When in Rome or Rio or Riyadh..Cultural Q&As for Successful Business Behavior Around the World

Leaders and Managers

Why has the word leader become more popular than manager ? I was discussing this with an accountant on the verge of retirement, and he remarked rather sourly that it was simply a matter of fashion, adding that the only people he knew more susceptible to fashion than teenagers were executive managers. However, detecting more than a note of cynicism in his reply, I turned to my dictionary where I discovered that a leader is a person who rules, guides, or inspires others, whereas a manager is a person who directs or manages an organization. You have to admit it: Most of us would like to guide and inspire others. However, directing is what police officers do after traffic accidents, and managing an organization, though impressive, also sounds boring. Frankly, a manager isn t half as sexy as a leader .

The change in terminology reflects a shift in organizational structure in many multinational corporations. In the 1990s there was a movement in the U.S., Scandinavia, and to a certain extent in the U.K. toward flatter more decentralized organizations. As employees were split into small teams , the priority was that the team s objectives were met, not whether it said manager on your business card. Staffs were told that a preoccupation with status was old-fashioned, and that working on short- term projects where everyone was a team player would enable them to work more efficiently . Hierarchical became a term of abuse for an organization, and hierarchies were seen as a threat to all the creativity that a more democratic organization would unleash . These smaller units had leaders rather than managers, and their role was to serve the team and to make it possible for it to achieve its goals. Suddenly, there were no project managers, only project leaders.

But in the rest of the world, companies saw hierarchical organizations as having advantages when it came to speed of decision-making, continuity, and clear chains of command and communications. And the egalitarian Danes soon realized that the word manager on their business cards was still an important door opener when they went abroad, not least to France, Mexico, or Japan. Indeed, once there they would be asked detailed questions about how many subordinates they had, which made the poor Danes blush with embarrassment. To their egalitarian, democratic way of thinking, they had coworker s , and the word subordinates , implying that in some way some people were above others, shocked them.

In many cultures it is possible to judge the authority a person wields by the number of people under him or her, and not appreciating this fact can lead to problems. Asked at a meeting how many subordinates he had, an Icelandic manager in a group of French and Spanish managers answered truthfully that he didn t have any, and was promptly ignored by the rest of the group . However, when decisions had to be made, he was the only one who had the authority to make independent decisions. I also know of a case in Norway of a top manager working with business development who didn t have any subordinates and was forced to steal employees from a department in order to get his French colleagues to listen to him. The kidnapped employees didn t move location and their duties remained the same, but the department number on their business cards changed.

Of course, you cannot expect consensus about what makes a good leader or a good manager. In the U.S., for example, business leaders should be charismatic, high-profile go-getters. In some South American countries , in more traditional companies, managers may be where they are by virtue of belonging to the right family, and their management style is often autocratic. However, if the role of the patriarchal manager brings with it unquestioned power and authority, it also brings with it a personal responsibility to employees that gives their well-being, and the well-being of their families, a higher priority than, say, the next year s budget estimates being delivered on schedule.

I once asked a group of employees of different nationalities to priori -tize a list of qualities they valued in their mangers. The ability to motivate and the ability to delegate appeared near the top of most lists, but the choice of one Polish participant surprised me. He was an engine designer, one of those opinionated, awkward , creative people that companies are forced to employ because they are brilliant , even though getting on with other people (sometimes even acknowledging other people exist) is often not their strong suit. Anyway, he had selected at the top of his list a sense of humor.

When I asked him about this, he told me that in a group like his a manager who could make everyone laugh diffused hostility , made people feel better, and most importantly, began to forge a team out of a group of individuals. I thought his reasoning quite persuasive, but the German and Belgian members of the group were rather shocked by it. As they put it, It s not the boss s job to be a comedian. If managers did inspire their teams to laugh, it indicated that they weren t taking their jobs seriously enough!

This just goes to show that there may be a place for humor in business, but the decision where and when to employ it is no laughing matter.

LETTERS 131 “133

What qualifications should a manager have? Definitions differ depending on where you come from.

Language skills Letter 131

FROM THE U.S. ABOUT A GLOBAL ORGANIZATION

I m looking for managerial positions in large global companies and have applied to one that requires managers to be willing to move abroad (which I am) and to be able to speak a foreign language fluently (which I cannot). I know the corporate language is English, and I also know that it takes years to learn to speak a foreign language fluently. Why aren t proven leadership skills and technical knowledge enough?

It s not the actual level of your French, Spanish, or Japanese that the company is most interested in. It s simply that by learning another language you learn another way to think. You will find, for example, words for which there isn t an equivalent in English, and visa-versa. By learning a foreign language you actually get access to another perspective on the world, as well as the opportunity to develop your relationships with your business partners in an entirely new way. (No matter how good a salesman you are, being forced to take an interpreter with you for a meal with a client is going to hamper the development of a close and trusting relationship.) Those are two prime reasons why companies find people with foreign language skills valuable . Of course, a willingness to spend the time learning a language also demonstrates a respect for and a wish to understand other cultures, which is a must for any manager moving abroad.

