AvoidBadMeetings:UnderstandCulturalDifferencesof Time,HierarchyandDecisionMaking
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Themeetingwentbadly Verybadly
TheCMOwasthirtyminutesearly,andtheCEOwastwentyminuteslate TheCOOandCMO werebothattemptingtoleadthemeeting,whilesimultaneouslyoffendingeachotherfor doingso Meanwhile,theCFOandCIOinterruptedthemconstantly,bothsteeringthe conversationwheretheysawfit Aftertwohoursofthis,whenitwastimetomakedecisions, theCIOwasonlyconcernedwiththeshort term,cost effectiveapproach,whiletheCMOwas focusedonthelongtermresults Intheend,nodecisionsweremadebecausetheCEOand CFOrefusedtomoveforwardwithoutacompleteconsensusfromtheteam.
Nooneanticipatedthatthefirstgloballeadershipmeetingwouldbesuchamess Yetit turnsoutthattheleaderscouldhavebeenbetterpreparedforthemeeting How?Allittakes isalittleculturalawareness
WhenIsayculturalawareness,Idon’tmeantoimplythatallyouneedtodoisbeawarethat culturaldifferencesexist Culturalawarenesscomesfromlearningaboutothercultures,with asincereefforttounderstandthem Onapersonallevel,youcanaskmembersofother culturesabouttheirgeography,music,history,and/orliterature
Onatheoreticallevel,youcanturntoGeertHofstede’sCulturalDimensionsTheory,asa frameworkforbuildingagreaterunderstandingbetweendifferentculturesinan organization SocialpsychologistGeertHofstedeconductedasix yearworldwidesurveyof employeevaluesin50countriesandthreeregions,identifyingculturaldifferencesinsix primarydimensions Thesedimensionsaddressfouranthropologicalproblemareasthat nationalsocietieshandledifferently
Whilethesixdimensionsmayseemabitabstract,theyinformimportantaspectsof businessrelationships,includinghowpeopleviewhierarchy,timeanddecisionmaking Thesethreeelementscauseconflictintheworkplaceevenwhentherearenocultural
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differences Tossagroupofpeopleintoaroomwhoarenotculturallyaware,andyouget badmeetings
Sincehierarchy,timeanddecisionmakingaresooftenthecauseofworkplace miscommunication,aclientofmineaskedmetodiscussthedifferentculturalperspectives ofeach BecausetheclienthasglobalofficesinSweden,India,China,theUnitedStates,and theUnitedKingdom,Iwillfocusexclusivelyonthosecountries
Keep in mind that this is a basic overview, which involves generalizations Ultimately, everyone you work with is an individual who will have his or her own perspective
CulturalDifferencesWithTime
Let’sstartwithtime Thereareearlypeopleandtherearelatepeople,right?
It’snotthatsimple.Differentcultureshavedifferentperspectivesoftimeonafundamental level HereisanoverviewofhowtheUK,US,China,India,andSwedengenerallyapproach theconceptoftimeinbusiness.
U.K.:IntheUK itiscustomarytobepunctual Meetingsaregenerallytime consumingand setwellinadvance Agendasarepreferred
U.S.:IntheU.S.,timeisseenasapreciousandscarcecommodity(thinkaboutthephrase ‘timeismoney’).Culturally,peopleintheU.S.tendtoequateworkingtimewithsuccess the harderyouwork(morehours),themoresuccessfulyouwillbe Theyseetimeaslinearand doingonethingatatimewithafixedscheduleispreferred.
China:Chinaisabigproponentofpunctuality Infact,itiscustomarytoarrive15to30 minutesearlytoameetingintheChineseculture Otherpeople’stimeisseenasprecious, duetoapenchantforhumility It’swisetoallowtimeinameetingafteratransactionis decidedtoattainadegreeofcloseness Inotherwords,don’tshakehandsonthedealand runoutthedoortoanotherappointment
India:TheIndianperceptionoftimeisnotlinear.Timeisnotaboutcountable,segmented hoursandminutes,butratherismeasuredinevents,priorities,andemergencyrequests. Expressionsoftimeareexpressionsofintent,notmathematical
Sweden:InSweden,beingpunctualisasignofrespectandefficiency.Itisalsonot consideredrudetosetstrictdeadlinesforprojectsordecisions
What’sTimeGotToDoWithaBadMeeting?
Solet’sgobacktothehorriblemeetingwetalkedaboutearlier RememberhowtheCMO wasthirtyminutesearly,andtheCEOwastwentyminuteslate?Theearlyleaderwasn’t anxiousortryingtoshowpeopleupbybeingearly;shewasjustfromaculturewhereearly arrivaliscustomary.AndtheCEOisfromadifferentculture onewhereexpressionsoftime areexpressionsofintent,notmathematical Ifthewholeteamwasawareofthesecultural differences,themeetingwouldn’thavestartedwithtension
CulturalDifferencesWithHierarchy
Nowlet’smoveontohierarchy.Theconceptofhierarchy,asystemororganizationinwhich peopleorgroupsarerankedoneabovetheotheraccordingtostatusorauthority,varies widelyamongcultures Whilesomeculturesfindhierarchytobeamust,otherfindit intrusiveandunnecessary HereisanoverviewofhowtheUK,US,China,India,andSweden generallyapproachtheconceptofhierarchyinbusiness
UK:DistincthierarchycharacterizesthemajorityofBritishorganizationsandorganizations Thedecisionmaker’sauthorityisnottobequestioned,andmajordecisionsaremadeatthe verytop CulturallyintheUK,thepeopleconsideragroup establishedordertooffera senseofsecurityandsomethingwithwhichtheycanidentify
U.S.:TheUSoftenhasahierarchalcorporatestructure,wherethereistop downcontrolthat guidesbusinesspracticesandactivities,andpositionsarerankedwithlevelsofauthority However,theUS isculturallyuncomfortablewithhierarchyandclasssystems Theyprefer the“opendoorpolicy”andusingfirstnames,orevennicknames,withsuperiors.
