents from a non-dominant country and that is why they are often invited for C-level positions in international companies.

Others recognize that Belgian executives are also able to be objective:

“Belgians have the great quality of being able to translate their knowledge and experience into plans, strategies and actions that are adjusted to the local market. They don’t assume that a strategy or approach that is effective in Belgium, is necessarily a good approach in other countries. Some nationalities presume that what works in our country will have to work in other countries too. Belgian executives don’t suffer from this problem and that is one of their main qualities.”

Belgian executives grew up in a neutral, non-dominant culture, which is seen as a major advantage. They do not “disturb” in any kind.

4.2. INTEGER

Belgian professionals are recognized for their integrity. Many of the interviewed executives noticed that Belgians are not tempted to get involved in office politics, while some other nationalities are much more experienced in this matter.

“You often see a lot of managers look into the eyes of their boss and wonder: ‘What could I say now that would please him?’. This is not the case for Belgian managers and this could sometimes work against them. However, in the long run, this is a huge advantage since it emphasizes their reliability.”

Some interviewees argue that Belgian executives are too timid and intellectually too honest to get involved with office politics on the higher organisational levels. They do not tend to tell stories or inaccuracies, to defend their performance and that is why Belgian executives have less difficulties to earn trust in the company.

4.3. MODEST

Both Belgian and international executives described the Belgian CEO as someone who is modest and humble. This typical Belgian behaviour can be explained by the fact that historically seen, Belgium has always been dominated by external authorities. As a consequence, Belgians do not give the impression of arrogance or the impression that they know best. Moreover, they are used to work together in harmony, rather than taking a stand or assuming a leadership role. Belgians have acquired the habit to keep the opinion of everyone at the table into account and to adapt themselves in a low-key manner. According to one executive,


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European president Herman Van Rompuy, serves as a perfect example of this theory:

“You can’t imagine someone who, at first sight, seems as more of a grey individual than Herman Van Rompuy. That man is seen as someone who is completely harmless. Some think that they can treat him the way they want. However, Mr. Van Rompuy may appear to be a puppet on a string, but once he was in the function of European president, he revealed himself as one of the most important historic figures in Europe.”

The downside of being modest could be that there appears to be a low sense of urgency. Some CEOs compared Belgium to other Western countries and found that those countries know much more of a “pushy” culture, by which they mean that there is a certain vitality that is sometimes missing in Belgian organisations. Moreover, Belgians are not that inclined to look for exposure. Because they can be too modest, they don’t always succeed in creating an own brand and to successfully sell themselves. Belgian executives find it quite hard to step into the spotlight and therefore are not always noticed by other companies when they would be looking for new executives. According to some, Belgian CEOs prefer to sit together with their board of directors and often dread to speech at the shareholders’ meeting. They do not see this meeting as a big, defining moment.

Most interviewees agree that Belgian executives should stay modest, but that they should also take some more pride in what they achieved and be more self-assured of their own opinion. As one CEO sums it up:

“We have to be honest: it’s a good thing to be modest, but at the same time this could entail a big danger. It could lead to the perception that you lack self-confidence. But I think that Belgian CEOs perhaps need a little more time to show the added value they could bring, compared to others who beat the big drum. I have encountered many of those, who beat the big drum real hard, but when it comes to deliver good work, it’s a whole other story. Then I must say that I prefer the opposite profile, that fits the Belgian CEOs. They try to communicate in a modest way, but eventually, they do the things they promise they will do.”

4.4. RATHER DO THAN TALK

As a consequence of being quite modest, Belgian executives are also known for their tendency to do rather than talk. Both Belgian and international interviewees pointed to the fact that Belgian executives prefer to listen instead of talk. Belgian CEOs are seen as people who do the things they say they will do, without making a lot of noise. Some see this as a strong point:


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“We are relatively modest, maybe even too modest, which makes that, in every meeting, we tend to listen more than we talk. But if you have a mind-set where you take it all in and are able to summarize everything and make your conclusions, then it can be a very strong asset.”

On the other hand, many interviewees agree that Belgian executives should enhance their communication skills. Being able to speak to various stakeholders in a convincing way is something that they could improve.

Given the current international context, does the Belgian executive gain in importance?

Overall, the executives we interviewed agreed that in the end, companies do not pay attention to the nationality of their future C-levels, but only to their competencies and experience. In that sense, Belgians have just as many chances as other nationalities do to obtain an executive position. One CEO mentioned:

“Every executive that is capable, wants to accomplish a lot, has a reasonable amount of guts and knows how to perform, has a promising future in business. To have many ideas is a good thing, you have to have vision, but you have to carry out your ideas too. It doesn’t matter whether you are Belgian, German or French.”

Nevertheless, as was mentioned before, Belgians do have certain qualities that make them attractive to multinationals. Their knowledge of languages remains a very important asset, yet other nationalities are catching up and competition is increasing.

One factor that most interviewees are generally concerned about is the fact that Belgium is increasingly losing its European headquarters. As a consequence, Belgian CEOs do no longer have a personal pipeline to breed new executive talent. Belgians are dynamic enough to found new companies over and over again, but Belgian entrepreneurs typically let their company grow, become successful and from the moment the value of their company is crystallized, they sell it to multinationals.