I might add, as someone to whom foreign language learning has not come easily, that the process is very humbling. You make a fool of yourself, you have to trust people not to laugh at you, and in the beginning you communicate like a very dim-witted three-year-old (at best). For all these reasons, learning a language as an adult is very instructive, especially for future managers, who may be a bit short in the humility and patience department. If you really want a job with this firm, start by enrolling in a foreign language course and then apply. The company might be impressed by your determination and give you a chance.

Family influence Letter 132

FROM THE U.S. ABOUT CHINA

We need to appoint some more departmental managers in China, but before we have even written the advertisement we have been inundated with inquiries from family members of our existing group of managers. Their applications show many of them to be well qualified, and naturally we would avoid a lot of time and trouble if we did hire folks this way, but being a close relative of a manager is surely not a good reason that a person should in turn be made manager.

Using one s family connections to win advancement worries U.S. Americans. It seems to go against their values of self-sufficiency, of going it alone and standing on one s own two feet. To be a self-made man (or woman ) is a mark of pride in the U.S., and is one of the reasons why Abraham Lincoln and Oprah Winfrey, though admittedly for very different reasons, have a special place in people s hearts. Family connections provide a time-honored way of doing things in China and the rest of Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East, where an individual s first loyalty is to the family, not to him- or herself. If you could tap into this system of well-established networks it could certainly help your business.

Obviously, it would be unfair and unethical to look only at family qualifications when you fill your new managerial position. You will have to look at experience and educational and personal qualifications too. But there are advantages to appointing people from the same family. When a number of family members work for one company, they have everything to gain if the company succeeds and all to lose if it fails. This can be a motivating factor in getting the best out of your management team. And coming from the same background will speed up the communications and decision-making processes, which can be time-consuming in a company where managers have different aims, expectations, and ways of doing things.

On the other hand, appointing family members would be a step away from diversity, which most large corporations nowadays regard as an asset, and toward homogeneity. You will also have to decide whether family ties in certain circumstances will prove stronger than company loyalty, and whether a very united management team would be too hard for you to steer, especially if your headquarters is located half a world away.

Not a graduate! Letter 133

FROM SWEDEN ABOUT FRANCE

A few weeks ago our plant in France requested help in solving a technical problem. We sent one of our best workshop technicians, but the management at first refused to work with him when they discovered (after careful questioning) that he hadn t gone to college, was dyslexic, and wasn t on our management team. However, we insisted they cooperate with him, and he solved the problem within twelve hours. What was the reasoning behind their attitude?

The French management s strong reaction stems from the fact that most French firms operate on very hierarchical lines, and there is a sharp line between managers and subordinates ”sharper than in almost any other European country, and more similar to the status-based distinctions common in Latin America. French managers are simply not used to treating non-managers as equals. There the unquestioned status of the boss is one of the foundation stones of the national business culture, and to challenge it is to challenge the whole system.

To compound the problem, in France, as in Belgium and Germany, it is one of the manager s roles to supply specific technical competence as well as company knowledge and leadership skills. It is this expert knowledge, acquired during many years of study, that gives managers the power, status, and authority associated with their roles. Knowledge and problem-solving skills are associated with high levels of education, rather than experience or learning on the job, which is more the case in Sweden. The emphasis on intellectual as opposed to practical skills is illustrated in the story of a high-level meeting between a U.S. American and a French civil servant. On being presented with a workable solution to a problem by the American, the Frenchman is supposed to have responded, We can see that it works in practice. But will it work in theory? So to find that the theoretical approach failed while the hands-on approach worked must have really ruffled some French feathers.

Although similarly respectful of a solid academic background (many managers have Ph.D.s in engineering), German organizations are less concerned than the French with issues of hierarchy and status, and German managers would probably have taken the pragmatic view that finding a workable solution was more important than maintaining prestige. Swedes are different again, as they pay little attention to academic qualifications in themselves ”it s the individual s performance that counts. This attitude obviously annoyed these particular French managers, who felt they would lose face if a relatively unqualified (in their eyes) employee were to succeed where they had failed. Obviously that is just what happened , and one can only hope that they survived the shock .

LETTERS 134 “135

Along with the management role comes increased status, which in turn affects how other people regard you.

Lets himself down Letter 134

FROM SPAIN ABOUT DENMARK

I recently visited our head office in Denmark and was shocked to see that the CEO came to work every day in a beat-up old Nissan. Is this really the image he wants the firm to have? I just hope he takes a few more pains when he comes to Spain, or his workforce will lose respect for him.

In Denmark and in other Scandinavian countries, this egalitarian style is more likely to earn him respect from his employees than damage his reputation. The British too have a soft spot for eccentrics, people who don t follow the rules.

