EP 24 - Building Bridges in a Global Group: Trust, Networks, and Shared Value
When you enter the center of a global organization, the dynamics of leadership change. The scope expands, the cultures multiply, and the traditional levers of influence lose relevance. What truly drives performance at scale is not authority; it is trust, networks, and shared value.
In this Episode:
Francois Jacquemin shares lessons from leading within a global financial group: building trust, creating value across networks, and leading collaboration beyond hierarchy.
I experienced this shift firsthand while working within one of the world’s largest financial and insurance groups. Moving from a national entity to the global headquarters meant moving from a direct leadership model to a networked one. Success was no longer defined by the results of a single business unit, but by the ability to align value across multiple stakeholders, subsidiaries, regional teams, and international partners.
Trust Before Hierarchy.
In smaller entities, relationships are often transactional. You negotiate, you deliver, and the results are measurable. In a group center, hierarchy matters less than connection. The real power lies in trusting the informal, human connections that allow collaboration across divisions and geographies.
I learned that trust cannot wait to be earned. It must be offered first. When you extend trust to others, even across cultures or functions, most people respond positively. It opens the door to cooperation and shared ambition. Waiting for trust to be proven often leads to stagnation.
Networks as Strategic Capital.
One of the most overlooked assets in large organizations is the informal network. A conversation over coffee can often achieve what formal meetings cannot. Those moments of genuine connection are the bridges that sustain collaboration long after roles or structures evolve.
In the group where I worked, there was even an intentional design for connecting coffee spaces and informal gatherings, which encouraged leaders to meet beyond their silos. These interactions helped build the social fabric that enabled innovation and transformation to flow throughout the organization.
Shared Value Over Individual Success.
Another critical lesson was understanding what truly creates value for the group. Success cannot be measured solely by local performance or personal results. Every initiative must be assessed through the lens of collective benefit.
An idea may be brilliant in isolation, but if it increases capital requirements or diverges from strategic alignment, it may not serve the broader purpose. Effective leaders in global organizations understand how to strike a balance between local ambitions and global coherence.
The Role of Community and Hospitality.
Leadership in a large group also means creating opportunities for others. I felt responsible not only for delivering my own results but also for helping colleagues integrate and introducing them to the right people, ensuring they could navigate the group’s complexity, and providing them with a network to build upon.
The concept of “hospitality” within a corporate context, which involves opening doors for others, strengthens the organization’s collective intelligence. It ensures that talent does not operate in isolation, but contributes to a living, evolving community.
The most valuable currency in large organizations is not capital, it is connection. Trust, openness, and shared purpose are what enable global groups to function as cohesive, resilient systems.
Leadership at scale is not about control. It’s about creating the conditions for others to connect, collaborate, and create value together.
Timecode:
00:00 Introduction: Lessons from a Global Financial Group
00:08 Career Stages and Roles
00:47 Adapting to a Larger Group
01:45 Building Networks and Trust
06:30 Creating Value for the Group
10:03 The Importance of Community
11:04 Conclusion: Key Takeaways
Francois Links:
Apple Podcast
Transcript:
So what have I learned in one of the largest, uh, insurance or financial group in the, in the, in the world? We have to say that, uh, there was, uh, two or three stages in my career. There is, uh, as a junior employee, as a, as a CEO of, uh, of, uh, what they call noi, uh, which means, uh. A, uh, a company, uh, of the group, but established in one of the, one of the countries where they, they're active and, uh, as an international executive there, and two different, uh, do different roles.
So, um, the, the variety of, uh, of roles that, uh. Big, big groups offer is, uh, is already something, which is, uh, which, which is amazing, and, uh, gives the ability to, to learn from different angle. What, what I've learned, uh, is, is first the size, the magnitude coming from a, a smaller country, uh, or a smaller unit from, from the group.
And, uh, landing into the, the larger group center, uh, with, uh. A pool of people from different origin, uh, from different background, uh, cultural, um, is, uh, is, is amazing, is a learning how to integrate oneself, how to start working with that, uh, pool of, uh, of very clever, ambitious, uh, bright. Just diverse set of, set of people is, uh, is, is great.
Um, we have to be open. I have to be, I had to be open myself. I, coming from a, a smaller entity, I, uh, I changed the way I was, uh, I was working, I was handling, um, my relationship with all my colleagues, um, that, that was important. One, one key is the, uh, the need, uh, to establish bridges and, and network. The business I was leading before was based on partnerships and, and other partnerships that were taking part of the, um, the value chain, part of the element of the value chain.
But, um, I was in charge and, and I was driving, uh, the changes in, in transformation. And, you know, if you're the client or the partner, you negotiate and, and, and, but it's business and, and, and you move forward based on a bit what you bring on the table. It's is it business? Is it, is it money? Is it, is it influence, uh, or other element.
But going in, in a group center, it's not about that anymore. Uh, a group center doesn't mean that, uh, the relationship that you establish with all the subsidiaries or or other unit of the group. Are in a, in a, in a hierarchical position, what the key there is to establish a network to create trust, to, um, really focus on the, so the, the social element aspect of the business and, and, and the people.