“They keep coming, the new companies in biotechnology in Ghent and in microelectronics in Leuven. There are more than enough initiatives in Belgium. We let them grow and at a certain moment, these companies are acquired by a multinational.”

Most of the CEOs agree that this could become a real problem since this way, Belgian companies and Belgian professionals have less chances of becoming big and they fail to build up their own brands and export products. History shows that Belgian headquarters in the past have brought forth many successful


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Belgian top executives and certain CEOs worry that this may no longer be the case in the future:

“If you look at the generation of executives who are 50 to 60 years old, many times, they were raised in Belgian branches of international companies. 10 to 15 years ago there was Alcatel, Nestlé, General Motors, General Electrics. A school of young Belgians was formed who unintentionally accepted a job at the moment they graduated. Those multinationals had decent HR-policies and as such, they got the opportunity to go the international headquarters within 3 to 4 years. Many careers were made this way. Today, there are far less opportunities because now there are far more sales and marketing branches, with no more than a local impact. The absence of European headquarters could have a detrimental impact in the future.”

In conclusion, top executives of top companies are formed in independent companies and not in branches of big international companies. Because the decision centres are increasingly leaving Brussels, Belgian executives could find it more difficult to obtain C-level positions in the future. Then again, all over Europe, countries suffer from the issue of multinationals moving their headquarters elsewhere, so in that sense, Belgian executives do not necessarily fall behind on other Europeans. Moreover, Belgium still has the advantage of being quite the entrepreneurial region: many young Belgian professionals aspire to found their own company and arrive in making the company successful. Our interviewees argue that it is of the utmost importance that Belgian government installs the necessary conditions that would make it more attractive for Belgian entrepreneurs to keep the decision centre of their companies where they were founded. As such, Belgium would again build its own pipeline for executive top talent.

What can we advise young and ambitious professionals?

Throughout the interviews, the 25 executives gave plenty of advice to youngsters who aspire to take on C-level positions in their future career. They mentioned several recommendations, both on an institutional or societal level and on an individual level.

Institutional Level

CEOs’ first concern on an institutional level is the future of the Belgian educational system. One of the major advantages of Belgian education is the fact that it is very content driven and cerebral. Belgian students usually have a deep knowledge of their field, are analytically very strong, have well developed memory and know how to make adequate syntheses. As was mentioned before, Belgian executives are internationally appreciated for the qualities they have built up through their education. However, considering the points that Belgian executives could still improve in order to become more successful internationally,


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adaptations to the Belgian educational system could be necessary. Several CEOs suggested that Belgium could follow the example of the United States when it comes to paying more attention to students’ personal and social skills. American youngsters are much more proficient in presenting and expressing themselves and as a consequence they are better at selling themselves and their ideas. What’s more, in the United States youngsters are accustomed to work on the brand ‘ME’. They strongly distinguish between one another, they are not seen as one homogenous group, since they have all developed their own specific brand.

One point that was generally acknowledged in the interviews is that Belgian universities do not offer enough opportunities to gain experience abroad and this is seen as a true disadvantage for Belgian youngsters.

“The last two years of high school, students barely acquire new knowledge and the first two years at university are aimed at perfecting their knowledge. Those years are exactly the right time where you can teach youngsters a lot about open mindedness: once they start their studies at university, a new world opens for them. However, instead, we force them to always have their nose in their books, while in fact we have the opportunity to teach them how to open themselves up and to do an internship. This could work against us on the long term.”

Furthermore, several interviewees point to the structural problems of Belgian education. Belgium has a unique system in universities and this makes it very difficult for students to switch to international colleges, because the Belgian system does not fit in the system of international universities. The new credit-system that is being implemented at the moment will only generate an even bigger complexity which will make it that more difficult to switch during the academic year. Moreover, the Belgian universities have cycles that stop and start four to six weeks later than most other countries. As a consequence, Belgian students fall completely beyond the international cycle of internships. Instead, intern positions in American companies are often taken by South-American students. Belgian government should thus pay more attention to the international perspective when setting up educational policies. According to many executives, this country can only grow big if it embraces an international vision.

In addition, the Belgian government could play a bigger part in developing Belgian CEOs. Several CEOs point to the fact that there is a lack of Belgian pride when Belgian companies, products or professionals are successful abroad. Politicians should support them to a bigger extent. Moreover, Belgian executives could benefit from the opportunities international ambassadors bring. Ambassadors usually have an extensive network and are seen as a real treasure of information. Belgians sometimes underestimate the extent to which they can benefit from involve these diplomats in their business.


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Individual Level

As a leitmotiv throughout the 25 interviews, our top executives advise Belgian youngsters to go abroad as soon as possible. Either during university or early on in their career. You should break out of your comfort zone as much as possible. As one CEO put it:

“If you can leave Belgium, run!”