China:InChina,hierarchyinfluencesmanyaspectsofbusiness Seatingarrangements requirethemostinfluentialpeopleseatedthefarthestfromthedoor,andtopranking dignitariesfacethedoor Apersoninasubordinatepositionwouldneverspeakforthe group,andseniormanagersdonotexpectorappreciatebeingcontactedbymorejunior peoplefromoutsideorganizations
India:Indianbusinessesareoftenveryhierarchal Innegotiations,unlessmembersofthe highestlevel(organizationdirector,owner,seniormanager)arepresent,adecisionwillnot
bemade Rolesarewelldefinedandoncepeopleareintheirallottedposition,theyrarely
attempttooverturn
Leadersarerespectedandtheirinstructionsareunlikelytobe questioned evenraisingaredflagcanbeseenasdisrespectful
Sweden:InSweden,stricthierarchyislargelyabsent.Everyone’sroleinthegroupisseenas importantandmanagersinvitefeedbackfromallteammembers Ingeneral,manyangles arediscussedbeforeagroup widedecisionismade.
What’sHierarchyGotToDoWithaBadMeeting?
Remember,“TheCOOandCMOwerebothattemptingtoleadthemeaning,while simultaneouslyoffendingeachotherfordoingso Meanwhile,theCFOandCIOinterrupted themconstantly,steeringtheconversationwheretheysawfit.”?Canyouguesswherethese leadersmightbefrom?TheCOOandCMOarebothfromcultureswherehierarchyisan importantandrespectedstructure,liketheUKandChina,andtheCFOandCIOarefrom culturesthatshyawayfromhierarchyforamorecasual,collaborativeapproach,likeSweden ortheUnitedStates Hadtheseleadersbeenmoreculturallyaware,theywouldhaveseen whatwashappeninginthesituationandbeenabletoadjusttheirbehavioraccordingly
CulturalDifferencesWithDecisionMaking
Culturaldifferencesindecisionmakingisthelasttopicwewillcovertoday Thisisn’tabout beingindecisiveornot;it’sabouthowdecisionsarecustomarilymade Notunderstanding howthisprocessdiffersamongculturescannotonlycreatefrustration,butalsoprevent decisionsfromhappeningatall,whichhampersprogress Hereisanoverviewofhowthe UK,US,China,India,andSwedengenerallyapproachtheconceptofdecisionmakingin business
UK:Whenadecisionisannounced,itmightsoundmorelikeaproposalopentodiscussion yetthatisnotthecaseintheUK Theyfavorapragmaticapproachtodecisionmakingand uselogicalreasoning
U.S.:IntheUS,executivesareinfluencedbyashort term,cost benefitapproachtodecision making Theyapproachdecisionsinademocraticfashion,operatingondebateand discussionbetweenopposingparties.Decisionsaremadeeithertorespondtochallengesor createopportunitiesforrecognitionandpraise.
China:WhenitcomestoChina,decisionmakingtendstobeauthoritative,whichemployees rarelychallenge.Theytrendtowarddecisionsbasedonlong termgoals,insteadofshort termgoals
India:Allattendantsofameetingneedtobeconsideredinthedecisionmakingprocessin ordertomaintainharmonyinIndia Thiscancreatealongerdecision makingprocess,often consideredbyotherculturesastimeconsuming Theytendtovaluestabilitywhenmaking decisions
Sweden:CompromisingisstronglyfavoredinSweden.Gettingintoaheateddebateina typicalSwedishmeetingwouldbeunusual Decisionsaremadewithgreatconsideration becausetheyvalueconsensusandagreementandfeelitcannotberisked.
What’sDecisionMakingGotToDoWithaBadMeeting?
Let’sgobacktothathorriblemeetingonelasttime.RemembertheCIOandCMOclashing whenitwastimetomakeadecision?TheCIOwasmostconcernedwithashort term,cost effectiveapproach,asiscommonintheU.S.culture.ThisconflictedwiththeCMOwhowas focusedonthelong termresults Andintheend,theCEOandCFOweresoconcernedwith allteammembersbeinginvolvedandinvestedinthedecision,oftenculturallyrelevantin IndiaandSweden,thatadecisionwasnevermade
Armedwiththisbasicknowledgeofculturaldifferencesintime,hierarchyanddecision making,thehorriblemeetingcouldhavehadanentirelydifferentoutcome
Ichallengeyoutolookmoreintoculturaldifferencesasyouapproachyourprofessionallife. OnewaytodothatistolookmoreintotheHofstedeCulturalDimensionsTheory. Another wayistonourishyourcuriosity,askquestions,andreallylistentowhatyourteammembers havetosay.Thiswillimproveyoureffectiveness,improveyourworkrelationships,and enrichyourlife
Iwouldlovetohearanystoriesyouhaveaboutmisunderstandingsatworkinregardto hierarchy,timeordecisionmakingstyle Wereyouabletoseewhatwashappeningatthe time?Areyouabletoseeitmoreclearlynow?
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