Introduction
Max
DePree posits that leadership is an art. Thomas D. Zweifel explains
that leadership has disparate global definitions. Morgan W. McCall, Jr.
and George P. Hollenbeck add that leadership styles in one venue do not
necessarily work in another. Daniel Kahneman asserts that context
affects decision-making. Edward T. Hall expounds that meaning is a
function of information in context.
Consider the following
statements: (i) "Let's eat grandpa!" and (ii) "Let's eat, grandpa!"
Cannibals may be indifferent to the presence of the comma. However, to
most people, the statements have profoundly different meanings. Hall is
right. Context matters. (So do syntax and punctuation!) Charles Ess and
Fay Sudweeks impart that prudent marketing strategies include contextual
considerations. For example, web designs align imagery and text with
the contextural proclivities of target markets.
What happens to
the art and style of leadership when the protagonist encounters a
diverse global cabal of teammates? This article will probe the challenge
using Hall's cultural research.
Low-Context
Hall intoned,
"Meaning and context are inextricably bound up with each other." Hall
continued that "most of the [low-context] information must be in the
transmitted message in order to make up for what is missing in the
context." One of Hall's cultural juxtapositions is low-context versus
high-context.
Low-context people tend to be independent and
individualist. Their prose and speech are direct, literal, and explicit.
Ambiguity is tantamount to effrontery. These people say what they mean
and mean what they say. They engage casual relationships across many
groups. In their element, low-context people are clearly understood.
Metaphors are used for communication clarity-not euphemisms.
Outside
of their element, low-context people may be perceived as rude-even
crude. Low-context denizens communicate much like a computer algorithm
with an if-then syllogism. America is the poster-child among low-context
cultures. Indeed, this highly correlates with the "ugly American"
phenomenon. Americans have low-context cousins. The list includes Canada
(except Quebec), Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland,
Iceland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
Imagine the discomfort of
the uninitiated when encountering a low-context person. One may easily
empathize with their potential anxiety in both commercial and social
settings. Some practical steps might benefit the neophyte before
encroaching on the low-context person's lair. The counterpart's company
website is a good place to start, beginning with their posted values.
Next, a few leaders and followers in the organization-or familiar with
the organization-may be discretely polled for stories imparting how
these values are manifested in acculturated behaviors. Finally, these
same people may be asked for examples of effective communications with
the group. The odds are high that the cultural novice will glean some
clues for sharpening the form and substance of the message.
High-Context
Hall
imparted, "High-context transactions feature pre-programmed information
that is in the receiver and in the setting, with only minimal
information in the transmitted message." The easiest means of anchoring a
high-context perspective is first reminding oneself that the majority
of communication is non-verbal. Stephan Dahl explains relevant
components of non-verbal communication: body language, personal space,
eye contact, tactile functions, intonation, inflexion, cadence, and
dialect. Whereas low-context people may harbor a blind spot for this
fact, high-context people wield the subtleties of high-context with
distinction. Even with word usages, it is more than the words; rather,
it is the words in context.
Whereas cultures may have
propensities, sub-cultures may differ. Consider an encounter between two
mavens of the Deep South. One says to the other, "Why, isn't that an
interesting pair of shoes with that dress?" An outsider might regard
this as an innocuous exchange, yet a native southerner recognizes the
profundity of the insult! To wit, the real meaning of the parry is that
the recipient of the message is devoid of any redeeming fashion sense.
Cinematic
examples display the power of high-context cultures. The 1980
miniseries, Shogun, based on James Clavell's novel, dramatizes
seventeenth century Samurai culture. Richard Chamberlain portrayed the
English Protestant protagonist, John Blackthorne. The merchant ship
captain is chronically challenged to rewire his cognition to understand a
culture whose powerful messages elude his perceptions. A decade later, a
more contemporary movie, Rising Sun, based on a Michael Crichton novel,
revisited Japanese culture for a twentieth century version of
high-context. Sean Connery played a sensei to Westley Snipes, an
impulsive detective investigating a Los Angeles murder mystery. Both
films are classic examples of low-context versus high-context contrast.
High-context
cultures are more plentiful than low-context cultures. They include the
Asian countries of Japan, China, Thailand, Korea, Russia, India, Iran,
Turkey, and the Philippines; the European countries of Greece, Hungary,
France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal; most Arab countries; most Central
and South American countries; and most African countries.
