The shortage of leaders versus abundance of managers

As Kassar, Rouhana nad Lythreatis (2015) state, “while ‘expats’ can provide continuity, valuable expertise, and other skills, they must acclimatize successfully and remain in the job a reasonable time” (p. 4). In the case of KAPResources Consulting Firm, a group of culturally diverse team members, some of whom are expats, are being led by an individual from a completely different cultural background. Hofstede has shown with his 5 cultural dimensions how important it is for a leader in such a situation to pick up on the cultural dimensions that are strongest and weakest in the group so as to respond accordingly. For instance, if there is a high Power Distance Index within the group, the leader should approach the situation differently than if the Power Distance Index is low. This same consideration should be given to the other four indices as well—the Individualism versus Collectivism index, the Masculinity versus Femininity Index, the Uncertainty Avoidance Index, the Pragmatic versus Normative Index, and the Indulgence versus Restraint Index (MindTools, 2018).
As the leader of the group, my proposal for a plan for the dinner event at which the team members and their spouses join to meet, interact and feel more interconnected would begin with a simple introduction of one another as we all sit down around the table. It is important that an appetizer be served as well as wine, tea, water and whatever other beverages the group might like. Getting their preferences ahead of time so that their choices are available at the dinner will show that I am a thoughtful and conscientious and considerate leader and this will make them more open to my suggestions once we are all seated.
The plan would begin with me introducing myself and telling a little bit about my background coming from Puerto Rico. I would describe myself and my background in such a way as to give cues to the other team members that they should follow suit: the key characteristics I would select to tell would be ones that are related to Hofstead’s 5 cultural dimensions model. In this way, I could lay out how I see things and how I present my cultural dimensions and I could expect that the rest of the team could share their experiences and perspectives. Doing it this way would also allow me to gather this information without seeming too pushy or like I am being demanding. I would simply be setting the example and allowing others to choose whether or not they want to follow in my example. If they choose to follow, that will tell me something about their cultural dimensions and if they do not choose to follow but choose to focus on some other way of introducing themselves, that would also tell me something about them. So either way, it is a win for me as a leader and I can then set about conducting the next phase of the evening’s plan.
The next phase would be dependent upon how the introductions go. If everyone introduces him or herself in a way that makes one of the cultural dimensions highest, then I will address this dimension accordingly. As Lumsden, Lumsden and Weithoff (2010) point out, a leader who can negotiate a group of individuals to take an interest in one another by using intermediaries to make suggestions is one who is effectively at being subtly persuasive. My goal is to persuade everyone to form a tight-knit team so that they can respect one another and show the rest of the workplace how to respect each other in spite of cultural differences. The key will of course be to quickly identify the dominant cultural dimensions of the group and respond accordingly. Therefore, following the introductions, I will pair up members of the team into groups of three’s and two’s and play a fun evening game in which there is a degree of competition. The game will be a drawing and guessing game like Pictionary, where one member gets a card and has to draw the image while team members guess. This is a good team exercise because it builds interaction and communication. I will pair the teams according to the manner in which each team member introduced him or herself at the table.
I plan to interconnect the team members and break cultural barriers by pairing members who expressed themselves according to different cultural dimensions with one another that they might learn to communicate effectively with people of a different cultural dimension than their own. This will help to break down cultural barriers and create an environment where there is positive communication and good energy all around. This activity can be repeated throughout the course of the evening, as we swap partners and try a number of arrangements. This will help to enhance the adaptive process as well get to be part of teams that are diverse and consist of people who are different from ourselves.
The key to overcoming the cultural challenges involved will be to be aware of the power dimensions and to know how to respond accordingly. For example, if there is a high Individualism versus Collectivism Index rate that shows itself during introductions, I will try to praise individual achievements throughout the games to show that I respect individual accomplishment. If the rate is low, I will suppress emotions that might disrupt harmony. Being aware of how the index can show what ways are best for promoting positive energy among a diverse set of people can help to keep everyone oriented towards achieving the collective goal.
References
Kassar, A. N., Rouhana, A., & Lythreatis, S. (2015). Cross-cultural Training. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 80(4), 4.
Lumsden, G., Lumsden, D., &Weithoff, C. (2010). Communicating in groups and teams: Sharing leadership (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
MindTools. (2018). Hofstede’s 5 cultural dimensions. Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm