9 Scales to Analyze Cultures - A Culture Map in Connected World
I am fascinated by how much we are different and how much we are alike. And by how cultures influence businesses.
In a work-from-anywhere and connected world, leaders/managers need to understand the nuances of different cultures. They need a culture map.
"Managers in different parts of the world are conditioned to give feedback in drastically different ways. The Chinese manager learns never to criticize a colleague openly or in front of others, while the Dutch manager learns always to be honest and to give the message straight. Americans are trained to wrap positive messages around negative ones, while the French are trained to criticize passionately and provide positive feedback sparingly." - Erin Meyer
Below are 9 scales to analyze one culture relative to another, based on Erin Meyer's book The Culture Map.
This idea list is a prep for a long form blog.
In a work-from-anywhere and connected world, leaders/managers need to understand the nuances of different cultures. They need a culture map.
"Managers in different parts of the world are conditioned to give feedback in drastically different ways. The Chinese manager learns never to criticize a colleague openly or in front of others, while the Dutch manager learns always to be honest and to give the message straight. Americans are trained to wrap positive messages around negative ones, while the French are trained to criticize passionately and provide positive feedback sparingly." - Erin Meyer
Below are 9 scales to analyze one culture relative to another, based on Erin Meyer's book The Culture Map.
This idea list is a prep for a long form blog.
Preview
1. Communicating
In Japan, situational awareness is key to success in doing business. It is what the Japanese call Kukiyomu - read the air.
I saw this play out interestingly when leading a culturally diverse team. People from high-context cultures get offended by the directedness of others from low-context cultures.
Japanese are the most indirect, while Americans are the most explicit.
2. Reporting Problems/Mistakes
In Japan, there is a concept called Hou-ren-so, which is a business rule to communicate. A subordinate must report everything to their superiors immediately and precisely, especially mistakes and problems.
It is good to encourage everyone to report issues and problems immediately. Even if a solution is not found, the cost of a problem that is not reported can be high.
3. Deciding
In Japan, there is a concept called nemawashi, a consensus-building decision technique. Nemawashi can be formal or informal. A person promoting a particular proposal may casually get the buy-in of key influencers over a beer or a golf round or plan a formal meeting to discuss the proposal. After nemawashi discussions, the proposal owner will know if the proposal will be approved or not. They may need to refine the proposal. It becomes a matter of formal approval since most of the key decision-makers are already on board.
According to Erin, in most egalitarian cultures, decision-making is consensual, except in the US, where consensus-building can seem lengthy and inefficient to an American.
It is important to understand and respect the decision-making process, and use it to your advantage.
Preview
4. Leading
These cultures are usually very hierarchical. The best boss is someone who leads from the front.
Scandinavians, the Dutch, and the Israelis are at the extreme egalitarian end of the scale, according to Erin. In these countries, the best boss is a facilitator.
Japan is unique. It is highly consensual yet hierarchical. Be aware of your organization's leadership style, customers, and partners. In meetings, you may need to match the team structure to your counterpart's. If a C-level is attending the meeting, you may want to give heads up to your chief.
Preview
5. Giving feedback
Japan and the US are both in the indirect negative feedback camp.
It is important to consider the culture of the person you deliver the feedback to get the message across without offending or burning bridges.
6. Trusting
In a task-based trust-building culture like the US, trust is built by delivery and meeting or exceeding expectations. It is just business.
In Japan, which is a relationship-based culture, trust is built on a personal level over a golf round, a meal, a smoke, or any social activities outside work. It is built slowly over time.
It may be beneficial in the long run to invest in building trust with your customers, even if it is time-consuming.
7. Disagreeing
There is a line between disagreement and hostility, changing between cultures. Make sure you understand where that line is drawn.
8. Persuading
According to Erin, there are two schools of persuasion methods: principle-first and application-first. In the principle-first method, you build the theory and argument before giving the punch line. The application-first method starts by stating the main premise, then follows with supporting information.
There is a third school of thought, the holistic. Japan falls under this approach, which looks at the big picture first.
You want to structure your message based on the culture of your audience. To a French, you want to build your argument and state the theory before giving the result or the punchline.
9. Scheduling
Deadlines are important in linear culture. This got me stressed out when I was head of the IT department in my previous incarnation. I presented an aggressive roadmap with tentative dates. The management took those dates at face value as a commitment.
Be explicit about what it means to be or deliver on time. In some cultures, being an hour late is acceptable in business. And, always be on time, and be careful what you "commit" to.
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