A CEO driving a banger is a leader making an anti-materialist statement, and if it s symptomatic of the whole company and part of the firm s identity, you ll just have to get used to it. In Scandinavia, where too much time or money spent on appearances is regarded with suspicion, it may be excellent business to adopt a frugal, down-to-earth image, where top managers travel economy class and don t wear ties to work (although they may wear Saville Row suits and have BMWs at home). Of course, when your CEO goes to visit his international subsidiaries, he is going to have to adapt to another set of expectations, the first being that he look and act like a CEO.

Yes boss, no boss Letter 135

FROM AUSTRALIA ABOUT THAILAND

I have worked as a manager for ten years in my home country of Australia and now have been transferred to a factory in Thailand. At home I had a good relationship with the employees. We were all on first name terms and could share a joke together, which made going to work a lot of fun. Here, while people are friendly, they don t seem to trust me. I have been here for about six months and have never once had a conversation that goes beyond the Yes, boss, No, boss level.

You must accept that because of cultural differences, relations will be formal, at least to start with. Thais, along with their Malaysian neighbors and the people of Indonesia and Latin America, are used to a strict hierarchy at work, and you will be treated with a great deal of respect simply because of your position. This may make you uncomfortable, because you are from a culture that doesn t make a big thing about status. Your decisions won t be questioned, not because they are necessarily the right ones, but because it s the manager s job to make them. In the short term you have no alternative but to accept these attitudes, and though you may find working within a hierarchical structure uncomfortable, you need to accept that hierarchies give each individual a role and a degree of security that many employees welcome.

LETTERS 136 “138

What role managers should play is a question sometimes asked by the rank and file. Not all managers can provide a satisfactory answer.

Checking up on me Letter 136

FROM NORWAY ABOUT BELGIUM

I m working in Belgium on a project, but I find the way they treat employees here really demeaning. On Monday I get my orders for the week, and every Friday I have to show the manager exactly what I ve done. If I haven t achieved what he thinks I should have, he starts questioning me. The assumption seems to be that I will do as little work as possible, and this means that I never use my own initiative, I feel unmotivated, and I don t work as hard as I did at home.

Not all Belgian managers are like the one you describe, of course, but certainly most Belgian and French managers see one of their most important roles as ensuring they have a high degree of control over what their subordinates are doing. In Scandinavia and the U.K., on the other hand, most managers see the most important aspects of their roles as coordinating the work of people in their departments and providing the right kind of support to enable employees to do a good job. There s obviously a clash of expectations here, but don t take your boss s lack of trust in you personally . It s a small comfort , but I m sure he treats all his subordinates the same way.

Tell us what to do Letter 137

FROM AUSTRALIA ABOUT BRAZIL

I have been working as divisional manager here in Brazil for two years now, but my Brazilian workforce still surprises me. Last month, for example, I was asked as a matter of priority what menu I would like for the staff picnic, and last week as I entered the building at least three people came rushing up to tell me a dead snake had been found on the path outside. Why do they feel they have to consult me on everything ?

Because you are the manager! In cultures that have clearly defined hierarchies, like those of Latin America, Turkey, and the Middle East, managers have a paternalistic role. They have the power to hire and fire (not like Australia or many of the countries of Western Europe, where legislation makes it is very difficult to get rid of an employee) and also to grant favors, so employees are going to make sure that they do not displease their bosses. If employees have not been used to making their own decisions, and authority in the company is highly centralized, it s not surprising that people feel they have to check with you about everything. If you want to change things, you will have to plan for the long term. Be consistent in delegating responsibility and encourage employees to trust their own judgment. But bear in mind that it s difficult to change corporate culture if it is at odds with national culture.

No clear structure Letter 138

FROM BELGIUM ABOUT SWEDEN

When dealing with Sweden, I have great difficulty in figuring out exactly who has responsibility for what. No one seems to know! They do not seem to have a clear management structure, and I can t understand how they ever get things done.

This is a comment I hear frequently from people who have just started to do business with Sweden. What foreigners often don t understand is the emphasis placed on teamwork and consensus in companies in some European countries including the Netherlands and the Scandinavian nations. The decision-making process in Sweden often involves a number of individuals: the manager of the department, or in the case of matrix organizations, the function, the specialist who knows the most about the issue in question, and the others in the department who will be affected by the decision. It is not assumed here that the manager alone is always the best person to decide an issue, and the power to make decisions is often assumed by those working most closely with the specific issue or project. This consensus-seeking process may be time consuming, but it usually means that decisions are implemented relatively smoothly.

From the other angle, it s interesting to hear Swedes who work with other countries comment on how strange it is to contact a manager, who may know nothing about the area, for a decision about something that affects their work.

IN A NUTSHELL: Leaders and Managers

GLOBAL BUSINESS STANDARD

Most people the world over want a manager who is trustworthy, encouraging, and positive, communicates well, and is administratively competent. He or she should also be able to inspire others by providing a vision of what can be achieved. (If you work for a manager like this, you ve won the jackpot !)

GLOBAL WARNING

Managers are individuals, and it would be unusual to find one who conformed to all the standard business norms of his or her particular culture.

 

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