In conversation with Steven Marcelino

Hello everyone and welcome to the Go Glocal podcast series, the show that addresses the importance of think globally and act locally. I’m your host Ellen Wang, from Leeds University Business School, and today I’ll be discussing glocalisation with Steven, who’s one of our alumni who graduated from international Business and Finance back in two thousand and thirteen. Steven is no stranger to us, as he’s been frequently invited back to share his journey and experiences. Steven is a networker, an ambassador, an advocator, and a storyteller. So, I’m very excited to have Steven joining us today in order to unpick some of his stories, in order to help us understand the importance of being glocal. Hi Steven, how’re you doing? Thank you so much for joining me today.

Hi Ellen, it’s great to be back virtually, and I think it's nice to always maintain links and contacts with Leeds and with LUBS.

Absolutely, thank you Steven. So, I think a really good place to start today is for you to tell us a little bit about yourself please.

Sure, I think as you introduced myself very nicely there, I studied at LUBS back in two thousand and eleven and I graduated in two thousand and thirteen. A little bit about me, after graduation from LUBS I worked for a couple of years at a Prime Brokers Division at UBS Investment Bank in the London office somewhere around Broadgate, Liverpool Street Station, like where just any other investment banker, I was working till late midnight, but then I realized that my passion is probably not finance but joining strategy consulting. So, currently I’m working as a Consultant and Engagement Lead at Accenture Strategy, where I’m focusing mainly on UK, Europe market, as well as Asian Financial Services market. I’ve dealt with the likes of Brexit crisis management, COVID19 impact assessment, and now I’m driving central sustainable finance at the COP26 Agenda for Accenture. For those of you who are listening, COP26 is a major climate change summit that is going to happen in November 2021, where the UK is hosting its presidency for the COP26 summit.

Ellen - That’s great Steven, thank you so much for that introduction, and it’s so good to know that you’ve been involved in so many big assignments as well. So, just to follow up on that, I’m interested to learn a bit more about your journey and how the Leeds degree has helped you with your career after graduation please.

Ellen - That’s great thank you so much for sharing your story Steven, I must admit I never realised that you were a direct entry student which explains a lot, because your fear of missing out in terms of opportunities, especially not having studied the first year in LUBS. But also, there’s one point you mentioned, that your awareness of intercultural competencies, has given you the edge of the competitiveness when you’re looking for employment. So, just to kind of follow up on that train of thought, as a former international student who missed out on the first year in the UK, and now have settled in the UK working for a very global and reputable organisation, what are your thoughts on the term glocalisation, do you think it’s really important in the workplace?

Steve - Sure, let me share a personal story, and the whole degree and the life and study experience at Leeds really gave me an edge in the way that, being able to be prepared to work in a team with 10 different nationalities, and sort of knowing what are the potential successes, and how to be able to integrate, and how to come out in a high performing manner, it makes a huge difference. Because, if you’re like me, who really wished to develop myself, and work and kickstart your career, in a global multinational company, then please do expect a diverse intake of teams or profiles that need recruiting, and the majority of multinational companies now have a target of inclusion and diversity, as well they recruit from gender perspective, from minority ethnic perspectives, they really do champion these. And a lot of our internal studies suggest that because of the diversity of perspectives and backgrounds, they really lead for innovation and innovative teams on how to solve client problems that are also quite diverse. And I think those sorts of things will only continue. In a COVID19 context that’s more recent, glocalisation is far more important because what you will see here is that global companies will have a central team in their headquarters, for global decision-making type of thing, and they would also have local teams in their relevant offices. It could be in Southeast Asia, could be in China, could be in Middle East right, the point on COVID19, it’s all about how to empower local leaders, to make intervention and make decisions, and the whole glocalisation, the companies that thrive, in the context of COVID19, are those that recognise that, different local presences, different local footprints have different needs. Their behaviours in response to the pandemic are different. The way local and national governments are handing COVI19 is very different as well. Some Asian countries performed better than let’s say Europe and the USA at the peak, or the first or the second wave of COVID19. So those companies that fail to adopt glocalisation, and they only adopt a sort of one size fits all, only globally driven in what to do, they will fail. Because they will fail to capitalize on some of the positive momentum on some of the local regions that are able to thrive, and able to handle COVID19 better. At the same time, those companies that adopt and perform, who get these global and local dynamics right, are able to thrive. Because they will be able to diversify their ways of working. The local, sort of, footprints that require more adjustment will be allowed to do so, those who also tend to strain because of ABC can also do that. Overall, COVID19 is a great imperative for companies to really embark, I think, on those global, local dynamics, and getting the glocalisation correct. And it starts with the teams right, if the people joining the company, well as well it is my personal sort of observation and perspective, in order at the macro company level, embarking on those global and local dynamics, they need to start with the individual that are kind of working in the team level. That acknowledgement is key in order to fuel that global and local dynamics that happen at a macro level. So, I think those sort of, as a former international student, probably I didn’t really appreciate how much this global, local would work, especially when, you know, pre-COVID19, you wake up and kind of come to see Parkinson steps, walking down past LUU, and to the western side of the campus, beautiful LUBS, sometimes you just feel like you live in Leeds and you think okay its nice and quiet and all of that, but I think the world is moving very fast. COVID19 has accelerated digital transformation, and I think when I speak to some of our clients, the most innovative, the person that is responsible most for innovation happening in some of the companies right now, are COVID19… it’s not CIA or Chief Technology Officer, it is COVID19, it forces them to think and to behave differently. There are not really one size fits all, but trying to get that local, global dynamic in the headquarter and within regional and local offices, get them right, underpinned by data. Because I think data is key for good glocalisation, and that kind of real time adjustment, and within that companies are required to empower the people, at the local leadership level, at the same time, at respective teams.

