The Russia Journal

Russian employees don’t know the meaning of the word "discipline," according to a keynote speaker at last week’s AmCham conference on "The Keys for Developing Managers."
"‘Discipline’ is just not a Russian word," said Stanislav Shekshnia, author of a best-selling Russian book on HR management and chief executive of Alpha-Eco Telecom, at an HR forum hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce on June 15.
He added that with Russia so close to Europe, it could be easy to forget the massive gap between Russian work ethics and those in the West. He also pointed out that, as a Russian, the obstacles were something he understands well — in addition to the ways of overcoming them.
"There is a huge need for leadership in Russian companies today," he said, adding that with a decade of upheavals, Russian managers have to develop new skills and competencies.
Similarly, co-keynote speaker Dick Sklar, president of the Moscow-based Russian-American Executive Resources, stressed that developing strong management talent is critical to the success of any Russian business today, and that companies should be willing to hand over responsibilities to foster those talents.
Again, the theme was cultivating good work habits, such as discipline and leadership. Sklar said companies should take steps to give managers a chance to think independently and take the reins of their own projects, instead of allowing them to be simply "drawer stuffers."
"While developing managers, [businesses] should focus on corporate problems — not on generic ones — and on both short- and long-term needs," he said. "Also, team training, building relationships and upgrading skills and teamwork are important."
Both spoke about the tools Russian managers needed to upgrade their performance, and Sklar noted the progress Russia has made.
"Never forget, 10 years ago, business was a dirty word," Sklar said, adding that things like sales, HR and marketing once did not even exist here.
Sklar’s speech touched on a variety of topics related to developing strong management, including realism, the proper planning measures, how to make manager assessments, the use of cross-functional groups and facilitated project analysis, as well as management-rating methods.
"An HR manager should be a watchdog," he said. This, he argued, would prevent people from accusing a company’s human resources team from "doing nothing."
"Companies should give their middle managers a chance to do some more responsible work, which would free senior management’s time so that it can do what it does best. Also, in this way, employees would be prepared to move up when the time comes and run the company effectively," he said.
He stressed that the Russian economy is now 75 percent privatized, more than in some Western countries, and yet continues to show abysmal productivity.
In order to improve, he added, Russian managers need to develop feedback systems, reward excellence and be willing to fire poor performers.