Outward and upward

Photo by Wang Jing / China Daily

"Where I think there's an opportunity, especially in China, is for companies to really blend values and social norms," she says.

"What I want to do is to look at how leaders operate here and help them acclimate to be as successful as a leader in, let's say, Germany or in America, or in the UK."

Rezek is no stranger to the challenges of adapting, understanding and thriving in unfamiliar business environments.

She arrived in Shanghai in 1997 and spoke no Mandarin. She discovered women professionals were rare, sometimes to the point of being spectacles in China's fledgling business scene.

"I remember going to conferences and networking events where I was the only female in the room. I didn't care. I just went after it."

Her efforts quickly paid off. Three months after her arrival, she landed a job at Coopers and Lybrand accountants as the company's national training manager. Rezek created training infrastructure, working with more than 1,400 local and international employees.

The 1998 merger between Coopers Lybrand and Pricewaterhouse saw her role grow considerably as she was charged with integrating the two companies' employee development programs.

"I worked with the partners, because they had the knowledge and know-how, to help them impart that to the Chinese staff. I was helping blend the partnerships and helping create a company culture."

She attributes cutting-edge training practices and a willingness to engage in fresh techniques to the company's early success in the China market.

"In the early days, it was a new landscape and required new learning. During that time, it was my job to train the trainers," she says.

"I did things from creating a training curriculum to coaching leaders to actually facilitating change in management. We were porting cutting-edge learning and development initiatives over to China when it was still very, very young."

In 1999, Rezek moved to Microsoft where she worked as a Greater Asia organizational development consultant.

With the development of China's economy came a maturing talent pool from which international companies could hire experienced local staffers, who require much less training.

Rezek's specialty has evolved from teaching the basics to creating leaders who can cross cultural barriers to operate effectively at home and abroad.

Whether working with Americans stepping into a managerial role in China or Chinese executives expanding their reach overseas, strong leaders all share a similar skill set, she says.

"For a leader to be successful, there's a need for that ability to ask provoking questions that challenge, to manage upwards and to be self aware," Rezek says.

"Without those qualities, leaders will not have the impact, the influence and the voice they need - the voice they need to propel their business to success."