258 Duncan Harrison, Managing Director, JAC International

“In Japan, if you want performance, you need ultra-clear
expectations—people need to know the goal.”


“Building trust means creating a safe environment where it’s okay
to make mistakes.”


“Consensus-building is not optional in Japan—it’s how decisions
gain traction.”


“Every new joiner has lunch with me and a one-on-one at three
months—connection matters.”


“Leading is about inspiring, guiding, and empowering people
toward a common purpose.”


Previously Duncan was Executive Director-Head of Asia Hamlyn
Willams; Country Manager, Robert Walters, Korea; Associate
Director, Commerce Finance, Robert Walters Japan; Sales
Consultant deVere and Partners.  He has a BA from the
University of East Anglia.


Duncan leads with a style that emphasizes clarity, collaboration,
and cultural sensitivity, shaped by years of cross-cultural
experience. His leadership approach in Japan is grounded in
providing clear expectations and maintaining transparency. He
recognizes that Japanese team members particularly value knowing
exactly what success looks like, so he places a premium on
setting ultra-clear goals and regularly celebrating achievements.
Monthly gatherings that spotlight individual and team successes
help reinforce collective motivation and performance.


He builds trust by being approachable and relational. Every new
hire is welcomed with a personal lunch on their first day, and
after three months, each has a one-on-one coffee chat with him to
reflect on their experience. Even in a 60-person organization, he
maintains these touchpoints to foster an open culture and
reinforce that leadership is accessible. Duncan also leads
training sessions himself, using these opportunities to share
personal stories of past challenges, signaling humility and
building rapport.


Understanding Japan’s consensus-driven culture, Duncan avoids
top-down decision-making. Instead, he practices “nemawashi,”
engaging associate directors, managers, and often broader teams
before implementing changes. This ensures decisions are
well-received and supported. He contrasts this approach with his
leadership experiences in China, where decisions were expected to
come unilaterally from the top, and Korea, which he found to be
more individually driven.


Encouraging innovation and open communication is another hallmark
of Duncan’s leadership. To surface ideas, he established
anonymous suggestion boxes and encourages feedback during regular
check-ins. He emphasizes psychological safety, particularly when
discussing mistakes or failed innovations. Creating an
environment where it’s safe to fail is, in his view, essential to
fostering creativity and long-term growth.


He also sees training as a core responsibility. New employees
follow a structured two-month onboarding program, led by a
combination of managers, HR, and himself. Observational learning
is built in, with new staff shadowing client and candidate
meetings across teams. His goal is not only skill-building but
also early immersion into the company’s values and standards.


Duncan is deeply attuned to cultural and demographic shifts. He’s
pragmatic about Japan’s aging and shrinking workforce and the
limited pool of bilingual professionals. Rather than resist these
constraints, he adapts by hiring internationally minded Japanese
staff and experienced recruiters from other firms, and by setting
realistic expectations for new leaders entering the Japanese
market.


His definition of leadership centers on inspiring, guiding, and
empowering people toward a shared goal. He believes that leaders
must earn trust and encourage followership—not through command,
but through empathy, clarity, and inclusion. For foreign leaders
new to Japan, his advice is to avoid trying to impose outside
systems without first understanding the local context, to invest
time in building trust and communication channels, and to respect
the nuance behind why things are done a certain way. In Duncan’s
experience, leading in Japan requires humility, patience, and a
commitment to listen before acting.