Cultural expectations and leadership

Cultural expectations and leadership

Read an article about the different cultural expectations of a leader to practise and improve your reading skills.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and do the exercises.

Preparation

Reading text

Gabriela worked for a multinational company as a successful project manager in Brazil and was transferred to manage a team in Sweden. She was excited about her new role but soon realised that managing her new team would be a challenge.

Despite their friendliness, Gabriela didn't feel respected as a leader. Her new staff would question her proposals openly in meetings, and when she gave them instructions on how to carry out a task, they would often go about it in their own way without checking with her. When she announced her decisions on the project, they would continue giving their opinions as if it was still up for discussion.

After weeks of frustration, Gabriela emailed her Swedish manager about the issues she was facing with her team. Her manager simply asked her if she felt her team was still performing, and what she thought would help her better collaborate with her team members. Gabriela found her manager vague and didn't feel as if he was managing the situation satisfactorily.

What Gabriela was experiencing was a cultural clash in expectations. She was used to a more hierarchical framework where the team leader and manager took control and gave specific instructions on how things were to be done. This more directive management style worked well for her and her team in Brazil but did not transfer well to her new team in Sweden, who were more used to a flatter hierarchy where decision making was more democratic. When Gabriela took the issue to her Swedish manager, rather than stepping in with directions about what to do, her manager took on the role of coach and focused on getting her to come up with her own solutions instead.

Dutch social psychologist Geert Hofstede uses the concept of 'power distance' to describe how power is distributed and how hierarchy is perceived in different cultures. In her previous work environment, Gabriela was used to a high power distance culture where power and authority are respected and everyone has their rightful place. In such a culture, leaders make the big decisions and are not often challenged. Her Swedish team, however, were used to working in a low power distance culture where subordinates often work together with their bosses to find solutions and make decisions. Here, leaders act as coaches or mentors who encourage independent thought and expect to be challenged.

When Gabriela became aware of the cultural differences between her and her team, she took the initiative to have an open conversation with them about their feelings about her leadership. Pleased to be asked for their thoughts, Gabriela's team openly expressed that they were not used to being told what to do. They enjoyed having more room for initiative and creative freedom. When she told her team exactly what she needed them to do, they felt that she didn't trust them to do their job well. They realised that Gabriela was taking it personally when they tried to challenge or make changes to her decisions, and were able to explain that it was how they'd always worked.

With a better understanding of the underlying reasons behind each other's behaviour, Gabriela and her team were able to adapt their way of working. Gabriela was then able to make adjustments to her management style so as to better fit the expectations of her team and more effectively motivate her team to achieve their goals.

Discussion

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Submitted by kral.kat on Mon, 22/06/2020 - 20:28

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I think that a manager should be somebody who helps the team to get better and that is why I prefer the Swedish style. On the other hand, I believe it is way harder to be a manager of this style because it is always easier just to give orders.

Submitted by Yihsuan on Wed, 17/06/2020 - 03:16

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I prefer the Sweden leadership type. Because I think the team members would be more valued in the team. Otherwise, they could also suggest a lot of advices on any project, letting the team apply more efficient and improved. However, I think this type of leadership is harder than the former one, the type of leadership in Brazil. Since the leader needs to spend more time discussing the project with their members and collaborate the thoughts from all of them. But it’s a great opportunity to develop the qualities of the team.

Submitted by Aakash Jain on Sat, 13/06/2020 - 02:54

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We all know that whether the working culture is hierarchical or democratic, it will depend on the type of field in which we work. Eg: If we talk about Army, it has to be hierarchical but if we talk about working in a cooperative, then it has to be democratic where everyone can participate in decision making. So according to me, a manager's duty is to identify in which category does their field come under - hierarchical or democratic? Then he/she should be able to set an atmosphere where either of the two can be implemented.

Submitted by Ahmadbassam on Sat, 30/05/2020 - 19:23

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In my opinion, it depends. The culture of people is different from country to country and from sector to sector. But in general, the role of a manger should be mentoring the staff, sharing the ideas, and making the decision sometimes.

Submitted by Muhammad Bagir on Sat, 23/05/2020 - 05:02

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I think the most important skill of manager that should have is the ability to communicate the idea to the member.

Submitted by cadu on Mon, 18/05/2020 - 01:17

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The manager should identify the kind of team and adjust his leadership style, in order to obtain the better of each one member
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Submitted by OlaIELTS on Thu, 07/05/2020 - 01:47

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The role of a manager should includes planning, organising, staffing, directing, controlling and coordinating organizations' resources in order to achieve a goal.

Submitted by jazmin marquez on Wed, 22/04/2020 - 01:11

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I think that in South American countries people are used to obeying, and it is difficult for us to make decisions or an initiative without receiving orders from a superior. I think this is a mistake because the manager's role should be to let his employees develop critically and creatively to help grow the company.

Submitted by Pellmen on Sun, 19/04/2020 - 08:35

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I believe that a manager should be a guide for his employees. His advises may sound as vague, but they actually have a point. A good employee is able to get a hint from manager's "vague" advise and to come up with his own solution.