MANAGEMENT SPECIAL ...............LEADERSHIP ACROSS CULTURES

LEADERSHIP ACROSS CULTURES





Traits of influential leaders vary according to region says Gurnek Bains

The rise of prominent Indians to CEO roles in global firms like Google, Diageo and PepsiCo and the increasing global footprint of some of India's best known companies might suggest that our leaders know how to lead effectively across cultures. But the truth is, there is still a long way to go before many Indian leaders are able to step onto the world stage and lead in an effective manner. The same applies to leaders from every major global culture ­ just the issues each culture has to navigate is different.

There is no such thing as a global multi-national and the cultures of even the most dispersed global firms are firmly embedded in the country of their origin. The top leadership of such firms is often surprisingly uniform and monochromatic. Firmly embedded in such firms is a clear view of how influence needs to be exercised. Missteps and failures when leading people from cultures outside of one's zone of familiarity are therefore all too common.

For example, in Scandinavian societies, leadership is a term that has negative connotations. Anyone from outside who expects orders to be unquestioningly obeyed typically experiences a rude shock. In many East Asian countries, there exists what an authoritarian compact. Leaders are obeyed assiduously up to a point, but if they fall off the high standards expected, rebellions on a big or small scale can occur. In parts of Africa, people take comfort from a leader acting as “the big man“. In others, humility big man“. In others, humility and gentle authority is prized.

Each culture has deeply rooted cultural tendencies, which arise from the challenges that that society has faced from time immemorial. These predi lections -such as emotional positivity, attitudes towards authority or comfort in unfamiliar social set tings -have a genetic base.Leaders from each global culture have strengths but also weaknesses they need to be aware of.

In our research, we found senior Indian leaders had an edge in terms of drive, strategic thinking and intellectual f lexibility. Indian cultural DNA also equips Indian leaders to manage diversity and difference effec tively. These strengths work power fully in today's world and help explain why Indians sometimes have more suc cess than leaders from other cultures.

However, we also found Indian leaders were poor with respect to teamwork. Their confidence was brittle and their ability to project themselves confidently as leaders, variable. Furthermore, Indian leaders were relatively poor with respect to self-insight and had a surprisingly frequent tendency to react defensively to challenging feedback. It is always dangerous to stereotype and it is always important in global business to look at the person “beyond the race“. Awareness of one's default cultural tendencies and empathy and appreciation for different ways of leading and being led is essential in today's multi-polar world.

Gurnek Bains is Chairman and Co-Founder of consulting firm YSC

ET30DEC15