Ellen - Absolutely, no thank you, and I think it’s very insightful, I’ve kind of worked out two points from what you have said, one is, I love the point that you use COVID19, not only does it pose a threat, but it’s also an opportunity as well, I think that’s something you’re trying to say. And the other point, I loved what you said about it really kind of makes the local leaders come up with innovative ideas and interventions because of COVID19, you know, I think that’s absolutely key, which is the fact that COVID19 has accelerated the way that we work, how we do things, and everything else around it as well. So, you know, when we talk about COVID19, we can’t help to think about international restrictions on mobility as a result of that, now my question you, is what do you think our students can do to develop a global mindset, but really to act locally please, what can they do and what is your advice please?

Steven - Okay so let me start by acknowledging that there are still some students who are in the UK and in Leeds, and they may not be able to come and study in person on campus, and I know that’s quite difficult, but there are also those populations of international students that are also back home, and they have to really live by the UK hours wherever they are, trying to do their studies and all sorts of things. So, I believe this is sort of unprecedented, which is a term that is being overused at the moment, but it is true, right? What you are facing as home students and international students is not something that I faced when I was at Leeds/ So, two main things that people can start to think about and do, to develop a global mindset and acting locally, is by changing gears, and charge ahead. So let me come back to that point, changing gears and charge ahead. I want everyone to picture, almost like an Armageddon, almost the end of the world, you and your relatives are in a car, seeing that something is about to happen. And hopefully you and many other people or perhaps you are the first one to spot it, that this big nightmare is going to happen, and its real, then you will change gear. You will change your gear, you can’t just do BAU we call it in corporate, business as usual. It’s not going to work like that right? And after you change gears, then you will charge ahead. Away from those destructions but to a safer, brighter, and better future. And usually in Hollywood it goes that everything will be happy, and everyone is going to smile at the end of the day, and if not then it’s not going to be a good film. Anyway, focus on those things: changing gears and charge ahead. So firstly, on the changing gears, this can be done with the four P’s, the first P is position, second P, prepare, third P is progress, and the fourth P is press on. These four Ps are staged and they’re really 4 stages that you could do today. It’s not something you should do when you graduate from Leeds or you know maybe next academic year in September, but today. I think positioning who you are in a post-COVID19 job environment is key. Positioning what sort of profile or what story you want to be known for would be key. In order for you to prepare, which is he second P here, so that you know exactly what are the gaps that you have in order to move to that position. So for example, if now you believe, and again, this is something I see, the UK right now, has a really big talent gap in some sorts of digitally-savvy roles. Beta Analyst, Data Scientist, Data and Software Engineers, I mean there are a lot of jobs out there, and Accenture are also recruiting here on AI, and all of this sort of digital-savvy roles, where we just cannot seem to staff certain roles. I think if you are able to position and acknowledge the fact that the world is changing post COVID19, and you want to be part of and relevant, then I think you should position yourself in a post COVID19 world, and prepare, and when I say prepare it’s not just revising, actually get your hands and do the heavy lifting, in identifying some of the skills gaps today, and what do you do about it. Do you go on YouTube and learn how to say edit videos? Or how to code? Or how to do ABC? There are so many, sort of, free resources and I’m sure the University may have some sort of available resources that you could do in preparation. And then after you’re sort of done with the positioning