Of course, it's always been people, business and, and number person that's drive driven and, and, and, you know, oriented towards establishing, um, emotional and, and, and, and trustful connection, but. There, it's magnified. It's, you know, it's, it's, it's so important to create this network that, uh, even the group I have established, uh, of course there's the in-house restaurant and, and the good one and the not so good ones, but there's also a, a coffee place, a Barack coffee place where the, the, the management of the group encourages.
All the employees to go and connect because going there, you meet other people, you will meet people who meet people. So rather than just having a, um, an informal meeting passing by, uh, an office somewhere, what you do, you just go there and have a nice coffee, um, which is the nice part. And the coffee was really nice actually.
But uh, also establish, uh, long-term connection. In a more informal way, um, and this informal element is, is so important because it is something that you. You can rely on over and over. When people go to other parts of the group, you will keep those connections and, and, and they will be valuable. And it's not only about coffee, uh, it's also about creating, uh, other type of network.
Like, uh, if, if you, if you work on a specific segment, uh, bringing the people from all over the world, uh, who are working on that segment and work with them. To establish a sharing moment, a sharing seminar so that one country can, can copy what another country was doing, slightly adapting it, uh, to the culture, to the element, uh, of that country to the, the structure, legal structure of that country.
But then to be able to work in a way that is better for the, the, the group and the, and the, and the result of the group at the end. For me, what I've learned, I was always open. I mean, I was, as a person, as a, as a person, I, I've, I liked always, uh, going outwards and, and, and meet other, other people in culture.
But there, it's, it's every day. It's everyone is different. And, uh, it's about being open. It's about being, sharing. Um, I, I, I don't like when people say, you know, uh, where I'm from, trust is earned. Not, uh, not, not given. And, and, and, and from our perspective. I much prefer giving trust. Be open towards people. I much prefer having, you know, established trust and 80% is, is worked given back as opposed to not giving trust and then, uh, nothing's working.
If you, if you reach the handout towards people, um, most of them will, will answer. I, I remember that Japanese, um, it's not even colleagues, partners, or part of the network, um, who. Wanted to act so western, like European like, and, and, and, and I was open with him and, and, and wanted to somehow, plenty of mistakes were made into trying to understand each other's behavior, culture, little element of, of body language.
Uh, but at the end of the day, the key was not the element and the mistakes we made. The key was the willingness from both sides to have established a common willingness. To pass beyond, to go beyond those, uh, cultural differences and establish a, um, simple relationship business relationship. Another element that I've learned is, um, to establish, uh, an understanding of what create value for the group.
It's not about create value for my own unit only or my own person. It's about understanding what creating value for the group means. There's a lot of example there. Um, you can, you can start thinking, oh, you know, I'm going to develop this type of business, but if it's not in the group strategy or create a a, a capital, um, increase, I mean the requirement to increase the capital as opposed to to reduce it, then if the group doesn't want to put the capital, it's a great idea.
It could end up in a negative result simply because it doesn't fit, fit in the business mix or because the investment is too high or because the investment doesn't fit within the guidelines of the group. And, and, and therefore it's limited. And if you understand that you have many stakeholders, those stakeholders can be direct or indirect.
Um, that. As part of the network I was mentioning earlier that you know, you've understood what your stakeholders are, who are your stakeholders are, and, and, and, and what the, the, the, the needs are. Then you can navigate within those, uh, those, uh, that pool of needs or that ecosystem of, of, of need, which, um, will allow you to be very creative, which allow you to also.
Uh, not be alone. So if you manage to get the right project, the right, um, business idea that, uh, will make other stakeholders also, um. Help them to create value for, for, for the group and their own environment, then, then the value you create by your own project will help their value. And, and the value of the, of the group will, will, will go up.
And uh, of course big groups are just like little, little element a bit everywhere. Uh, will, will, will raise the value of the group. And, and, and this is. An element of, of, of large groups and, and, and collaboration network, which is extremely important. Of course, at the end of the day, uh, there are currencies like, um, like real currency, like money, uh, which, which will, will be the, the ultimate one.
But before getting to the money currency, there is all that added value and, and goodwill and ability to work together and, and to lift. Much heavier weight by working together that, um, is, is is an important element. Failing to do so, uh, will not be very successful, will be extremely frustrating, and that's something that I've learned in big groups, but also.
It's very important to, to, to apply in, in, in my future, uh, future, uh, business life, which, which I've done, um, again and again. So the element of bridging and, and creating, uh, those, those communities where we can work and collaborate together. Uh, is, is very important. Beyond that, the, the, the, the learning, um, is, is, is, is extreme.
It's, um, something which I will always have valued and I would always push, uh, others to, to, to benefit from. And, and that leads me to one element. There is, um, working in large groups. It's not only about one person, it's about the community. And, and bringing people to that community is not, is not to be, uh, understated.
So I felt that I was responsible not only for for, for, for what I was doing, but also bringing a lot of colleagues, uh, from outside the country or, or, or in that, in that unit. Words, um, learning, uh, to introduce them, uh, where the, a name that was Hospi Hospital. So it means like creating a network for others so that they, they have a, a kickstart, you know, they don't start from scratch, but they already have, uh, a network at the beginning where they, where they're there.
So these element that, that are important in a, in a, in a large group is not only for one person. But also you, you're part of a community and contributing to that community, giving back is as important as, as, as sticking. So, um, that's what I've learned in, in, in one of the big groups, but there's so many much more, uh, for another podcast on this.