According to most, it is very important for young professionals to develop a global perspective and to gain international working experience. Going abroad during university, for example by doing an Erasmus programme, is a nice start but today, that isn’t enough. By being abroad and experiencing other cultures, you are invited to slightly adapt yourself and to open yourself up for local customs. Most agree that international experience is essential early on in your career. If you do not have the opportunity to work abroad immediately, make sure that you start your career in an international company, that you get noticed by doing international projects or expatriate assignments and do whatever it takes to be spotted by the international top of your company. The way to international C-level positions starts with broadening your horizon, leaving Belgium and discovering the world.

Secondly, start your career in a big company rather than in an SME. According to most of the CEOs we interviewed, choosing a large, structured company for your first job is a boost for your CV and helps in making yourself more marketable. Bigger companies offer the opportunity of being confronted with different management styles and offer a lot of mentors and role models from who youngsters can learn a lot. Large organisations also leave more room for job rotation within the company and mostly have installed a professional decision making process and use state-of-the-art tools. If you learn how to use these tools at the start of your career, these become part of your DNA. Large organisations have a far more structured approach for young professionals who enter the company.

On the other hand, youngsters today prefer to see the immediate impact of their work, and this may be more attainable in an SME, where there are less procedures to be followed. Yet, the path to the top of multinational companies will be more easily attained if you take a broad perspective and work for bigger, more structured organisations from the start. Moreover, you have to make intelligent, judicious decisions, as is explained by one executive:

“If you speak to professionals at the start of their career and they want to grow, it’s all about the brand. The brand of the company they are going to work for, the brand of the extra-curricular activities they engage in, and the brand of the role they are going to play. Blue-chip companies. You don’t only need the ambition to work for a top A brand, but you also have to be international, permanently available


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and flexible to go wherever the company wants you to go. That’s the only way. Blue-chip companies, blue-chip education. Try to have an idea, before you start your career, of where you want to go and try to force a programme for yourself to a multinational company, through which you will acquire the allroundness of a CEO. People often talk about high potentials and developing people, but you have to force it for yourself. And that’s early on in the career.”

Furthermore, CEOs also mentioned that it is equally important that you take the company culture into account. Since many agree that the first four or five years of your professional experience make up the foundation of the rest of your career and of the leadership roles you will be given, you need to make sure that you end up in companies that will take your personal and professional development seriously.

“The reflexes you build up during those first years are determinant for the rest of your career. Professionalism, accountability, political agility and other professional values are acquired in those first years. That is why it is so important to choose the right culture.”

In sum, the executives we interviewed would advise youngsters to reflect upon their career path, make judicious choices and apply for large, structured blue-chip companies that have a clear structured approach for youngsters. Most importantly, young professionals should develop a broad, global perspective as soon as possible, leave Belgium and experience other cultures. The broader your own vision, the easier it will be to solve problems in the future.

CONCLUSION

We can conclude that ‘the Belgian executive’ does exist and that these executives have certain qualities that distinguish them from other nationalities. We stated that the characteristics that make Belgian executives unique can be summarized in a 4x4 model. More specifically, they are appreciated for their ability to bring people together, their particular world orientation, their disciplined and pragmatic approach and their tendency to take on a modest and neutral position. These competencies ensure that the future holds several opportunities for young Belgian professionals who aspire to make it to the top. However, there are an equal amount of threats. Most importantly, because multinational companies increasingly decide to move their Belgian headquarters abroad, opportunities for Belgian youngsters are heavily declining and Belgian top talent could have a harder time making it to the top of large international companies.

Several suggestions were made in order to increase chances for youngsters to obtain C-level positions in their future career. On an institutional level, the Belgian government should consider adapting the current educational system. A


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primary concern refers to providing more opportunities to gain international experiences for Belgian students that go beyond the Erasmus programme. Furthermore, educational institutions should put more emphasis on developing students’ social skills. On an individual level, our interviewees agree that the first three to five years of your career make up the foundation for the rest of your professional life. They primarily advise young professionals to start your career in a big, structured, multinational company that offers opportunities to go abroad early on in your career. International experience is still seen as a crucial factor to make it to the top.

Overall, ‘the Belgian executive’ is considered to be an important export product for our economy in order to put Belgium on the map. As such, we should do whatever it takes to leverage the innate qualities Belgians have to make it to the top.


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REFERENCES

Brown, J.F. 2007. The Global Business Leader. Practical Advice for Success in a Transcultural Marketplace. Hampshire, New York. Insead Business Press.

Butler, C.L., Zander, L., Mockaitis, A. & Sutton, C. 2012. The Global Leader as Boundary Spanner, Bridge Maker, and Blender. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5(2): 240-243.

Cvitkovich, K., Hogan, T. & Gundling, E. 2011. What is Global Leadership? 10 Key Behaviors That Define Great Global Leaders. Intercultural Press/Nicholas Brealey Pub.

Hansen, M. T., Ibarra, H., & Peyer, U. 2013. The Best-Performing CEOs in the World. Harvard Business Review, 91(1): 81-95

Pless, N. M., Maak, T., & Stahl, G. K. 2011. Developing Responsible Global Leaders Through International Service-Learning Programs: The Ulysses Experience. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 10(2): 237-260.


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