and the preparation, the third P is around progress. Have you made progress in filling those gaps? Or are these gaps way too big for you to fill? What do you do? And this is where I think it’s important for the fourth element, it will be a tough journey, and I think those who can be brave enough to step outside of our comfort zone, and press on which is the fourth P. And press on means that you just be persistent, that if you set a goal, and you say there are a number of skills gaps you want to really fill, to build a better profile, then I think that’s great. And I think being persistent here could also mean really connecting with some of the LUBS staff, or some of the professors, potential mentors, your senior, someone in your society, in Leeds, outside Leeds, back home, try to have that sort of conversation, this is where I want to position myself, this is how I’ve been preparing, this is the start of my progress. You could say I’m proud of this progress, I’m also pleased about this sort of progress, let’s be objective right. Meaning that if you made some little progress, lets recognise that progress. If you haven’t done so, how? Is there any other sort of enablers that you are able to look at? Is there a potential mentor that can help you to motivate you, I think when you’re on your own, with very limited sort of in-person contacts, it could be hard and I would encourage you to think about the four P’s within the changing gears. Some examples I can bring into student context and maybe this is also what I’ve done, so I got involved at MUN, so Model United Nations, where I was a VP at the time, and really tried to get involved in meeting new people and network, and really try to articulate policy positions and stuff like that. I know some of these happen virtually now, it would be difficult but still why don’t you try to network and go out there, or maybe you can try to represent your country in international conferences that are for university students. And these sorts of things happen in person normally, but I know they are now online, in the wake of COVID19, so that could be a possibility to do certain things that are helpful for personal development side of things. Or you could apply to speak or present at these kinds of conferences as well that will try to enhance some of your skills if digital is not your thing. Again, sometimes acknowledging what you don’t want to be and who you want to be is also important. It is just taking the first step, and it could be listening to Ellen’s podcast on glocal, right? And acknowledging that you need to change gears, to charge ahead. And the charge ahead here is something that probably I will leave to each individual listener who is listening to this, because it’s all about the state of mind. Charging ahead is not a one off, but it is that direction of travel. So, once you know the positioning, and once you know how to prepare and progress, charging ahead is really a state of mind, of growth mindset that you want to continually improve on day in and day out, and never settle for less, and think about the framework, and what you can do today to change gears and charge ahead. Hopefully that’s helpful.

Ellen - That’s very helpful thank you very much Steven, what an insightful piece of information. I mean I’ve not stopped taking notes I think I’m running out of spaces in my notebook. But I absolutely love the model you shared on two C’s and four P’s, so for those of you in the marketing industry forget about the four P’s that you know but start learning about the four P’s that Steven has just shared, so about the position, prepare, progress, and press-on. And thank you so much for sharing those. And I think that’s really helpful, you know, not only you told us the what but also the how as well. So, that’s really helpful thank you. One of the things I wanted to touch up on that you’ve already mentioned bridely, is that we’re entering into the information, technology and digital transformation era. So, in some of my earlier episodes, I have interviewed some student representatives who have shared their challenges of networking and the lack of networking opportunities with potential employers, which is something that for example when you were studying at Leeds, it’s not there. So, what advice could you give to our students on effective networking during the pandemic please.

