With so many people speaking English, wearing jeans, writing brief emails and texting, it may appear that there is a growing similarity among the professional global “caste” of knowledge workers.

While no one has quite declared the death of cultural differences,  there is a growing tendency for folks to cling to the similarity generated by the above mentioned commonalities.

A lot of these aforementioned “similarities” are nothing but “apparent similarity”, and thus the challenge is greater because the differences are more elusive.

• The shared  used of English does not wipe out that Americans love their plans, Germans love their details and Israelis love to improvise.
• The shared use of English does not eliminate the fact that the British are punctual and the Mexicans are not.
• The shared use of English does not eliminate the fact that some folks strive for win win and others strive to win.

An American or Canadian going to Korea or Japan for business will seek out relevant cultural information. Less so if they are travelling to the UK, Germany or Israel.

An Israeli going to India or Taiwan will seek out cultural guidance, but may  not do so when going to the States. And the truth is that the Taiwanese and Indians are much more similar to the Israelis that the Americans. Like the Israelis, the Indians prefer improvisation, have a beat the system “work around” readily available, and move fast and clean up later.

So beware: what looks similar may be different; and just because people look and sound different may not mean all that much.

Helmut shows respect by keeping to schedule. Baharat from Mumbei shows respect by answering calls from his clients immediately, even when he is running a meeting. Moshe from Israel shows respect by giving you as much time as needed, ignoring the “formal” schedule he is supposed to be following. Paco shows a huge respect for people, yet their time is not a valued resource for Paco, so his US colleague Paul feels a huge lack of respect.

Daw from Huahin Thailand gives respect by never inconveniencing people with whom he works. In public meetings, he is courteous and tends to be amicable to all suggested directions, reserving his disagreements for a private conversation. He sees the gap between what he allows himself to say in public and private as giving a huge amount of respect.

Mark from St Paul gives respect by separating between people and issues. He can deliver a critique of an idea, but he never is critical of a person; he is careful to remain civil. Mark sees in civility the ultimate manifestation of respect.

Ngai Lam from Hong Kong shows respect by always being in her “professional” persona, concealing much of her emotions, expression of which may be seen as showing lack of respect for the work place.

Hank from Holland as well as Moti from Israel show respect by being blunt so that no one needs to guess what their intention is, which would be disrespecting and uncaring.

Olive from Germany and Oya from Japan show respect by a very formal use of language when addressing people who merit respect.

So when we say that the need for respect is universal, what are we saying?

Actually nothing. The word “respect”, when spelt out and operationalized, means nothing in common across cultures.

Look at the following list of key OD values which guide our profession as we supoort various change efforts.

• Respect and Inclusion
• Collaboration
• Authenticity
• Self-awareness
• Empowerment

Are these values shared globally? As I see it, in many parts of the world, the guiding values are very different! For example:

• Respect and Inclusion looks more like “Give face to boss and get face in return”
• Collaboration looks more like “obedience or feigned obedience because there is “one tiger to a hill” and collaboration is seen as betrayal of authority.
• Authenticity looks more like  “total control and repression of emotion as a desired state” and authenticity is weakness.
• Self-awareness looks more like “appear” professional and collected at all times
• Empowerment looks more like ” power is to be hoarded not shared” and empowerment means giving away a rare resource….ie, stupidity.

Imperialism is defined as a  policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force. Is OD as practiced cultural imperialism?

In the many years of practicing OD worldwide, my Asia and Mid East clients have taught me about ten leadership behaviors which can cause unpleasant feelings, severe embarrassment and shame.

1. When someone in a very senior position asks for an opinion,  whilst he himself is the one who is supposed to know and tell the employees what to do
2. When a senior leader praises what a younger team member says more than he praises the younger team member’s boss.
3. When we are asked to advocate our ideas with people senior to us.
4. When we are pushed to “speak up” in a language in which we feel uncomfortable.
5. When facilitators ask us to be “open”.
6. When we laugh while we are serious.
7. Formality is to be  put aside so we can have a discussion of equals.
8. When there is a hidden message- If you will behave like us, you will improve.
9. When very senior management dresses too informally.
10. When we are forced to talk one at a time.

If you were surprised, take my test to check out your global mindset.

PS

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