97: Hiroki Ishida, Representative Director and President of BASF Japan Ltd

Hiroki Ishida is the Representative Director and President of
BASF Japan Ltd, a German multinational chemical company. Mr.
Ishida originally joined BASF in the early 90s as a new graduate
and worked his way into leadership roles. He has also worked in
the company’s headquarter in Germany as a research chemist which
he recalls as a challenging experience due to the language
barrier and environment. Mr. Ishida then switched into sales and
marketing as he realized he could add more value there. In
addition to Japan and Germany, Mr. Ishida has developed global
leadership experience working in Malaysia and Hong Kong.


 


The first thing Mr. Ishida noticed about working in Germany was
the need to ask questions and show initiative. He recalls not
getting his laptop because he did not ask for one on his first
day at the office. In total, Mr. Ishida worked in Germany for 3
years before returning to Japan. During this time, Mr. Ishida
focused on new business development which he started in Germany
to introduce some new products to the Japanese market. Back in
Japan, Mr. Ishida found the need to adopt a “hybrid” business
mindset working for a Japanese market with a Japanese team, but
in a global environment.


 


When working in Malaysia as a senior manager of sales covering
multiple Asian countries, Mr. Ishida experienced further cultural
differences. In the beginning, Mr. Ishida tried to implement
changes that were successful in Japan, but completely failed.
Overtime, Mr. Ishida realized unlike his Japanese employees who
would follow the boss’s instructions, he needed to his Southeast
Asian employees to buy in to his initiatives. Mr. Ishida learned
to understand his team’s background and their source of
motivation, and properly explain why he needed things to be done
a certain way. In the end, Mr. Ishida recalls his experience in
Malaysia as “fantastic” as he was able to further develop
leadership while valuing diversity and inclusion and learning
from his colleagues.


 


To this day, Mr. Ishida says he has a team-oriented approach to
leadership. He explains: “my motto is [to] get together…sometimes
my ideas are better, but sometimes my colleagues’ ideas are
better…so I don’t care about organizational hierarchies.” In
adopting this respectful and enthusiastic approach to leadership,
Mr. Ishida thinks his team enjoys working together. When
encouraging others to have high engagement, Mr. Ishida is careful
not to simply give out instructions when delegating but also
explain the objective, reasoning, and benefits people will
receive by completing them. By giving a clear framework of the
task but leaving the detailed process to the workers, Mr. Ishida
gives both accountability and flexibility to his team. He is also
understanding of mistakes and failures, and emphasizes the
importance of analyzing the mistake and learning from them. Mr.
Ishida adds: “In the VUCA era, we need to be more passionate,
encouraging mistakes [and] bolder ideas…particularly in Japan,
under these uncertain situations, we definitely need such a
leader in the future.”


 


On innovation, Mr. Ishida recognizes the challenge of fostering
creativity as BASF is a very task-oriented company with
structured targets. He explains that top and mid-level leaders
need to encourage bolder ideas instead of just focusing on
achieving the already set goals. Mr. Ishida observes that BASF is
beginning to focus on long-term success based on customer needs,
understanding of industry trends, and encouraging newer ideas.


 


To newcomers of Japan who want to succeed as leaders, Mr. Ishida
advises to understand and respect the deep-rooted Japanese
culture. In Japan, harmonization is highly valued, so people may
not be as comfortable speaking up compared to the west. Usually
when foreign leaders enter a Japanese company, Mr. Ishida points
out that it is because the organization wants to implement some
sort of change. By being aware of the background and culture of a
Japanese organization and clearly communicating your mission to
the team and customers, Mr. Ishida thinks newcomers will
establish more trust. Mr. Ishida thinks learning Japanese in an
international company is not necessary, but in smaller
organizations, it is beneficial to learn a few words to develop
good relationships.


 


Mr. Ishida defines leadership as someone that inspires others and
make speedy decisions particularly in uncertain situations.
Additionally, it is someone who communicates with positivity, is
approachable, trustworthy, and encourages open communication.