Toshimi Itakura is now general manager of the Sojitz Corporation’s legal department. But it has been a long road to get there – she has worked her way up from the most junior position in the legal team all the way up to the top job at one of Japan’s largest companies. Sojitz is one of Japan’s famed sogo shosha, a term that translates as general trading company, which explains their approach to business: in short, they’ll manage a dizzying array of businesses. In Sojitz’ case, automotive, aerospace & transportation, infrastructure, energy, healthcare, metals & minerals, chemicals, agriculture and retail are just some of the areas the company takes on. During the course of her career progression, Toshimi has managed an ever-growing team of people which now numbers over 70. She has developed a keen sense of what to do – and what not to do – when managing others. Toshimi spoke to GC about her philosophy.
GC: Could you begin by explaining your approach to people management?
As the general manager of the legal department, there is one thing in my approach that I have not changed since I was appointed a section manager: my key management policy as a leader of the organisation. The underlying principle of such key management policy has been to provide a supportive environment in which team members can thrive, whilst continuing to work towards achieving broader company strategies together. When I was first appointed as the Section 3 manager [Section 3 is the part of the Sojitz legal team that covers aerospace & transportation, infrastructure and energy industry] in 2020, I announced the following key management policy to my section members: “Be happy and passionate about working, and always be yourself”. I also made a commitment to support and be considerate of each of their career objectives and lives. Now with almost 75 members (covering seven sections and one unit) in the legal department, this approach remains unchanged and I am determined to continue to provide close support to my members. However, now that I have become the general manager, it can be challenging to take time for each individual member, therefore I strongly feel that the role of each section manager is very important to support such approach going forward.
In its Medium-Term Management Plan 2023, Sojitz Corporation has set the vision of 2030 as “constantly cultivating new businesses and human capital”. Among them, the company’s human resources strategies aim to create and support a “team of diverse, autonomous individuals”. As the general manager of the legal department, I also place this strategy as one of my department’s important missions and am hopeful that my key management policy will support such company strategy. Legal personnel generally have a high level of expertise and in recent years there has been an accelerated increase in the mobility of human resources in the legal industry. Consequently, the diversity of the department members, including the career backgrounds of the members, is rapidly increasing. In light of this situation, I believe it is extremely important to create an environment where each individual can bring his/her own diversified talent to its full potential. I believe this will lead to the enhanced performance of the organisation. Section managers, in my view, play a very important role in achieving this.
GC: We often hear of the importance of effective communication. What are your key takeaways for how to get across your goals and vision for the team?
As a manager, who is in a position responsible for managing the section, it is important to clearly communicate your policy to the members. Through continuous communication, members can act without losing sight of the major direction they should aim for, and for section managers, it becomes the basis on which judgments are made. Most importantly, showing that your own behaviour follows what you have addressed in your policy gives power to the words you speak and persuasively conveys such policy to the members. If you feel your members are not committed to supporting your policy, just take a step back and ask yourself: “Are you actively taking steps to carry out the policy yourself?”
Firstly, think about your goals in the following order: for yourself, for your section, for your department, for your company, and for your society. As working hours account for a large part of a member’s daily life, I think it is important for each member to set their own goals based on what they actually feel passionate about doing and achieving in their career and lives. However, if such goals simultaneously provide benefits to the section, department, company, and further to society, the achievement of such goals will result in more significant widespread value. Since finding such value will greatly contribute to the sense of growth and motivation of the members, it is an important role for section managers to sincerely engage with the members of their section to understand their career goals and talents, and to work together to find the value in their goals and talents which lead to such widespread benefit.
GC: How important is it to understand the unique goals of each of your team members?
Where a company is trying to compete globally, there is no value in internal competition within the organization. Rather, I believe, we should use our energy to support each other’s objectives. In my role as a section manager, I had utilised the first section meeting at the beginning of each year to ask all the members to share their personal objectives for the year and with that common understanding, encouraged them to be supportive of each other’s achievement of such objectives throughout the year. In addition, I held a discussion session called the “Ichibanboshi Project” (“The First Star Project”), in which all the members individually articulated their favourite points about the other members. This session was held immediately before I was transferred from one section to another section, and I proposed this session because I wanted to leave a gift to each member who had worked so tirelessly and contributed to my team. I believe everybody is born with a talent, although they are not always aware of what their talent is. Talent is like “the first star” in a person’s heart and “the first star” always shines and guides the person’s life, even when he or she is lost or troubled. I really hoped to help all of my members to find their “first star”. This session was originally intended to be a gift from me to each of my team members, but on the day of the session, each of the members had also presented “the first star” for me. “The first star” I received at this session is still a warm treasure that shines in my heart and I feel I may have ended up receiving more gifts from my team members, even though I had originally intended this session to be a gift for them.
Personal and professional development cannot be accomplished solely by a person alone. Everyone in some way achieves this through the support of various people around them, even if it is unintentional. If you can enable your team to support each other’s development, it is not only helpful for you as a section manager (the person having the responsibility to support your members), but also greatly valuable for the members to have the support of all other members, as well as from you. Section managers are often the closest leadership figure to the members of the department. Therefore, it is important for them to put themselves in the members’ shoes as much as possible and think about the members’ careers based on each individual member’s personality, characteristics and capability. It is not an easy task, but if there is even one person who tries to understand and support you, you will not lose sight of your dreams and hopes. When I was a section manager, I always wanted and tried to be one of those considerate and approachable leaders to my members.
GC: Things can’t always go smoothly. What are your main tactics when challenges present themselves?
As the section manager, you cannot turn a blind eye to a problem when it arises. I, myself, face unexpected problems every day and often become flustered at the first instance. However, after a while, I somehow start to enjoy the situation and share such enjoyment with the people around me. New things, even unexpected problems, are always opportunities given by your company for you to learn and grow. Further, no matter what happens, as long as you are alive, you can start anything over. Therefore, it is always the best solution to do your best in whatever situation you are currently facing. This is the reason I believe I can also enjoy the difficult situations. It is the role of the section managers to correct the trajectory of a situation and bring the situation back on track by involving others around them and engaging others to collaborate as a team. If you are not happy or excited in dealing with a problem you are facing, you cannot make others happy or motivated in getting involved in dealing with the problem. My theory is that in order to get others involved and motivated, you yourself must first be motivated to begin with.
GC: The value of empathy is becoming increasingly appreciated in the business world. How important has this been in your career?
You can only inspire others when you truly feel something within your heart. This applies to all situations in which you are building relationships with other people, not only with section members, but also with the sales department and others. When you feel that mentoring for your team is not going well, communication with your team is not going well, or you encounter a disagreement with the sales department, try to step back a little from your own situation, put your foot in the other person’s shoe and listen to the reason for their position. The other person’s situation is often invisible to us unless you make an effort to communicate and understand. A little sincere care in that situation will solve many problems.
GC: Any final thoughts?
These have been a few tips I thought would be helpful to section managers, but since management is highly personal, there is no absolute right answer for this topic. It is always best to find your own style. The role of a section manager is a very rewarding and enjoyable one. Therefore, although you may face challenges every day, I sincerely hope that you will find your own management style and enjoy your journey as a manager.