Steven – Again, I’m not a student living through the pandemic, so I’m probably not in the best place to share, but if I could reflect on some of my experiences in the past, and seeing how some of these activities are done online, I think probably, three quick things, first is around making active contributions, secondly, sharing your story and who you truly are, and three around measuring your personal impact. So, number one, making active contribution, right, no matter where you are, in Leeds, outside of Leeds, elsewhere in your home with your parents in the UK, or you know in your respective home countries, there is no reason why you can’t join a community or a society. This is even more important, that you are connected through a club or society, probably not sport, because you can’t do sport while virtual, but I’m sure there are so many societies that can run, and can still meet regularly, and contribute to those you are passionate about, so that of the roles, if you apply for a position it’s not like another burden that you have to do. It’s not another commitment but because you’re passionate about something, you don’t mind spending time on it. And you can procrastinate productively, and I like this word, because everyone procrastinates. That’s a reality, whether you’re working, whether you’re studying, everyone procrastinates. But the decision to procrastinate whether to watch Netflix or watch Korean drama or to be lounging around, or you could choose to procrastinate productively by say, doing some society stuff, society work. You just happen to meet virtually that’s it right. I think those are the type of people who can make active contribution, will eventually be able to network meaningfully, because it’s not just for the sake of turning up to another zoom session, but getting your name out there, being known for something, say, oh right this guy the treasurer for this, or the guy that can do video editing at this society, things like that. And this is a great opportunity because I’m sure there will be demands for some of your contribution, and this is somewhere you could make a different contribution, where perhaps, similar folks around you will need you the most. Second, around sharing your story, I think I highly recommend people to use linked in and other relevant social media to share positive stories and a number of milestones, and I think that’s great because you are being thankful for something, you now, if you just did a virtual internship at a particular company, share about that to your network, and it’s great. Or maybe you can share how thankful you are to a mentor of yours that has done or provided a bit of their time, maybe a thirty-minute coffee catch up where they give you some inspiration, and giving you a way to blah blah blah, I think sharing your own milestones and thanking others, and recognizing others contributions towards you will go along way. That would be a good way for you to network, because you’ve done something and then you shared it, you amplified the reach, at the same time, when you recognise someone that gave indirect, non-monetary sort of satisfaction, indirectly to the people who have helped you, that hopefully generate for future conversations. Don’t have conversation that is very one-off, and I think there is this mentality that when people do networking or when you’re not very familiar with networking, you just try to use, or take advantage of people’s time to create this one off or very short networking or short-term relationship. What can I do to take advantage of this guy? I could probably drop this guy on a CV because I’m applying for something. Or I will meet him because I need this, or because, you know, that type of mentality. I’d encourage you to think more long term when you think of potential mentors or one or two other people, and thinking around, you know, what sort of long-term relationship and mentorship that you can embark on rather than just one-off. Again, back to the meaningful networking, it’s far more important in a virtual environment more so than ever. And measuring personal impact is more on, you’ve done, you know you may have joined community societies, you may have shared via linked in, and things like that but, if you don’t measure, what kind of impacts you have generated, then you ay lose a bit of that positioning. Meaning that sometimes, and I said please say yes, but sometimes, it’s okay to say no, to have a bit of focus, it’s okay to focus on, you know, once you try a bit of that, make a position of what are the things that you want to focus on so that all of the things you’ve done, help you for your positioning. These personal impacts will really help you evaluate where you want to go and where you are. So, once you set that position, one of the four P’s that I mentioned before, once you set that position, and I think it would be good for you to measure along the way, you know where are you today, in comparison to let’s say where you want to be in in that sort of position. So if you want to, just an example, if you want to be an Investment Banker in say, J.P. Morgan, or City Bank or wherever, right, and you want to be that front office Investment Banker guy, okay maybe you want to join LUU Investment Trading Society or maybe you want to be a Consultant and you join LUU Consulting Society, or you want to be the President of wherever, right, then you can share a bit about your story, what you’ve organised, you know great things, thanking people, but measure where you are today, and where you want be, are you one step closer? Or maybe you’re one step away from your position, then make an intervention. I do think there needs to be a purpose with networking, but make it more meaningful through those three points around making active contribution, sharing you story to the public domain if you feel comfortable, and measuring your personal impacts, where are you today against your positions.

Ellen - That’s great, Steven, thank you once again. I think this is a great point to conclude our episode today, we have discussed the two C’s and four P’s and actions to take to enhance your personal branding to stand out from the crowd, all of which are very valuable tips. Remember, if you wish to connect with Steven, feel free to contact Steven Marcelino via LinkedIn. So, for the next several episodes, I hope to continue inviting more guests to join me and share their insights on glocalisation, and how they’re tackling some of the challenges along the way. Most importantly, I want to continue raising awareness and importance of think globally and act locally. If you’re interested in finding out more about this topic, please subscribe to our podcast series or if you would like to get in touch our contact details are available in the episode description. Until then, that’s go glocal.