Dean's Message丨Building an Organization of …

Building an Organization of Strength, Synergy, 

Sustainability and Scalability

建设有实力、重协同、可持续、

可拓展的ZIBS

First of all, I am most pleased and proud to introduce to you all our new leadership team, especially our new members. My warmest congratulations to most members of our Leadership Team: despite being so young, you are already taking on important roles and responsibilities in a fascinating organization!

Our Governance Structure

Like previous times, the changes we have rolled out today are our continuous effort to refine and reinforce ZIBS organizational structure, as we have been doing on a quarterly basis since our inception. In this sense, there is no change!

Some of you may find our matrix organization structure confusing, as you may have multiple reporting lines. One positive way to look at this (and my experiences) is that you will have one more person to get support and guidance from; it also forces you to think horizontally and vertically, to learn to work with colleagues across the entire organization. The matrix organization was not invented by us; it has been widely applied in public and private sector institutions. My advice to you is to please see and seek the best out of the structure.

Many of you may be curious about how we make decisions at ZIBS. There are weekly Leadership Meetings at 9 a.m. Monday, where team leaders provide their updates (usually each one within a minute) to all, with written updates in both English and Chinese circulated as well. Everyone within ZIBS is welcome to join the Leadership Meeting, that is, you have the option (but not the obligation) to participate, while the formal Leadership Team members must attend. In addition, I chair Dean's Meeting at 10 a.m. Monday morning, when we discuss, debate, and decide things that are central and critical to ZIBS. Dean’s Meetings usually last half an hour.

Our Performance Culture

In ZIBS, we believe that you must put in work to achieve results (有投入才有产出).

I want to highlight that as a ZIBSer, you are not an assembly line worker, where your contribution and output would be straightforward, simple, and almost 100% quantifiable. Your performance at ZIBS (and most other organizations) is not entirely quantifiable. While we continue to improve our performance review processes and offer competitive remuneration, please do not expect instant and tangible financial rewards for a single task completed.

If you are a weak performer, do not be smug about not being noticed. The time has yet to come. If you are a strong performer, do not get bogged down just because you have not been rewarded yet; again, the time is yet to come, but surely it will come. Reviews and rewards (and punishments) come over time and are based on the overall performance of portfolios of roles and responsibilities.

Our Roles and Responsibilities

You wear different hats and have different titles in ZIBS. The ZIBS titles are reputable, and we do not give them out easily. The titles represent honors and roles you are expected to play in ZIBS; more importantly, they mean duties and responsibilities that we will define better with more clarity. Whether you are a Program Director or Manager of global engagement, you are expected to perform your duties well.

I trust that as a ZIBSer, you are all familiar with our tradition: ZIBS is not an organization of "entitlements", we are a start-up organization! ZIBSer is not "entitled" to something; all ZIBSers have to earn everything! We earn respect and rewards; we earn salaries and bonuses; and we earn career progression opportunities. This is what I have shared with you all along. Please allow me to reiterate again: (有作为才有地位) It is your contribution that counts.

Our Career Progression

In ZIBS we cherish diversity, whether you are from different backgrounds and at different stages of life, you have different positions, or you may have different types of contracts (or legal status) with ZIBS. We treat you the same as a ZIBSer, a member of the ZIBS family, and we expect everyone to be performing to the same highest standard of ZIBS, irrespective of which career track you are on with ZIBS.

There has been some internal mobility for our colleagues as they search for more suitable positions for their career planning and progression. Putting the right people in the right positions is good for any organization, and the right internal mobility is great and certainly encouraged in ZIBS.

However, you would agree with me that internal mobility should be for the greater good of ZIBS as a whole. We certainly do NOT like to see internal transfers simply because certain departments and divisions are considered with easier positions and more relaxed performance standards. No position in ZIBS is for relaxation or retirement, and mobilities to "take advantage of our organizational imbalances of performance pressure" are not encouraged at all. As an organization embracing and emphasizing transparency, it is and will be easy to weed out such arbitrage behaviors in due course.

Our Performance Review

We will strengthen our performance review processes and strive to provide direct and candid feedback to our colleagues, as we believe this is most valuable to the individual and the ZIBS family as a whole. Our underlying belief is that it is in the best interest of both the professional and personal development of our colleagues and ZIBS as an organization seeking sustainable growth for us and greater good for society.

So while our feedback may occasionally be considered too direct, it is not meant to embarrass anyone or make anybody uncomfortable! Even if it happens, please remember that it is (对事不对人) Nothing Personal. In an ideal world, there would be zero "embarrassment", but life is tough and it is not optimal. In a suboptimal situation, we all have to face certain embarrassing or awkward situations. Let us confront the issues and be direct with each other to solve the problems within, so as to avoid or minimize the chance of ZIBS being embarrassed as an organization!

You may be a student of mine, or we may have graduated from the same university, come from the same hometown, or you may be recommended through a mutual friend, or we may have spent good time together outside of work. These are nice informal connections, which I appreciate a lot. However, these informal connections should not and will not compromise the way we treat you as a colleague when it comes to performance reviews and personnel decisions. That is a ZIBS principle and a promise we have made, and we will continue to practice it.

Our Development Stage

ZIBS is at a critical stage of development, after nearly 5 years of growth from 0 to 1. However, we must all agree that our foundation for sustainable growth is not solid, our students are generally appreciative of what ZIBS can (potentially) offer, but are not always too happy with their learning experiences ranging from certain classes taught to career counselling, our organization structures and operations are dynamic but not yet mature or robust enough for scalable growth, our staff are hardworking and among the most capable in an academic institution but not yet experienced and efficient enough to build and run a truly global organization, our faculty team are very committed and diverse but yet still small and young, and their areas of expertise are not yet aligned with our stated goal: to build a technology-focused premier global business school from China.

Though we keep improving our self-awareness, we may be blinded to the areas of weakness we keenly need to improve quickly. While we have all the reasons to celebrate our achievements as a team and as individuals, past achievements should not become a liability of complacency, hindering our future development. Our past stellar performance is no guarantee for our future success and career advancement, as the rapidly-growing ZIBS will keep expecting ever-higher performance standards.

Our Organizational Goal

We have been working on building ZIBS as an organization with the following characteristics:  

1

Strength: ZIBS is a resilient and robust organization, least sensitive to unexpected eventualities, both internal and external.

2

Synergy: ZIBS is greater than the sum of all our parts thanks to our collaborative culture and capacity.

3

Sustainability: ZIBS is able to sustain our growth for the future, with our continuous investment in the ZIBS infrastructure, both tangible and intangible.

4

Scalability: ZIBS is fully prepared and capable of replicating and scaling up our operations when the right opportunities arise.

In a diverse, fast-paced, and ever-changing world, are you prepared to embrace the uncertainties and shape the future? With our continuous effort of organizational improvement like what we announced today, we will gain the extra capacity of strength, synergy, sustainability, and scalability for ZIBS, and will be more prepared for the changing world and future. Efforts today will help take us a step closer tomorrow to achieving our mission: connect the world and shape the future.

Warm regards,

BEN Shenglin

(This is based on the closing speech given during ZIBS Ecosystem Plenary Session on May 29, 2023, when refined organization and leadership team were announced.)

Editor｜LI Songjiao

Managing Editor｜CHENQI Lisha

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