Refer China: Driven to succeed ： How to stay relevant in a changing industry

Global EMBA 2021 alum Dalin Wei offers his insights on growth and professional development.

CEIBS Global EMBA (GEMBA) 2021 alum Dalin Wei is Senior Vice President (China) of thyssenkrupp Uhde, one of the world's leading engineering companies that designs and constructs chemical plants and facilities. One of the youngest members of his GEMBA cohort, Dalin has managed to quickly climb to the upper echelons of corporate leadership in the 12 years since he first graduated as a civil engineer.

When asked what he thinks makes a successful leader, Dalin says he believes that attitude is as important as aptitude, and that if both are in alignment, that's when great things can happen.

"Imagine you're running a marathon," says Dalin. "If you've trained hard, then your physical energy might be enough to carry you through the race. If you have the right motivation, if you're driven to succeed, then your mental energy might be enough. But if you combine physical energy and mental determination, that's what will give you the best chance of success."

Dalin Wei

Senior Vice President (China), Thyssenkrupp Uhde

Global EMBA 2021

In the ever-changing world of business, leaders must constantly challenge themselves to look beyond the confines of their existing knowledge base and their understanding of current industry norms. They must remain intellectually curious and outward-looking, boosting their capabilities while maintaining their drive to grapple with new technologies, practices and market expectations.

For Dalin, who has necessarily familiarised himself with a widening range of business functions (including HR, finance, marketing, and more) during his elevation to the executive level, staying relevant means staying open-minded. Fortunately, this is a mindset he acquired early in life.

Shanghai to Paris, and back again

Though born in China, Dalin spent most of his formative years in Paris, France. His father was a gifted musician, and at the age of seven Dalin began integrating with the French culture, language and educational system.

"Like many people from Asian families, seeing my parents working so hard inspired me," Dalin recalls. "They started from almost nothing, but they had the ambition to realise that moving to France was an opportunity, and they seized it. I never forgot the importance of having that attitude."

After graduating from the prestigious engineering school ESTP in 2011, Dalin assisted in the Grand Paris Metro Express project, first as an engineer and later as a project manager. After six years supporting the design and early construction of 200km of new automatic metro lines, Dalin was offered the chance to embark on another adventure by returning to his country of birth. He was offered an East Asia business development position for Condat (a leading chemical company supporting the operation of Tunnel Boring Machines, or TBMs), which meant heading back to Shanghai.

"Everything was on track; I was comfortable and content in France. But when the offer came, I felt like it was the right challenge, coming at the right time. It was a chance to broaden my horizons and think beyond the immediate issues of the day. I realised that I wanted and needed such a change in order to grow," says Dalin.

New role, new mindset

Returning to China, and assuming increasingly complex professional responsibilities, tested Dalin's capabilities in a variety of ways. Firstly, he noted a form of "reverse culture shock", as he adapted to the realities of Chinese business culture.

"It was challenging because my colleagues saw a Chinese face and heard me speaking Chinese, so they assumed I was thinking exactly along the same lines as them," recalls Dalin. "The reality was that my whole professional life to date had been spent in Europe and the US, and it took a lot of effort to recalibrate my approach to leadership."

Dalin views these cultural considerations as an invaluable learning tool, emphasising that his broader geographical experiences of the world aided his ability to read people and appeal to their deeper professional needs.

"Living, studying and working in different countries will almost inevitably improve your soft skills," says Dalin. "The more you explore different cultures, the better equipped you become to empathise with people, allowing you to motivate them. Effective leadership must start with empathy, and empathy starts with understanding."

Greater contextual knowledge

In late 2021 – when Dalin was Sales Director at Condat but also the GM of a joint-venture with the company's Chinese partner – he realised that even though his career was progressing well, he wanted to take on another kind of challenge.

"I had just become a GM of a joint-venture and I was in a growth mindset," says Dalin. "I wanted another chance to get outside of my immediate professional surroundings and expose myself to a whole range of new influences, to measure myself against exceptional business leaders from around the world, learning from their experiences and ideas."

Joining the CEIBS GEMBA programme and finding himself among roughly 100 similarly open-minded and intellectually curious leaders gave Dalin the fresh perspective he was looking for. Through interactions with his classmates and professors, Dalin was able to address specific business problems he had been facing, while gaining newfound confidence to tackle more ambitious projects.

"GEMBA was like relearning how to learn. By the end, I had gained a much more systematic appreciation of how I understand business. Now, for every business function, for every aspect, I have a separate box of knowledge in my mind. When I open the box, if the answers are already there then that's great; but if they aren't, at least I know what I'm looking for, and where I can go to find it."

Dalin remains connected with his classmates and is active across the wider CEIBS alumni network, regularly asking for advice while sharing his own insights wherever asked. After a particularly impactive module on M&A activities, Dalin consulted with his classmates and Condat colleagues to pursue the acquisition of a Thailand-based company.

When asked what he thinks makes a successful leader, Dalin believes that "attitude" is as important as "aptitude", and if both are in alignment, that's when great things can happen.

Prepared for change

Six months into his SVP role with thyssenkrupp Uhde China, Dalin is currently pursuing yet another challenge of even greater dimensions. It represents a shift into a new industry, with greater responsibilities than ever, in a corporate group more than 100 times bigger than any previous enterprise in his professional history.

Dalin is undaunted by the scope of the change in his life. While prior experience has undeniable advantages, his mindset is that freshness of perspective can be equally valuable for any company looking to change with the times.

"In a traditional market, you might prefer someone with a strong background in your industry. But if you want to be disruptive, then you need a different way of looking at things," claims Dalin. "That's why all manner of companies, big and small, value breadth of experience so highly today."

For his parting advice to professionals looking to remain relevant in a business landscape that stands still for noone, Dalin says that there is no substitute for a constant growth mindset. Honing your ability to learn, and remaining open to all learning opportunities, is what creates new opportunities while enhancing your ability to seize them.

"See more of the world, whenever you can," Dalin urges. "Not only will it broaden your knowledge, but it will also balance your opinions and biases. In this digital age, we all crave simple solutions, but many questions have very complicated answers. Exploring more of the world will help you grasp the nuances of any situation, and that will give you the confidence to seek out the best possible solution."