When
transitioning from a low-context to a high-context environment, the
leader must first resolve to invest the time to understand, and immerse
in, the group. Acceptance is paramount. Indoctrination comes with
collective support. Moreover, the leader should expect the line of
demarcation to fade between professional and personal realms. Depending
on the masculinity or femininity of the culture, a patriarch or
matriarch, respectively, may be a definitive source of coaching and
insights.
Monochronic
Another of Hall's cultural
juxtapositions is expressed through the coined terms of "monochronic"
and "polychronic." Monochronic people tend to focus on time management
and task orientation. Indeed, time is a limited resource that must be
wisely managed. "Monochrons" are the stepchildren of Frederick Taylor's
scientific management, whereby efficient processes drive productivity
through economies of scale. For monochronic people, tasks have a
precise, linear order largely devoid of exceptions. Such orientation
also follows Edwards Deming's plan, do, check, act rigor. Factory
assembly lines are monuments to monochronic behavior.
Harry
Chapin's iconoclastic "Cat's in the Cradle" tune frames the monochrons'
typical lifestyle. The rat-race doomed father had "planes to catch and
bills to pay." His son mimicked the steps of his dad's role model. The
father got things done, but at the expense of personal relationships.
Once retired, the father pined for time with his son. Verse four of
Chapin's epic pays a painful dividend to the father:
I (the dad) called him up (the son) just the other day. I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind."
He (the son) said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I could find the time. You see the new job's a hassle and the kids have the flu..."
And as I (the dad) hung up the phone, it occurred to me (the dad), he'd (the son) grown up just like me...
Interestingly,
Gen Ys entering the workforce are rejecting this lifestyle wholesale in
favor of work-life balance. Specifically, Gen Ys want to experience
things in sharp contrast to their monochronic parents. These Gen Ys view
their parents as cottoning to a lifestyle encapsulated in a couple
lines from the Eagles' "Take It to the Limit:"
You can spend all your time making money.
You can spend all your love making time.
Perhaps
Gen Ys have figured out something that eluded their parents: the winner
of the rat race remains a rat. Rhetorically, one might ask whether Gen
Ys are becoming higher-context polychrons. Polychrons are our next
subject.
Polychronic
To monochronic people, polychronic
people, or "polychrons," may appear to have attention deficit disorder.
Polychrons are flexible and malleable. They are the quintessential
multitaskers. Daniel Pink reminds us that multitasking is inefficient,
but to polychrons, this is the Ecclesiastical point: "To everything
there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven..." Tasks
are evaluated for their contribution to the macro objective in keeping
with personal values-not expediency.
Life for polychrons is
heuristic and relational. Connectedness to a group is sacrosanct. To
polychrons, the idea of a Gordian knot may be more appealing than
perplexing. The compatibility of polychrons and high-context people is
readily apparent in Latino cultures. Hall communicates that polychrons
welcome change as an escape from monotony.
One of the prime
polychronic behavioral traits is the nonchalance about time. Punctuality
is its casualty-and this to the chagrin of monochrons. Carol
Kaufman-Scarborough and Jay D. Lindquist point out a seeming irony:
compared to monochrons, polychrons organize goals more easily, feel more
likely to reach daily goals, are less inclined to procrastinate, and
are more likely to be comfortable performing under pressure.
Normal
Rockwell's depiction of grandma might be the polychronic prototype. She
was always baking something, doing the laundry, cleaning house, weeding
the garden, answering the phone, sewing, carry a covered dish to sick
neighbor, volunteering for church functions, reading to grandkids, and
painting the parlor-a typical day for a polychronic woman in Rockwell's
era. What's the punch line? Grandma was unflappable. The grandkids
adored her and never recall grandma having an indisposed instant.
Grandma had chi before chi was cool.
Conclusion
Navigation
through low-context and high-context, and monochronic and polychronic
attributes is increasingly relevant. William B. Gudykunst and Young Yun
Kim impart that people are more cognizant of their behavior when
interacting with people from other cultures than is the case when
engaging their own cultures. This is a good thing. A local leader may
need to be more globally cognizant than is immediately obvious. A simple
example frames the point. American technical universities, e.g., The
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, are magnets for international
students. Some of this genre of students remains in the United States to
launch fabulous ventures such as Google which require superb software
engineering competencies. While marquis case studies are easily
recognized, more modest examples are abundant.
